"Jesse" wrote in message
ink.net...
..As a beginner project i have made a few tool
handles and as far as i am concerned they turned out quite well. My
question is this ,I am looking to purchase some new tools that are better
quality .But i am not sure how to go about choosing from the multitude of
companies out there .

Spend some time sharpening and using the ones you have. Tools, no matter
whose name is on them, won't cut the wood on their own. Too many people out
there think that proficiency lies in the "right" grind and the "right"
alloy. Probably why there are so many different ones in both categories.
Keep your rest up there close to protect yourself from accidents and work
some different angles with your current grinds. The idea of using someone
else's is excellent. If you've got a turner around, do it. With luck s/he
won't have the same brand tool and jig you do, and you might find something
more to your style. Of course, you might find your style is better, and
save the price of the steel finding out!

I'm in the market for a good carbon set right now, because three of the
tools I've been using the last twenty-five years are so short in the tooth
that I hit the toolrest with the ferrule on some cuts. Ashley Isles still
makes some, and in the patterns of the old ones, the cheapest, thinnest,
sharpest most useful tools in my inventory. They do the final cuts.