Dan’s debate….

>  a nice-looking vintage froe for a reasonable price, but the blade was a
little too short for my needs.

> I'm debating between offerings from Lee Valley, the Langsner froe from Lie-
Nielson, and the Ray Iles froe from Tools For Woodworking. The Langsner and Iles
froes are almost double the cost of the LV froe. Has anyone had any experience
using the LV froe vs. either the Langsner and/or Iles? Is there that much of a
difference? Am I totally overthinking this?
> 
> -Dan
> 
> -- 
> I'm a simple man. I like pretty dark-haired women and breakfast food.


Of course I have a froe….   I believe it came from Charles Stirling at Bristol
Design.   My beetle has departed though, and I can’t recall it saying goodbye.

I’m rambling round to the big question - you say ‘the blade was too short’  and
I say ‘What, exactly, are you going to be doing with it?  If you are hurdle
making then a short blade is good.  If you are splitting out blanks for chair
legs then what sizes of timber are you starting with?
A similar question can be asked about the handle - they are normally removable,
fitted with a taper eye socket so you can separate blade and handle at the end
of the day, and pop them into your tool bag for the long walk out of the
woodland…..  So a single blade can host a couple of handles - long one where you
need plenty of leverage, short one where you have docile timber and are, say
splitting off thinner sections.

As for difference between blades - again - are you going to beat it within a
shingle of its life, or is it more of a weekend tool that you won’t wear out.
our fascinating discussion about hardness and so forth also has a bearing, in
that you may not need to find and purchase the tool with precisely engineered
alloy and hardness at huge expense.  A cheaper tool may be a good investment for
you to learn the skills and identify your own preferences, then, when the time
comes, you buy the gold plated damascus Japanese A2 hardened blade version and
sell on your learner tool.

But then, that’s just my take on the problem.


OH - I have to ask - dark haired breakfast food?



Richard Wilson
Yorkshireman Galoot. 









-- 
Yorkshireman Galoot
in the most northerly county, farther north even than Yorkshire
IT #300