Quick note that Christopher Schwarz is now building his Second Roman Workbench which can be found on the Lost Art Press Blog. Here's the link for your convenience. He's just getting underway with the build now, but it's already shaping up to be quite the bench. We're also anxious to see how the Wagon vise fueled by a Lake Erie Toolworks wooden screw & nut will turn out as well. Enjoy!
I recently purchased the MagnaCut marking knife from Erie Lake Toolworks. The marking knife is a beautiful tool that I’m sure will last for generations to come. I haven’t used the marking knife on a project yet but gave it a test run and love the feel and quality of the tool. After placing my order I contacted Nick with a question about my order and couldn’t believe how quickly he responded.
Kit arrived well packaged. Pieces were wrapped in heavy-duty air cushion film. Wood is clean, straight-grained. Grooves and threads are machined with great precision, smooth surfaces, no torn fibers. Using it with a shop-made brass garter. Clamps securely with moderate torque (18" handle, white oak jaws). Also put some paraffin on the threads to get absolutely smooth action.
An absolute joy to use!
I originally bought one for my Lie-Nielsen #51 shooting plane. Besides taking and holding an extremely sharp edge, the MagnaCut chips significantly less than the factory A2 blade. The MagnaCut edge lasts at least 3 times longer than the A2 in the hard and abrasive woods that I use. I liked the first one so much I went back and bought several more. I use a diamond plate for restoring a chipped edge and Shapton GlassStones for honing and polishing. The Shaptons are slower, but they do work.