Daegrad Holdfasts

[Blevins]

Anyone tried these holdfasts? I'm thinking of buying a pair on fleabay. They are cheap and even made in Sheffield - for the purposes of reenactment but the website suggests they are faithful copies of historic tools.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/reenactors-be ... 25a4550a58

 

[Phil Pascoe]

It's only 10mm - too light to be very effective, I'd have thought.

 

[AndyT]

Interesting. But note:

- they are listed under "collectables - ethnographic" and not offered as tools, even if the company name has the word 'tools' in it.
- the other makers of holdfasts all make them around 19mm not 10
- they are very cheap.

I reckon they are only meant to look the part, from a distance, not for doing actual woodwork.

Making 'faithfull copies of historic tools' is fraught with difficulty when going this far back. The number of actual tools surviving is tiny so most of the evidence is from pictures, where often the illustrator did not really understand what he was drawing, so simplifications and errors arise.

If you want a good tool to hold wood on your bench, I suggest you look at Workshop Heaven - as recently discussed on here.

 

[Blevins]

Thanks, with that in mind I'll stay clear of them

 

[Alexam]

I also thought it was rather 'thin' and wouldn't take much to bend it. You get what you pay for.

 

[undergroundhunter]

I bought a pair of holdfasts from Workshopheaven 3 weeks ago and I dont really know what I did before I had them. I use them all the time, fantastic bit of kit well worth the money spent.

Matt