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Ashley Iles Chisels?
I'd almost agree except our screwdrivers and saw blades have held their own. Just plane irons and chisels. On 27 Oct 2003 18:18:36 GMT, (JMartin957) wrote: Marple's USED to have a heck or a reputation; maybe it was because Stanley had gotten so poor. Two Cherries, the Stork, others are fine German steel and good for a lifetime. American steel either does does not possess enough of something or the Germans work theirs more or something. Your good German steel is -usually- WAY ahead of American steel used in chisels. Wasn't always so, but then some of us 'Muricans started using our chisels for opening paint cans and prying out nails, and complaining to the manufacturers when they broke. Guess what - those manufacturers said "The customer is always right", and changed their specs. Can't hardly blame them, can you? We have made progress though. Those chisels now come with instructions cautioning us against having our thumbs on top of the chisel handle when we hit it with a hammer, in at least eight languages. John Martin Sawblades - not sure whether you're referring to the round ones or the straight ones. Either way, though, they don't normally get the misuse that chisels do. Screwdrivers, in spite of the abuse they get, actually have to be harder than they used to be. Years ago, almost no screws were hardened. Today's sheetmetal and drywall screws are hardened, and are awfully rough on soft screwdrivers. Steel, even good steel, is relatively cheap. We know more about metallurgy, and control of hardening and tempering processes is better than it ever was. Stanley could, if they wanted, make a better chisel today than they ever have. But they have to make ones that they can sell in blister packs in Home Depots to satisfy the majority of buyers, which they do. I'm not happy about it. I'd like to see them making "professional lines" of tools to higher standards. There may even be a market for it - look what Lie-Nielson has done. But I won't hold my breath waiting. Lie-Nielson is an interesting case, and a real parallel to the steel issue. Think about it. Stanley once had the greatest line of specialty planes in the world, but they started dropping the poorer-sellers back in the '40s and '50s. They eventually dumbed down the line to the extent that there was now a real - albeit limited - opportunity for someone else to come in and corner that market. Stanley already had all of the patterns and the manufacturing jigs, fixtures and equipment. They easily could have continued to make limited quantities of those products, but that didn't fit their marketing plan. Off the soapbox now, John Martin |
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