Tools From Japan

[Kevin Neff]

I have 500-600 $ worth of tools on order from Tools From Japan. Ordered in January. I understand, from the blog, that the proprietor has had some turbulence in his personal life as of late and I'm sympathetic. And I know that there can be some lead time on certain planes. However, I'm getting a little nervous. I don't know if it's just my order that's taking so long or if it's everyone. I'm tempted to send email but I suspect that it will not help me or anyone else. Has anyone heard from Stu? Has anyone ordered from him recently?

[Frederick Skelly]

I havent done business with Stu myself, but Ive always had the impression from things Ive read here that he's an honest, reliable businessman.

FWIW.
Fred

[Derek Cohen]

Kevin

Stu is a stand up guy. The reason he has become the go-to guy for Japanese tools is because he has taken the time to offer superb customer service ... even before anyone has made a purchase. I understand that he is catching up after a period of dealing with a loss in his family. I would just tecommend being patient.

Regards from Auckland

Derek

[john jesseph]

I ordered a few things about two weeks ago, after the last thread on this topic. I got an email a couple days ago from Stu saying my items were shipped, and I was refunded about 7 dollars on my shipping cost. Supposed to arrive in a week or so.

edit: ordered 3/21. Shipped 4/4. Received email 4/5. Packages appear to have been in Osaka most recently.

[Randy Karst]

Kevin,
Sometimes the shipments do take some time to arrive but as others have stated, Stu is an honorable man, he will make good. So be patient.
Randy

[brian zawatsky]

Kevin,
Sometimes the shipments do take some time to arrive but as others have stated, Stu is an honorable man, he will make good. So be patient.
Randy

It is very easy to say "Be patient" when your money is still in your wallet. In general, I really dislike the "you pay me now, I'll ship when I get to it" business model that some tool sellers utilize. If there's a long lead time, fine. Take a deposit on the order, and bill for the balance when the order is ready to ship. That would certainly eliminate the trepidation of a customer who sends 600 bucks to an international seller 4 months ago with no word on his order and is told to "Be patient". I would not be cool with this situation either. JMO, it's your money after all.

[ken hatch]

It is very easy to say "Be patient" when your money is still in your wallet. In general, I really dislike the "you pay me now, I'll ship when I get to it" business model that some tool sellers utilize. If there's a long lead time, fine. Take a deposit on the order, and bill for the balance when the order is ready to ship. That would certainly eliminate the trepidation of a customer who sends 600 bucks to an international seller 4 months ago with no word on his order and is told to "Be patient". I would not be cool with this situation either. JMO, it's your money after all.

Brian,

As has been stated Stu is a honorable man that makes good when there is a delay in shipment. His business model is one of the reasons he can hold prices down and at the same time provide personal service. It is also well known that at times shipments can be slow. If that bugs you the best answer for you and Stu is to take your business elsewhere.

ken

[Tom M King]

I don't mind the wait. I know to start with that if I want the same, or something similar, that I can pay more, and get it faster somewhere else. Since he doesn't stock a lot of the items he sells, he would end up keeping something that wasn't paid for to start with sometimes, and it would raise his operating costs, and our prices. I appreciate what he's doing, and wish him well.

[brian zawatsky]

Brian,

As has been stated Stu is a honorable man that makes good when there is a delay in shipment. His business model is one of the reasons he can hold prices down and at the same time provide personal service. It is also well known that at times shipments can be slow. If that bugs you the best answer for you and Stu is to take your business elsewhere.

ken

And I do, Ken. I don’t have a personal gripe with anyone, just preferences for how I make purchases.

I simply find it laughable when someone who is out of pocket a good sum of money is told to be patient, and by a person with no skin in the game at that.

This is just my opinion. Unfortunately for you guys, I am entitled to one.

[Warren West]

Only one person on the planet can tell you how much longer it's likely to be. Email Stu.

[Jim Koepke]

Received my order from S

Care to share details of time taken to fulfillment and of what was ordered?

jtk

[Stewie Simpson]

Care to share details of time taken to fulfillment and of what was ordered?

jtk

Apologies Jim for not finishing the post. I was in 2 minds on whether to continue with the post. The order received was Stu's recommended package of Ceramic stones. No problems with the time taken to receive the order. 14 days which is really excellent service.

