Share your craft projects
Make new craft buddies
Ask craft questions
Blog your craft journey
re: V Tool - Part 2
Yeah Andy, it would be nice if they put a 20 degree bevel on them instead of 25. If they'd drop it to 15 I'd be tickled pink but I probably like my bevels a little shallower than most. I don't think I have any that I've commissioned myself that are steeper than 20 though and if that was the factory grind, I wouldn't have to remove so much material to drop it another 3-5 degrees. Hell, I might even adjust my muscle memory to just use the 20 degrees if it meant I could use the tool out of the box.
I sort of followed the same approach as you in that I amassed a bunch of carving tools that I thought I "might" need rather than waiting until I "do" need it. I did manage to get a couple of AI tools during the beginning of the pandemic by buying them directly but since I'm on the other side of the pond, I couldn't afford the international shipping to do it with my whole wishlist. US distributors of AI have spotty inventory when I check so it looks like AI is at least trying to supply them when possible. But there's a lot more "OUT OF INVENTORY" labels than there are "ADD TO CART"s when I browse US sellers. And I pretty much have the basics covered so usually the tools I'm after are ones probably on their lower production priorities. I have been eyeballing a 45 degree V tool lately and TFWW has several sizes in stock but $56 +shipping usd is hard to swallow. If I lived over there and could buy direct for $42 and not have to pay international costs, I would probably already have it. Seems silly to quibble over $14 I guess but when you do that on 15 or 20 different tools over the course of a couple years, it becomes a little more significant. So I regularly check ebay and just take what comes at a good price.
A lot of the tools I bought when I started getting a little more serious about carving are made by Schaaf. I bought the twelve piece set but have only commissioned 4 or 5 of them so far. The rest are either redundant with tools I already have or are tools I just haven't needed yet. The set was only $95 when I bought it and even if I never use any more of them I feel like I got a bargain. I think the tools are very comparable to Pfeil in terms of construction and steel quality. They are less refined but for half the price, I don't mind. I will say the edges were purely rough ground. They could not be used out of the box so if one doesn't intend to immediately commission the edges, I wouldn't recommend them. But once I ground and sharpened them to suit me, I have no complaints with the quality of the steel. With the exception of one I have commissioned that had the tool out of line with the handle, I have no complaints about the construction either. The forging is good. Some have rough edges but some sandpaper smooths it up quickly. And to their credit, I e-mailed them a photo of the tool that was misaligned and they sent me a replacement immediately no questions asked. So if anyone's looking for a good set of quality tools that won't break the bank, I highly recommend them with the caveat that you WILL have to sharpen them. IIRC, there was an option to add "hand sharpening" when you bought direct from them but now when I click on the "premium set" link, it returns a bad page so they may not offer that anymore. I will also say, they do state that the tools come ground but not sharpened so they aren't trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes.
Anyway, I agree with you Andy, in the current market condition it's a good idea to buy the tools you want when you can if you can afford to. Otherwise you're liable to get in a spot where you order a tool when you "need" it and still be waiting 3 years later...
I sort of followed the same approach as you in that I amassed a bunch of carving tools that I thought I "might" need rather than waiting until I "do" need it. I did manage to get a couple of AI tools during the beginning of the pandemic by buying them directly but since I'm on the other side of the pond, I couldn't afford the international shipping to do it with my whole wishlist. US distributors of AI have spotty inventory when I check so it looks like AI is at least trying to supply them when possible. But there's a lot more "OUT OF INVENTORY" labels than there are "ADD TO CART"s when I browse US sellers. And I pretty much have the basics covered so usually the tools I'm after are ones probably on their lower production priorities. I have been eyeballing a 45 degree V tool lately and TFWW has several sizes in stock but $56 +shipping usd is hard to swallow. If I lived over there and could buy direct for $42 and not have to pay international costs, I would probably already have it. Seems silly to quibble over $14 I guess but when you do that on 15 or 20 different tools over the course of a couple years, it becomes a little more significant. So I regularly check ebay and just take what comes at a good price.
A lot of the tools I bought when I started getting a little more serious about carving are made by Schaaf. I bought the twelve piece set but have only commissioned 4 or 5 of them so far. The rest are either redundant with tools I already have or are tools I just haven't needed yet. The set was only $95 when I bought it and even if I never use any more of them I feel like I got a bargain. I think the tools are very comparable to Pfeil in terms of construction and steel quality. They are less refined but for half the price, I don't mind. I will say the edges were purely rough ground. They could not be used out of the box so if one doesn't intend to immediately commission the edges, I wouldn't recommend them. But once I ground and sharpened them to suit me, I have no complaints with the quality of the steel. With the exception of one I have commissioned that had the tool out of line with the handle, I have no complaints about the construction either. The forging is good. Some have rough edges but some sandpaper smooths it up quickly. And to their credit, I e-mailed them a photo of the tool that was misaligned and they sent me a replacement immediately no questions asked. So if anyone's looking for a good set of quality tools that won't break the bank, I highly recommend them with the caveat that you WILL have to sharpen them. IIRC, there was an option to add "hand sharpening" when you bought direct from them but now when I click on the "premium set" link, it returns a bad page so they may not offer that anymore. I will also say, they do state that the tools come ground but not sharpened so they aren't trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes.
Anyway, I agree with you Andy, in the current market condition it's a good idea to buy the tools you want when you can if you can afford to. Otherwise you're liable to get in a spot where you order a tool when you "need" it and still be waiting 3 years later...
