Ray Iles D2 Replacement Plane Irons

We first came across D2 as an alloy for plane irons in Ray Iles� infill plane. Ray has really pioneered D2 as an alloy in edge tools. We found that the edge retention exceeded A2 by a welcome measure, and of course way out-performed the standard carbon steel irons that we were used to. We also think we got a "sweeter" edge but that could be our imagination. D2 as an alloy is tougher than A2, and slightly more difficult to sharpen. However, we typically hollow grind everything and use Norton water stones for final sharpening with no real worries. We have found that D2 seems to not sharpen well on Shapton ceramic stones, but on regular Norton, Naniwa, Ice Bear, and King stones they hone up fine. We suggest a bevel angle of about 30 degrees.

The bench plane irons are all around 0.115" thick and the block plane irons are about 0.100". The extra thickness over a standard Stanley iron and the general solidity of the alloy creates an iron that performs fantastically. Made in England.