Robert166: For my traditional planes (Stanley/Baileys, etc) I usually establish a primary bevel of 25 degrees when doing maintenance sharpening. The secondary bevel (the one that is at the cutting edge) is at 30 degrees. The result is that when I am honing the edge, there is a lot less surface contacting the stone, making the job much easier and quicker. When my secondary bevel has erased 1/2 to 3/4 of the primary bevel, I re-establish the primary bevel almost t the edge (This is what I call "maintenance sharpening"). Establishing the primary bevel is the time consuming part, and it is where the honing guide really helps maintain consistency throughout the whole process. Another time saver is to realize the primary bevel does not have to be highly polished like the secondary, so you can stop at a coarser grit. It also has been my experience with normal steel irons (i.e OS ) that a 30 degree secondary is stronger, resulting it it dulling less quickly, and much more resilient against chipping than 25 degrees if you hit a knot or hard resin spot.