Getting the hang of sharpening & setting up my inherited plane
It took lots of repetition honing, stropping, going through setup, realizing the chip breaker was right on the edge of the blade, repeat, new error. The first picture is progress: small and crunchy, long and crinkley, long and papery.
Nice progress. A sharp tool makes a world of difference. As far as the shavings, mine usually go in the composter. A buddy of mine gives them away to people with chickens.
Nice work! A little wood paste wax on the sole will make the plane a lot easier to push. Wood paste was is also nice to put on the surface of your table saw if you have one.
You can make your own firelighters with wood shavings/sawdust and paraffin wax (for candle making). Melt the wax, mix in the sawdust and pour into a muffin pan to cool. Use paper muffin liners and they'll start really easily. The sawdust will burn hot enough to light small logs without intermediate sized sticks, and the wax is waterproof so they'll last basically forever.
Obviously don't use material from any treated or painted lumber, only clean wood.