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Thread: Opinions on the LV carving tool special?

  1. #1
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    Opinions on the LV carving tool special?

    Lee Valley has a "special buy" on a set of seven carving tools right now:

    http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/pag...,43334&p=72275

    Anyone have any opinions on it? I wouldn't expect miracles for the price, but LV can often surprise me at what they can get at a given price point. The tang/ferrule setup on those reminds me of Narex, which makes me think good things for the money, but no info, as is often the case for some of their out-side produced products, of who the manufacturer.

    I've been picking up a few carving-type tools (mostly incannel gouges, right now, as I find those quite useful, but also traditional carving tools) as I stumble across a decent vintage tool, or find a need for one. I'd like to experiment with carving, even if I never progress past simple embellishment. I'm leaning more towards the sort of carving that would be involved in furniture making rather than the purely artistic side. I feel like a cheap set like this might be a decent starting point, at least to get my feet wet enough to find out if it's the sort of thing I'd want to pursue more of, and to get me a few things to experiment with so that I have an actual idea of what I really need or want.

    Just curious if anyone has any input on these, perhaps someone has seen them at an LV retail location?
    " 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

  2. #2
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    If most of these sizes weren't already included in my set, it would be considered for purchase.

    If only SWMBO could be convinced this set is needed, it would be on order.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  3. #3
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    I was intrigued when I saw the deal but the more I looked the more I decided I didn't need them. What I could use is a couple sizes of incannel gouges for cleaning up concave curves.
    -- Dan Rode

    "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Daniel Rode View Post
    What I could use is a couple sizes of incannel gouges for cleaning up concave curves.
    Ditto but, at a better price than I am finding ;-)
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  5. #5
    I told my wife I was thinking about getting these. But I said I believe they are probably from china. She then said. I wouldn't mind you spending $150 if you think you will need them. So the question is. Is there a decent set for $150 or less? How about $190 or less? I just found $40 laying around.

    James
    Last edited by James White; 10-14-2014 at 5:24 PM.

  6. #6
    I took a look at the detailed pic, and they look like they would need some serious work to be of any use, as the bevels look to be wayyyy to steep, and they are milled out of steel that looks too thick as well. If you wanted to do some serious work on a belt grinder then they may turn out alright, but they would take work to get running, and time is money so....

    http://www.leevalley.com/US/shopping...s.aspx?p=72301

  7. #7
    It's awfully difficult to buy carving tools guessing that you might use the ones you get in a set. Years ago, woodcraft had a set of brown handled pfiel made gouges that just said "swiss made" on the handles, and the set of 8 of them went on sale for $99. I bought the set. I haven't used them in at least 5 years, but I don't carve much other than some bits and pieces on tools.

    I still have that woodcraft set and only hold on to it because sometime I might need it. Incannel and outcannel gouges of various curvatures have been more useful to me, though.

    I don't know who makes those carving tools, but china or not, if they have them at LV, they probably have tested them in use a little bit to confirm they are in the ballpark of the specs they say they have.

  8. #8
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    That's less than $8.50 per piece. If you got old ones,I doubt you could get them anywhere near that cheap. Then,you'd probably be doing some serious re grinding/de rusting,etc. anyway. And,I am confident that where ever they are made,LV has them made to a decent standard. The fact is,you can get good things made in China if you pay a decent price. They look a lot better than those cheap Chinese sets I have seen for less than half that price,and that is for 12 tools,too. The usual Chinese made sets don't even have usable handles on them. Well,you can use them if you don't care how your tools look!!!

    I could wish they looked a bit more traditional,but it looks like the days of seeing a proper bolster are long gone,Pfiels included.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by george wilson View Post
    That's less than $8.50 per piece. If you got old ones,I doubt you could get them anywhere near that cheap. Then,you'd probably be doing some serious re grinding/de rusting,etc. anyway. And,I am confident that where ever they are made,LV has them made to a decent standard. The fact is,you can get good things made in China if you pay a decent price. They look a lot better than those cheap Chinese sets I have seen for less than half that price,and that is for 12 tools,too. The usual Chinese made sets don't even have usable handles on them. Well,you can use them if you don't care how your tools look!!!

    I could wish they looked a bit more traditional,but it looks like the days of seeing a proper bolster are long gone,Pfiels included.
    Hi George,

    Thank you for sharing your opinion. I think I will give them a try. I would only lose the shipping cost if I do not like them. I spoke to Lee Valley and these are a special buy and are made in China. But they indeed have done some testing on them.

  10. #10
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    Did LV tell you what kind of tool steel they are made of?

  11. #11
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    The steel is (Rc57-62).

    I bought the cranked paring chisels and like them. I sanded the handles and put a coat of Johnson's Wax on them. Just one coat, didn't want to make them slick. They feel good.

  12. #12
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    Hardness means VERY little. Lower carbon content steel can get fully hardened,but do not have the wear resistance of higher carbon steel,or more advanced steels that have other alloys to help wear resistance. Sears chisels used to be made in Holland from .50% carbon steel. They should have been ashamed of themselves marketing such junk. Especially the dutch for agreeing to do the work. Driven by money,of course. They had poor wear resistance,which showed up in a wear resistance study done in Fine Woodworking years ago. .50% carbon is getting near the lowest carbon content that will get pretty hard. .40% carbon steels,like 4140,will not get much above the high 30's or low 40's in hardness. but,it is a tough steel,suited to making car axles.lathe spindles,and the like.

    We need to know the carbon content,not the hardness.
    Last edited by george wilson; 10-14-2014 at 9:44 PM.

  13. #13
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    The Rc57-62 was all they said in the brochure. I should have snapped to the fact that was hardness. I know a bit about boiler plate, pipe, forgings, and vessel walls, but tool steel designations are out of my knowledge base.

    I've never welded nor worked steel, just made shop drawings for fabrication.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Daniel Rode View Post
    I was intrigued when I saw the deal but the more I looked the more I decided I didn't need them. What I could use is a couple sizes of incannel gouges for cleaning up concave curves.

    Incannel gouges are one of those things I've found great deals on on eBay if you shop from British sellers; even with shipping, you can get great deals on old Marples, particularly if you buy a few at a time.

  15. #15
    If you don't have any carving tools, you can't beat the price. And with LV to stand behind them, you aren't taking a big risk.

    But if you have a set of carving tools already, these would probably not be a good buy.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

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