Some more than others but yeah it is. The Peruvian walnut board I got cost a little over $60 and I’ll probably get 12 cores out of it so that one not as much with a $5 dollar core. But then I got a bunch of spruce from tearing apart a piano so that was free. I gotta pay for veneers but those aren’t all that bad. I enjoy making things that aren’t available so those ones don’t really compare like the walnut core, sugar pine, I’m not sure if there’s any other Honduran mahogany core blades out there but it’s safe to say there’s very few. Handmade to me just feels better, I would take a blade by myself, Charlie, or @hipnotic any day over a commercial blade. (Other than mine and Charlie’s, SDC is the only other handmade blade I’ve gotten to see in person)
What are the concrete aspects of a handmade blade that are better than commercial ones? Is it more suited to your hand shape? Exact balance you want? Just better manufacturing tolerances?
Those are all good examples. I’m working with a guy right now who likes anatomic grips but hasn’t found one that fits his bigger hands. I can make my anatomic whatever size the customer wants. Balance, weight, speed, head shape/web size, handle length, the angle of the ledge on your grip and depth, or maybe you want a completely custom grip with scoops or different ledges on each side, these are all customizable options that a blade maker can do for you. But that’s not to say there could be a factory blade that fits just right and has all the boxes checked. But that’s where tolerances and consistency come in especially when a player wants two matching blades. We can weigh every ply as we’re glueing up a blade, I even weigh my glue sometimes. Cutting veneers or cores from the same leaf or lumber is something that can’t be guaranteed by big brands. There’s plenty of reasons to try a custom blade but you know what they say, different strokes for different folks!
What about the core and cross plies? I make sure to slice those from the same lumber too if I’m making a matching set. But yeah I think mine last time I did it were super close like .2g apart but never say never! I don’t think I’ve seen any of your blades do you post them on here? If you do tag me or something I’d like to see!
