"BillyBob" wrote in message
news

"George" George@least wrote in message
...

The back bevel also causes the shaving to curl faster, breaking it over a
relatively shorter radius, depriving it of long fiber strength to tear
out.
http://www.leevalley.com/images/item...s/05p2301e.jpg

Shows the exaggerated view.


Thanks for posting the link. This picture illustates exactly the point
I've
been trying to make. That's a picture of a bevel down (conventional)
plane.
The Lee Valley Low angle smoother described by the OP is a bevel up plane,
like a block plane. Back bevel does not affect cutting angle on a bevel up
plane, so I don't understand why he got better results unless his plane
just
wasn't sharp to begin with.


It affects clearance angle, which can increase the sharpness angle while
making the edge more durable. See Hoadly on sharpness.