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/ceramic%20stones/DSC_0268_zpsjxqexgos.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/ceramic%20stones/DSC_0268_zpsjxqexgos.jpg.html)


The problem I encountered was using these new stones on an A2 steel The objective was to work the hollow ground bevel to a single flat bevel. A task that I have completed in the past with relative ease using a Norton Fine Grit Crystolon Oil Stone on the same iron in less than 10 min. The coarsest 1000 grit stone was by far the biggest disappointment. The following photo shows the incomplete flat bevel after spending a ridiculous 1 hr forming.

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/ceramic%20stones/DSC_0269_zpsjgiklavm.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/ceramic%20stones/DSC_0269_zpsjgiklavm.jpg.html)

As you can appreciate, there has been a lot of recommendations put forward on this and other forum sites on the merits of using ceramic stones on harder alloy steels such as A2. By outlining my own contradictory experience so far it may in well and truly awaken a nest of angry bees. No prizes on guessing who the initial responses will come from. (p.s) I don't expect I will encounter any difficulties working more traditional type of steels on these ceramic stones.

Stewie;

[Patrick Chase]

By outlining my own contradictory experience so far it may in well and truly awaken a nest of angry bees. No prizes on guessing who the initial responses will come from. (p.s) I have not had the opportunity to trial these new ceramic stones on W1 and 01 steel.

Here's a random thought: Why not reach out for help from people who have more experience with these things?

Newbies to *any* new tool or process (even ones who are highly accomplished overall) have newbie problems.

[Robbie Buckley]

Hi Stewie,
Being a noob to the world of planes and sharpening, is there any benefit to/reason for sharpening with the cap iron on?
Cheers, Robbie.

[Stewie Simpson]

is there any benefit to/reason for sharpening with the cap iron on?

Robbie; none that I am aware of.

[Tom M King]

I have only sharpened a couple of A2 irons, so make no claim to be an expert on sharpening them, and on the few I have sharpened, I only worked to a sharp edge. I find the 1k stone to be really fast at removing scratches left from the 400 stone. I also use flat bevels, and no micro-bevels, but don't spend any time on stones to get to that flat bevel. If one needs grinding, I grind it a tiny bit sharper angle than the bevel I want to end up with, and the flat gradually takes over in subsequent sharpenings.

For me, an edge only sees a grinder if it's damaged, and otherwise, the stones coarser than 6k don't see much use unless the edge has visited the grinder. 6k is typically my starting point when in the middle of a job. For my use, these are my favorite stones, but I only finish bevels, and backs with them.

[Rhys Hurcombe]

It's a shame when business and personal life mix. Almost 6 months and counting on my order. Will shop elsewhere from now on unfortunately.

[Jim Koepke]

It's a shame when business and personal life mix. Almost 6 months and counting on my order. Will shop elsewhere from now on unfortunately.

Howdy Rhys and welcome to the Creek.

An experience like yours is good reason for anyone to lose your business unless your order was for chisels from a blacksmith with a long lead time.

Has there been any communication with Stu at all?

jtk

[ken hatch]

Howdy Rhys and welcome to the Creek.

An experience like yours is good reason for anyone to lose your business unless your order was for chisels from a blacksmith with a long lead time.

Has there been any communication with Stu at all?

jtk

That was going to be my question....What did you order? Some makers have a year or more backlogs. You pays yer money and forget about it until the tools arrive. If you are in a hurry pay too much for inferior tools from Japan Woodworker/Woodcraft. Either way works.

ken

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Unfortunately for you guys, I am entitled to one.

I disagree Brian.... You should say "FORTUNATELY"... :cool:

Also, just because someone may not share your opinion does not mean that they do not want to hear it. I am on a committee and after one meeting, i approached a member with whom I disagreed and thanked him for providing alternative view points; we arrived at a better solution because of it.

Four months is a long time, and it would annoy me. On the other hand, since it is Stu, I know that he will make good one way or another.

