Does anybody remember the thread of a year or so ago when Adam Cherubini was contemplating making a line of saws with plastic handles, and people were all over him at the suggestion? I know I was quite critical. Has anyone seen the new line of saws by Rob Cosman? They are not cheap…I think they’re c. $275. And they have some kind of epoxy resin handles!
I did think it was kind of ironic that saws with plastic handles come in a handcrafted walnut presentation case. I find it even more ironic that I was criticizing Adam for the idea, and somehow just assume Rob must be on to something. Maybe it’s his affiliation with Lie-Nielsen that means he must be right : )
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I don't think he still has an affiliation with LN -- he's no longer their Canadian agent. I don't own his saw, but had a look at it at the Woodstock Wood show. Cosman wasn't there -- his understrapper was, with a kid helping. The saw has a thin kerf, and is relatively shallow, with graduated smaller teeth at the tip for a better start. The plastic (?) handle makes it noticeably heavier than the LN and Wenzloff saws that were provided for comparison. It might be a good saw, but I was entirely put off by his salesman, who airily advised me that the Wenzloff was a piece of sh*t, before I got around to telling him that I owned one. He proceeded to "prove" his point by making a comically inept cut with the W. and a nice straight one with the C. I moved along.
Jim
That's funny. I don't know whether it's a good saw or not. I just thought it funny how Adam was really taking some pipe on here, and Cosman comes out with a plastic-handled saw for $275.
I was being facecious about the LN affiliation. But I am sure he'd like to know what a tool the salesman was.
Something about Rob Cosman always reminded me of a guy who saw nothing wrong with ****ting close to where he eats.
Mr Kbear,
That is twice this week you have made me do splutter-mirth in my coffee cup!
However, we must not let our disdain for man-crush allow us the luxury of disparaging fellows we have only seen in a video. Mr Cosman may eat babies for breakfast or save them from such a fate but we will never know. His personality is still a mystery (I hope) depite the manufactured one being portrayed as part of the script in them larnin' vids.
Anyway, you are obviously familiar with his lessons. Perhaps you too had a man-crush on him but felt guilty so swung entirely about in your attitude? Dr Lataxe understands; and now that we have revealed the antics of your id (or whatever it's called) you will be all-better and feel no need to lash out at these celebrity fellows.
Lataxe, who has nivver seen a Cosman video.
I've never seen one of his videos. My take on him is from personal interaction.
Pass the soap, please.
If I had been there I would have taken that piece of chit off his hands for free. A turd in the tool box is worth two in the store.Some folks just can't be helped. All you can do is move on.F.
Those non-traditional handles seem to be infiltrating more and more handtools. Veritas now has 3 saws with wood attached to some space-age confection; Blue Spruce has wood infused with acrylic for mallets and bench chisels. I suppose it's not that different from the switch from wood to metal planes. I bought a cheap plastic Irwin pull saw on sale from LV a couple of years ago and now it's the only one I use for crosscutting rough boards. It's fast, it's comfortable, it cuts straight, and I've never had to sharpen it. Who'd a thunk it?
Jim
Jim,
Just bought two of those LV space-age confections. On just a few uses I like them a lot. They've bubinga handles though and are very well balanced.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Joe,
Rob Cosman came to Springfield, VA, about a year ago, to teach some courses at the Woodcraft store I work at. He had an early version of his saw with him. He took the opportunity to tell everyone about it. It would be longer than the LN, it would have a progressive pitch, and it would have a Corian handle. Yup, just like the stuff around my sink. The added weight of the Corian would make the cutting easier, and you wouldn't have to press on the saw at all.
We just received some of the Cosman saws at the store in the last two weeks. We sold one the other day to a guy who took one of Rob's classes.
Some people like Rob, others dislike him. He fascinates me. The guy has ten kids, and says he has to work hard because he has twelve mouths to feed. He is a tireless worker, and an absolutely fabulous pitchman and entrepreneur.
The reason I sat in on his classes for a day and a half last year, was not to learn M&T, dovetailing and sharpening, but rather to learn everything I could about his "schtick" -- about what makes him tick, about what his approach to the woodworking community really is.
I was not disappointed. The man is bright, knowledgeable, hard working, creative and inventive. He loves to tell stories and he let us in on the secret of what makes him tick. Here is how he did it. He asked the group, "How many of you remember the two Canadian guys who had a TV show about using routers?" Almost everyone did. He asked "Does anyone know what happened to them?" No one did, except for Rob.
Rob said: "they ran out of fresh material. They got stale. They kept going over the same stuff in the same way."
As I watched Rob give the same class twice. I saw that it was highly prepared and highly scripted, and a bit different than his DVDs. I began to see what he was doing. He was "keeping everything fresh". He continually changes things. One could say he is making improvements, but that is irrelevant. He keeps making changes.
Thus the saw. The world is awash in dovetail saws, and he came up with another one. He is keeping things "fresh". I have long believed that you can cut dovetails with a bowsaw ( Remember Tage?), or a gents saw (Ray Pine), or a chainsaw (I have done that). Certainly if you cant cut nice dovetails with a LN, an Adria or a nice dozuki, you are not worth your salt. So do we need yet another dovetail saw, with a Corian handle?
Yes, Rob does, if he is going to keep things "fresh".
My prediction on Rob is that he will be doing his thing successfully decades from now -- a longer run than Norm's. And the ideas and tools will continue to change -- "to be made fresh".
Does the new saw cut any better than the Adria or the LN or a dozuki?
I believe that is an irrelevant question. It has nothing to do with keeping things "fresh". Remember Ron Popeil! "It slices. It dices. It cuts tomatoes so thin that they only have one side."
The woodworking world needs folks like Mr. Holtey, who makes planes for over $10,000 apiece because there are older, affluent woodworkers who want to have "the best". The world needs folks like Rob Cosman.
Lataxe has it right. There is a lot of hero worship in this world. Some people complain about that. Others, like Rob, use it to full effect.
Have fun.
Mel
PS try cutting dovetails with a chainsaw. It's fun.
Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
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