Jeff's comment's got me wondering what other chisels end up costing you in South Africa? Even if you snagged a decent price on eBay, does the shipping become prohibitive? Do you have to pay taxes on something you order from overseas?
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Jeff's comment's got me wondering what other chisels end up costing you in South Africa? Even if you snagged a decent price on eBay, does the shipping become prohibitive? Do you have to pay taxes on something you order from overseas?
" Be willing to make mistakes in your basements, garages, apartments and palaces. I have made many. Your first attempts may be poor. They will not be futile. " - M.S. Bickford, Mouldings In Practice
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See, that's the thing. I haven't a clue what things cost in South Africa. My comments are really based on North American pricing. For all I know, Two Cherries chisels are $500 there. Shipping costs would certainly change everything. I have two full sets of bench chisels that I accumulated over time. They were not purchased all at once, but individually, or in two's, as I found them. One is Greenlee (the older one's), and the other is Stanley 750's. I haven't paid more than $15 for any of the chisels, and all are full length. I found that the Stanley 750's took a lot less work...i.e.....they were machined and/or heat treated better, as they took a lot less work than the Greenlee's to get the back's flat, and the bevels straight. The Greenlee's took work in both areas, but now that it's done, I've got a great set, including 4 small butt chisels for tight spaces, that are made from high quality steel.Originally Posted by Joshua Pierce
Jeff
[OP]
Contributor
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I don't really need any more chisels as I have a perfectly good set of Veritas V11 bench chisels. I came across this deal and like many of us, just couldn't resist taking a closer look. If I didn't already have decent chisels then I'd certainly consider this set but for that amount of cash, there's other stuff to get first.
In terms of shipping costs to South Africa, stuff from the States of average size and weight attracts a landed cost of between 30-50% in addition to the purchase price.
Now here's the scary part. At the start of November 2013, USD$1 bought R9.89 but now the Rand has slipped to R10.89. This essentially means that for me, everything has gone up by 10%.
"If you have all your fingers, you can convert to Metric"
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Yeah, it was a lot more fun a few years ago to buy from Europe, when 1 euro more or less equaled a dollar. I still can't believe all the ECE planes I accumulated. And then UK postage increased exponentially.... argh.
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I'd buy them and flip them for that price, no question about it.
Member
I did buy them, for $235, and I'm very happy with them, and the price I paid. They're in good condition, and there is plenty of steel left on them all. I'm planning to keep them and use them.
Were you the other bidder Hilton, or was that someone else?
[OP]
Contributor
Congrats Colin and yes I was the other bidder (you b@stard). I'm glad they went to a user and not some dodgy trader who would break the set and sell on individually.
Can you tell what age they are? Number on the side somewhere?
"If you have all your fingers, you can convert to Metric"
Member
So, you cost me a couple of hundred randCongrats Colin and yes I was the other bidder (you b@stard
I don't actually know enough about Bergs to know how to tell the age. I'll have a close look this evening when I get home, and if I find anything I''ll post a reply here.
Guest
So, you cost me a couple of hundred rand
Well, you did take his chisels.
Member
I can show you a post in another forum, at least oh, seven or eight hours before Hilton posted here, which says they're mine.Well, you did take his chisels.
On the subject of age, they have no numbers anywhere, and the logo is definitely a Shark, with the text saying "ERIK ANTON BERG, ESKILSTUNA, SWEDEN". Apparently the block capitals means slightly older. Three of them (the bigger ones) are about 5mm shorter than new, and the others are pretty much the length they came out the factory, according to post #6 in this thread.
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