Paul, I suggest you refrain from getting too enthusiastic about back-lapping as a substitute for reel-grinding. It can have its place as a minor supplement to grinding, so the reel can be kept really sharp between grinds, but if carried out too many times it reduces the life of the reel and bedknife. Lapping allows the formation of matching waves in the reel and bedknife, so that grinding has to remove more material from both, to get the cutting surfaces truly straight again.
