david weaver
The burn in technique is something that I don't see a lot of outside of instruments (I used to see it working in a cabinet factory to fix issues with new cabinets).

I wish I'd have gotten a burn in knife sooner, and for folks with old shellac flakes lying around, they work fine with a burn in knife, so don't throw them away for fear that they won't dissolve.

If spending on the commercial knives is undesirable, heating a piece of steel and using shellac flakes will achieve the same result as the commercial irons and the more handy sticks.