Jim in River Oaks, Ont.
This string of posts have been interesting Charles,

I think you make some points that many of us have thought in the past but experience has taught us all many things about the character and honesty of both Derek and Rob. I have been asked myself in the past to review a prototype for a pen making jig by LV. My private experience with the design suggested it was not functionally robust to flexible for the function I saw. I had clear correspondence with the designer and support. In the end I was never left with anything but respect from the tool designer and my thoughts were appreciated. I know I am not alone in the field in being offered he chance to get real hands on experience with supporting design that makes us all better. I have also offered support in this same fashion to other tool makers, some frequent this sight. You clearly can appreciate that reviews via independent real life users make for better tools and better design. In business it is common practice to not only benchmark your work or process, but also seek out peer reviews, it's basic. Your caritas isms of the tool are not evident to me, but your personal attacks on the credibility of Derek are offensive to me.

Marketing is a complex business, marketing without market review and supporting data is very inefficient use of marketing. As Rob mentioned, the NRE and ROI on his tool would stop many from making it, but LVs marketing process is consistent from tool launch to tool launch, repeated success makes us all better and one other tool designers should consider.

Jim