[fandh]

Hello, this is my first post so I thought I would introduce myself + ask something that has kinda made me wonder...

I have been carving for about 30 years.. now I define carving as using a knife to cut a stick.. (for me I could litterally grab a sharp knife and make a pointy stick all day.. *sure beats my current real job * as the years have gone by I have grown up a bit and when I first started carving.. I would use a simpe knife like the Old Timer brand nothing too fancy but held a good edge and it had about 3 different blades to it.. sides I was just make sticks have a nice point to them I also used a bunch of xacto type blades well since they are cheap and at the time did not want to get too much money invested in the more expensive priced carving sets.

Now I am close to 40 and through the years have spent a bunch of money (usually the cheaper harbor freight type carving sets I own no less then 10 different cheapo types of carving sets) and they did the job but really did not make me convinced that any thing was worth spending the money on the more expensive sets.. so I never did, well till about 2 months or so ago. I have a older buddy who has been carving with the same tools as I have + had some flexcut brand tools.. I used them and fell into a buying frenzy.. I have purchase about 3 knives and about 15 or so gouges etc.. I was suprised about the sharpness and the ease of sharpening upkeep on the flexcut brand tools..

Now this is not an advertisement for flexcut or anything.. but I got this Japanese Woodworking mag and there are chisels in there for a set of 5 for $2.5k granted it comes with a nice signed wooden box.. but.. what makes these tools better then the flexcut mallet type kit that sells for 200ish?

I am in no way able to afford the $2.5K but would love to know if someone has used them or can compare them to flexcut stuff. Is it priced soley on them being hand made or is the metal forged some way to make them sharper or retain the edge longer?

I have been lurking for a few weeks and have been reading alot of the posts so I am hoping someone can help me out as well

Thanks

[GILLY]

Welcome. I can't offer any opinions or comparisons because all the tools I use I've made or had them made for me, other than a couple of sets I bought when I was a teenybopper. I too really enjoy sitting by the fire and making a pointy stick.

[Kenny_S]

AH the old keep the fire going trick eh Gilly.

You get wghat yopu pay for. I have not seen carving tools at the Tulsa Harbor feight worth buying. Not to offend anyone but some of Harbor Freight tools are not tools but junk. However, there are "some" japanese carving tools worth the money. Personally, I would rather spend a little/lot more and get quality. My first set was Buck Bros and still use some of them. They need some of Rick's TLC.

[squbrigg]

Perhaps they are a work of art?

I know that hand made tools can be often superior to stamped and machined tools, (store bought stuff), so it would stand to reason that the price reflects that skill and expertise. I'm not saying I would buy a set, well perhaps if I was rich, ( there is no worry there), but I'd love to give them a try, and see how they do cut compared to my own tools!

Look at the difference in just the everyday tools on the market....Flexcut, Two Cherries, Stubai, Warren, Ramilson, Pfeil, Ashley Isles, Henry Taylor, and so on. Fine tools, some expensive , some more reasonable, and then you have the others that aren't brand name! They all cut, some better than others, and a lot depends on sharpening.

I'd love to be able to try them, do they have a web site? Wonder if they would improve my carving?

Bob

[rick-in-seattle]

I assume you are speaking of Takahashi Professional Carving Tools.

The individual Takahashi tools can run $75+, at that price, the cost of a set could easily reach $2500.

If I really felt I needed them, $2500 would not be out of line for a high quality handmade carving set.

Is there a difference between Takahashi and Flexcut?
It would be comparable to the difference between X-acto and Flexcut.

Takahashi tools are hand forged by highly skilled master metalsmiths, Flexcut and X-acto are stamped out by machines.

Until you have used a quality hand-forged tool, you won't understand the difference.


Most tools from Harbor Freight are Cast Steel tools, not forged.

[fandh]

sorry here is a link

http://japanwoodworkeronline.com/041..._SITE/0007.htm

Yeah Harbor freights carving tools are for the ones just starting out.. they can do the job.. but I have not found most of their stuff to be able to maintain an edge for any lenght of time (using various methods of sharpening from the nickle/diamond to scary sharp methods.. the tools get dull quick..

[rick-in-seattle]

Those are woodworking chisels, not to be confused with carving chisels shown here:

http://www.japanwoodworker.com/dept.asp?dept_id=12704

[fandh]

Originally Posted by rick-in-seattle

Those are woodworking chisels, not to be confused with carving chisels shown here:

http://www.japanwoodworker.com/dept.asp?dept_id=12704

ok now ya stumped me.. whats the difference?

[GILLY]

Now after looking at the website I can see why they are so pricy. Those damascus ones with the hardened laminate are nice. It looks like the same skills and tradition are going into these chisels, as you will find in Samauri swords. Pure and simple......awesome quality and craftsmanship.

[wade clark]

The great Samurai swords all have a history on the tang. Remove the handle and you'll see a series of symbols. They tell who made the sword, who their father, also a sword maker was, who trained them, what village they're from, and who trained their teacher. Often 4, 5, 6 or more deep.
The steel in the sword will have been heated and hammered out, then folded and heated, hammered out and folded again 50 or more times. This does incredible things to the metal that I don't begin to understand. It becomes a slicing or cutting edge far beyond any other approach of forging, molding or casting metal for a sword or tool. It also takes incredible time and skill...I think maybe they could turn out one or two swords a year, very few in any case.
When you take a year of a man's life to make a few of the finest tools, they have to be expensive...or the art of making them will just be lost.
Hopefully a set of 5 at $2,500.00 will have those series of symbols, signatures of a great artist in tool steel, and honor those who taught him his art!
My wife, Paula, says we've sold "...maybe 10,000 swords...I don't know!" In the last 11 years of doing Auctions. My guess is lower, but in that time we've sold ONE true Samurai sword out of a large pile of swords! All the others were at best butter knives, peanut butter spreaders and maybe a few better watermelon slicers compared to the one! Several were older swords, most were new. All could spoil a foe's day as a weapon, many were sharp, but they were all seriously inferior to the one.
Wade