Re: Packard tools
Lyn J. Mangiameli
>Two issues here:
First, with respect to Packard, this is run by some of the nicest and most reputable people in woodturning. Packard and Lee Valley are consistently the most customer friendly companies in woodworking, based on both my experience and the reports of hundreds. Just the way everyone in this thread makes a point of speaking highly of them is illustrative.
Second, with respect to the tools, here's how I see what has happened. Almost all tools (maybe all) sold under the Packard name are manufactured by Hamlet. It is not because Brad has some ego problem that he wants a set of tools named after him, but comes about because of business practices that involve "exclusives."
As you likely know, sometimes, a retailer can obtain exclusive rights to sales of a product within a particular geographical territory (in this case the US). It is a way to reward and protect the dealer in exchange for the dealer's (often expensive) efforts to establish the brand in a new market. In the case of Hamlet, the exlusive was more limited, in that they only offered an exlusive on their tradename, thus this left the door opened for others to sell their tools, but it had to be under another name. Thus the Packard line of tools. Same tools, but initially without imprimatur of the Hamlet name (and also less benefitting from the Hamlet house advertising). The name issue has broken down over time, as exlusives often will, so thus the association between Hamlet and Packard are becoming more and more overt.
As for quality of the tools, I have a few and I find the comparable to most of the other English companies. Yes the ASP steels offer modestly greater edge life than traditional HSS, but I don't find it dramatically more (and nothing like the Glaser V-15). I see the ASP steels to be pretty comparable in edge life to what you can also get from Crown in the CPM steels, or even Henry Taylor in their M4 line (hard to find, but Cutting Edge Tools usually carry some) or the steel Oneway uses (the alloys may differ, but the life is all much the same). I have some quibbles with the geometries, particularly flute geometries, of some of the Hamlet tools, but I suppose some others might prefer them.
So, in the end, a Packard tool will give you a quality tool from an outstanding retailer, but I personally find the attention that has been paid to Hamlet tools to have resulted more from extensive marketing than any true superiority to other comparable alloys from other manufacturers.