[Vincent Tai]

Any 1000 grit stone would raise an eyebrow at turning a hollow ground bevel in a flat bevel. You can do it, but its like trying to remove a nick with a 4000 grit stone. A weird battle with time. A Norton fine Crystolon is a 45 micron stone while your sigma 1000 is going to be 16-14 microns. To put that in perspective; your Crystolon is somewhere in-between a 220 and 500 grit water stone (Norton or Shapton comes to mind) and around the same as a DMT coarse stone. The Crystolon is three times as coarse as your 1000 grit and much better suited to removing that amount of metal as you experienced yourself. If your 1000 grit water stone removes small nicks, wear from use and raises a burr in a timely fashion its done its job. This didn't have much or anything to do with A2 and more troublesome alloys. Nice looking plane.

Cheers,

Vincent

[Stewie Simpson]

Vincent; appreciate the advise. I have placed an order with Stu for Sigma #400.

Stewie;

[Rowan Page]

Well my order from 22nd January showed up today unannounced ( no tracking email ),but extremely well packed .
As Derek suggested Stu must have a bit of a back-log he's busy working through.

[ken hatch]

Well my order from 22nd January showed up today unannounced ( no tracking email ),but extremely well packed .
As Derek suggested Stu must have a bit of a back-log he's busy working through.

Rowan,

Good to hear,

ken

[ken hatch]

Stu is a treasure but does require understanding of how he works. Some of the things I appreciate in dealing with Stu is the advice he gives, the fact that most of the time he will try to find what you are looking for and most important I always feel the price is fair. In today's Amazon world some folks expect Amazon delivery from everyone they deal with. With Stu that ain't going to happen, put together your order, pay for it and forget about it until you have a pleasant Christmas in July surprise. If you need it quickly or want immediate satisfaction go to someone else and likely spend more money but save the irritation.

ken

[Kevin Neff]

Sounds like you ordered something he had on the shelf.. I ordered a plane with a HSS blade, a rabbet plane, and some other odds and ends. Nothing he would have on the shelf, I suspect. (The HSS-blade is for rough planing, herashi-kanna or maybeara-shiko, if the blade is up to the task.)

I have tried emailing Stu and have not heard back. I'm sure he's filling paid orders before checking email. Still, I took the suggestion and sent another short note. Just want to make sure everything is on the way, eventually. Like when your food hasn't come in a while and you wonder if there was problem and you wonder if the server remembered to key in your order... Yeah, it's not a matter of honesty---just timing.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who posted.

[Sanjeev Agarwal]

I am still waiting for an order placed in Dec. No ETA yet inspite of a couple of emails. My first experience has been pretty poor and unprofessional.

[Matt Lau]

I think Stu's mom died late November, and he was deeply mourning.

Try contacting him again.

[Kevin Neff]

Part of my order was filled, along with a note from Stu. But it's been a year. Now I found out that he's basically shutting down the store. And in his note, he wrote


It has become increasingly obvious that the patience we ask for is often not satisfactory to many customers. (This last point especially is a significant reason for the decision behind this. A particularly impatient person decided to try and cause maximum strife without legitimate cause to do so. It was a time when I was at less than my best and caused me to make a decision I will regret for the rest of my life and irreparably harmed my ability to do ‘this’ in a way that it should be done.)


Does anyone know what's going on? I'm hoping this thread isn't what he's talking about. I thought most people were supporting Stu. I realize that it's a bit ridiculous to assume yourself at the center of everything that happens in the world but I'm completely in the dark on this issue and have no idea what "maximum strife" means. Anyway, if you know anything about this incident, please post. Or if it's too personal, don't post. I don't mean to stir up anything. I'm just trying to figure out what's going on.

http://www.toolsfromjapan.com/store/index.php?main_page=page&id=16&chapter=1&zenid=a37dbeb16f3cd054ec362aeeee8ee692

[Nicholas Lawrence]

We had a thread on this.

It got locked over squabbles between those who think it is okay to be a part-timer and provide less than LV/LN levels of service, and those who think the instant you place an order you own the business. I don’t think anybody really has any more insight.

[Frederick Skelly]

Here's the other thread Nick is referring to Kevin. LINK (https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?270936-Tools-From-Japan-Store-Closing) It's more opinions than new info though.