I get all my wr cedar rough and then plane it down. We check carefully by eye for staples and then have at it but within 20' of surfacing there's a nick in the knives, and then more and I'm getting tied of changing knives! It's not staples but something like road grit which we can't spot as easily.

I've heard carbide knives aren't as sharp as HS steel. Will they still do a good job on the soft cedar and will they hold up to the road grit, and maybe staples??