Martor knives and tools...

[Steve Helmick]

What could be better than the ubiquitous Exacto #11?

I found out today. I had to do some hand work on some polyurethane parts I'd made (Duro 80, FYI), and my ol' #11 wouldn't do a thing. This is the stuff that skateboard tires are made of. To machine it, I froze it in liquid nitrogen. That's colder than a witches'  , that is. I had to blend two arched surfaces that were 90 degrees apart, with no fillet radius. Hmmmmmm. Needed a really sharp knife.


Thus, the Martor "Boy No. 72". The blades are an almost exact duplicate (won't say 'copy'), except the slot is either shorter or longer, can't recall and don't care. As we fishermen would say, these blades are "Gamakatsu" (Japanese for "damned sharp", they claim). Handles are ok, too. But the blades are Solingen Steel. If you know blades, you know Solingen Steel is the best stuff going. I Googled for "Martor" and got this url for youse guys. http://www.martor.com/cutters_artwork.html   Checkitout. They got some really neat tools, so look around the whole website. But the artwork tools should be most useful.    Steve

[George]

Steve,

Here's another good source. I can vouch for most of their carving blades and gouges:

  http://www.warrencutlery.com/indexb.htm

George

[Steve Helmick]

I brought this over from Bill Little's razor plane thread, to make this thread more useful. I'll add more info for local sources when I get back to work and find out where our tool buyer got them.     Steve


"I did a little more poking around with Google and found a source for Martor products in Wisconsin or that vicinity. There might be a dealer listing on the site, but I haven't found it. I can see where our tool buyer got them, after the holiday. http://www.martorusa.com/site/index.html "

[Bill Little]

Thanks, Steve!

Sharp tools, that will stay sharp and can be sharpened, are what we really need.

Someone once said: "A craftsman is only as good as his tools".

Bill <><