I’ve been working on an a couple of arm chairs made of walnut and I needed a spoke shave to really get the curvature of the legs and arm rests right.
I didn’t own one…. So I called my local Rockler and Woodcraft franchises. Rockler had a Bench Dog rounded bottom spokeshave so I picked that up. I also bought a round and flat pair of spokeshaves on Amazon hoping they might get to me sooner.
Both the Rockler Bench Dogs and the no-name Amazon set were nearly identical Chinese tools. Crude and blunt… to say the least. Neither came with manuals or instructions or even a guide on the angle to hone or sharpen the blade.
I got out my wet stones and spent an hour sharpening the round bottom spoke shave. I’m pretty skilled at that and I think I got an “arm hair cutting” edge. But locking that tool down in the shave and getting it to “shave” was nothing but frustration. No matter the depth or direction of grain I got bad chatter. The tools were uncomfortable and, while I did get them finally to work… it was a pain.
At the same time I picked those tools up, I ordered a Veritas and it arrived a week later. It came with instructions, in French and English, of course, and some helpful instructions on how to sharpen and even modify the blade.
Picking it up, and using it, right out of the box.. it blew the others away. What a pleasure to use! It was comfortable, much lighter than the others with the wood handles, and much more maneuverable. OMG… what a difference.
Yes, its $135 vs $30. But I’m getting near retirement. $100 bucks extra to have a high quality tool that actually does what you want it to do, feels good in your hands, and is beautiful to look at and clearly carefully crafted. It’s well worth it.
Don’t want to sound like shill for Veritas. But this is like the 4th tool I’ve gotten from them. A honing guide for my plane blades, hold down for my Saw Stop and my router table, and a low angle block plane. I’m really impressed with their stuff.
I’ll send the other shaves back to Rockler and Amazon… thanks anyway.