Henry Taylor carving tools

[Dennis Glazener]

I think I should relate the experience I just had regarding a Henry Taylor V parting tool given to me last Christmas by my daughter. The tool was cupped on one side, much like a chip that had been ground out. My daughter bought it at Woodcraft in Raleigh NC so I took the tool to Woodcraft to have it sharpened (along with several more) I had not used the V tool other than to see if it cut right (it didn't) Woodcraft told me that they sharpened it 5 times and due to pitting inside the vee it would not sharpen properly. I asked about replacement and they said they no longer handled Henry Taylor tools. I just figured I got screwed and forgot about it until I was looking online at the Woodcraft website and saw a Henry Taylor #41 parting tool on sale. So I called them about replacing my defective tool. After much discussion and the representative making a couple of calls they said no, Henry Taylor had no guarantee.

It aggravated me  so I found the Henry Taylor website, related what had happened and this morning I got a nice email from Barry Surplice Managing Director of Henry Taylor, in it he says they quite supplying Woodcraft tools 3 years ago. Evidently they did not have a good experience with them. This is a quote from him:  "We do not publish a "guarantee". However, we are more than happy to replace any of our products that have either a material or production defect. We have been in existence for 174 years this year and have always acted honourably and professionally."

What more could you ask for? Certainly a company I will continue to do business with. (I might add I have 5 or 6 other Henry Taylor tools and I have found them on the level with much higher priced tools.

Dennis

[keweenaw]

My experience with Woodcraft is that one must be persistent to get them to replace a tool.  I had a Pfeil chisel that was overly hard and would repeated chip off at the front.  The chisel is guaranteed but the guy at Woodcraft said that since it was more than a year old it wasn't their problem.  When I pointed out that I bought lots of Pfeil chisels from them but would be just as happy to buy them from a firm in Canada in the future, they decided that maybe it was guaranteed and replaced it.

Tom

[Dphariss]

I bought some Henry Taylor  gouges on closeout sale from Woodcraft and do not regret it. They are a quality tool.
The problem with Pfeil, as I understand it, is that Woodcraft is the sole American distributor and they raise $#*! with Canadian firms if they ship Pfeil to American customers. So Woodcraft has a monopoly in America on Pfeil.  Pfeil needs to branch out.
I have a couple of Pfeils I really like but if properly sharpened even my old low end "General" chisel from the 60s(??) works well.
I now make my own flats from tool steel, old files etc. as I need them.

Dan

[Stophel]

I have a few Taylor gouges, and I love them.  I also got a V tool, and it was ground too thin on one side, and just wouldn't do right.  I didn't bother with it, and just threw it away.

[Bioprof]

I have a Henry Taylor #41 V-parting tool and it is just about worthless.  The metal is so soft that it bent and it won't cut anything.  I've had good luck with their gouges though.

[Acer Saccharum]

The old V tool is often a problem.
The inside of the vee is the most critical part, since it's very hard to make right if it's not formed properly. Uneven legs, varying thickness etc can be dealt with by grinding the outside. But that inside vee is tough to alter.

[Dennis Glazener]

I had not noticed the inside of the vee until Woodcraft tried to sharpen it and told me the problem was the pitting. When you look close the entire length of the vee (front to back toward the handle) it looks like it was deeply pitted with rust then chrome plated! Not sure how it would have gotten that way since I assume the brightness is from being polished rather than any type plating.

What happens is when the vee is sharpened the pitted areas cause "scallops" in on the cutting edges. If I had looked closer I would have seen it before sending it to them to be sharpened.
Dennis

[Dphariss]

I had not noticed the inside of the vee until Woodcraft tried to sharpen it and told me the problem was the pitting. When you look close the entire length of the vee (front to back toward the handle) it looks like it was deeply pitted with rust then chrome plated! Not sure how it would have gotten that way since I assume the brightness is from being polished rather than any type plating.

What happens is when the vee is sharpened the pitted areas cause "scallops" in on the cutting edges. If I had looked closer I would have seen it before sending it to them to be sharpened.
Dennis

Probably from scale or ? while forging the V. ?

Dan

[Acer Saccharum]

some tools are forged, and some are milled. Either way, the inside faces of the vee have to be smooth, or the tool is junk.

I have thought of cleaning up the inside of the veee, but it could be a time consuming process. If you had a brass or hardwood lap, you could work out minor rougness, but this won't take out major pits. maybe a shaped Cratex wheel would do the trick, bu the wheel would cost more than a new parting tool.

On an old high carbon tool, you could anneal it, and file and stone the inside smooth again.

This is one way to eat up a day.

Acer