Hi All,

There is a lot of information on the web about the very high quality plane irons being made today by several forges. I have a few and like them.

I'm not in any huge hurry to swap-out irons in my planes but I was wondering if there is a type of plane you feel is most improved by upgrading to a modern blade and/or blade and chip-breaker combination. By type I mean, smoother, jack, jointer, shoulder etc. My own guess is a No. 4 size with a hint of camber which is the next one I'm considering.

A bonus question, do you use different steels for different planes? Again, I'm wondering if O1 might be better for a smoother for light cuts and an air-hardened steel for jacks taking more stock per pass.

Love to hear your thoughts, thanks, sh