Anyone else here not a huge fan of woodcraft?

[Joey Naeger]

I like buying carving tools at Woodcraft because I can bring in my my tool and roll and find the sweep I want. I mostly ignore the rest of the merchandise, but I'm glad they're there.

[george wilson]

Those Pfiels are the best. I have a large number of carving tools,mostly 19th. C.(the "golden age of English tools") And some 18th. C.,many early 20th. C.. Anyway, I like the Pfiels the best of any.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I have received a lot of good free advice at my local woodcraft. They have stopped me from doing wrong things and had me do some good things. I have gone in intending to purchase something specific and left with something completely different (that in retrospect was a much better choice).

I will agree that they do sell some "junk". One example is a grinder that I purchased from them. That said, I was pretty sure it was junk when I bought it, and the price reflected that it was junk. It served my need, so I kept it even though they do have a very good return policy.

[Jack Curtis]

Those Pfiels are the best. I have a large number of carving tools,mostly 19th. C.(the "golden age of English tools") And some 18th. C.,many early 20th. C.. Anyway, I like the Pfiels the best of any.

Well, there are also Dastras, which are my slight favorite over Pfiels; and then Stubais, which Nora Hall seems to favor. I'd think it safer to say that chisels from their part of the world are well done. And then there are my Takahashi, which are also superior.

[george wilson]

Is Nora Hall the old lady who taught linen carving on Roy's show? I never really liked Dastras as well. Just my preferences. I tried some in the 70's.I don't use Japanese tools,so I wouldn't know about them. Do they offer as wide a range of shapes and sizes as Pfiel?

All the tiny rosette carvings I've posted here,and the lion's head violin neck of curly maple were done with my little set of 12 Pfiels(the small size tools) that I got back in the 60's. For some time they were my only carving tools since I tended to do small work on instruments. Curly maple is not the easiest wood to carve smoothly. I like boxwood the best for carving,really.

This carving looks gaudy to modern eyes,but it has to be looked at in the context from which it was originally made. I made a cittern inspired by an original made for Archduke Ferdinand of the Tyrol in the 16th. C. by Girolamo daVirchi. It was polychromed like this one,showing Lucretia the Roman being swallowed into Hell. Unfortunately,I have lost my good slides of this instrument except for a few. I made it for an artist. The carving is in boxwood done with my small size set of Pfiels.

The original was one of the Hapsburg treasures.

[Steven Lee, NC]

I've got no problems with my Local woodcraft but I tend to like higher end things so most of my money has gone elsewhere. I did buy most of my Festools from them but most of the other stuff from online retailers like Blue Spruce, LV, and LN.

[Nicholas Lile]

I've had good luck with Woodcraft so far to. With them selling Veritas tools and others I was able to save alot of money with them. I just bought my first set of water stones from Woodcraft and saved over $40 with them versus buying them at LV. Even with their own brand, I was able to save money.

Also as far a custumer service with Woodcraft, when I made my purchase one item came in broke and one was missing. I called them up and they had them in the mail that day and to my house in 3 days. To me, I couldn't ask for more.

Hope this helps,

Lile

[Ellen Benkin]

My "local" Woodcraft is an hour away -- sometimes 2 hours with S Calif traffic. Because I know the owner I try to give them the business for big purchases but I certainly would not make the drive for something simple like glue. Rockler is only 1/2 hour away so I am more likely to go there for small items that I don't want to wait for. I buy from both online but usually when they have their free shipping offers. I have gotten excellent customer service from both Woodcraft and Rockler. I also like LV, both the service and the quality of their products, and I do a lot of business with them online.

[Jack Curtis]

Is Nora Hall the old lady who taught linen carving on Roy's show? I never really liked Dastras as well. Just my preferences. I tried some in the 70's.I don't use Japanese tools,so I wouldn't know about them. Do they offer as wide a range of shapes and sizes as Pfiel?...

Here's a gallery of Hall's work norahall.com/photo.php , I don't know about linen and Roy. Japanese carving tools are very different from western style, I'm just starting to become familiar with them, pretty cool, and the steel seems superior. The fullest set I've seen pictured comes from Japan Woodworking.

[Jamie Cowan]

I had a really long, rambling post here, but let's keep it simple: Customers do not always make clear what their needs are.

[Hilton Ralphs]

Jamie, I don't know what $9 an hour means in terms of living standards but over here it would be a pretty decent wage but you can't compare though. I don't necessarily expect all shop staff to know everything but there at least needs to be one knowledgeable person on the floor. I'm happy with a shop assistant admitting that they don't know something but then they need to go and find out. When I get the floppy vague arm point to some random aisle or a blank stare, that is when I lose my cool.

I must admit working three jobs must suck but at least you're working as opposed to sitting on your arse and blaming the previous government for your situation.

[george wilson]

Hilton,$9.00 an hour is a very low wage. Jamie has more endurance than I do! The person I've often had to deal with at our Woodcraft is some pain in the neck woodworking wannabe. He thinks their Tormek leather stropping wheels are the greatest thing going. They dull my knife! As a person who had to deal with tourists every day,even though we were not trying to sell them some expensive musical instrument,I symphatize with Jamie. Particularly irritating were the old men who would focus on some trivial detail in the shop to belly ache about,ignoring all the other beautiful work. One 80 year old fool gave me a hard time because I had some brass violin planes on my bench. He was convinced that only the Chinese knew how to cast brass. And "Humph!,all those books I read must have been wrong". (No,they weren't wrong,you just can't remember them correctly,I wanted to tell him,but could not) I didn't know how to deal with someone at that basic ignorance level. They expected their age to be proof of great knowledge.

[Bill Bukovec]

I bought my Laguna bandsaw at Woodcraft. Odd thing, woodcraft didn't carry blades for the saw. I took a shellac class from Woodcraft last spring. The teacher spent too much time on the history and origins of shellac. Less than five minutes on French polishing. I don't buy that much stuff anymore, but when I do it's over the internet.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I bought my Laguna bandsaw at Woodcraft. Odd thing, woodcraft didn't carry blades for the saw.

Wowser!

I took a shellac class from Woodcraft last spring. The teacher spent too much time on the history and origins of shellac. Less than five minutes on French polishing.

I hope you commented appropriately when they had your rate the class afterwards...

[Richard Jones]

Aside from the store itself, I have great memories of going with my father to the Greensboro NC Woodcraft and just wandering around. One of the last pics I have of him was in front of those huge bubinga slabs they had. Wish I had him back.........

So for some of us, it's not about retail....