Acoustic Guitar Construction

If it's a good tool it's worth the money.although I've heard a lot of good things about these rasps and will probably be buying a set from him when the time comes. http://www.liogier-france.fr/?lang=en/ I can't say I blame SM for their response. They are a specialty supplier. We can find better deals, sure. It's the convenience that we pay for. Giving up their source would be kind of silly from a business stand point.

SM answer was perfectly acceptable and exactly what I expected. However, if the manufacturer (I did not ask for the source) were somebody note worthy rest assured that would have been mentioned. I guess I am just messing a little -- how many would be sold if the first thing in the ad was that it came from Asia. I am not a tool snob so I buy what works well and lasts a long time. I am going to purchase one of the Excel rasps and compare it to a SM Dragon, just for kicks.

I have 2 of the dragon rasps and I love them. While I would like to pay less I would want the same quality. That would be a good test Ken.

Don't know what they cost in the US, but a similar rasp from Auriou cost here 110 euro (about 140 dollar) ex shipping. Thats a lot.

During the after-Christmas sales, with the deep discounts, a representative of one of the big-box stores was being interviewed and stated that at a 70% discount sale, the store was just about breaking even.

I was thinking: if the store's regular price is $100, then at 70% off, the sale price would be $30. Which means the store bought the item for around that price. Which means their markup, to $100, is over 300%.

If there is a way to cut out that retailer and go to the source, that would be great.

Well the rasp I received is definitely not the same as the SM Dragon -- much more narrow and thinner. However, for about six bucks I am amazed how sharp the Amazon version is -- cuts like crazy, appears to be made of SS, same tooth pattern as the Dragon. I went back to get a couple more -- out of stock with no re-stock date. Snooze you loose.

Dave Bagwill wrote:During the after-Christmas sales, with the deep discounts, a representative of one of the big-box stores was being interviewed and stated that at a 70% discount sale, the store was just about breaking even.

I was thinking: if the store's regular price is $100, then at 70% off, the sale price would be $30. Which means the store bought the item for around that price. Which means their markup, to $100, is over 300%.

If there is a way to cut out that retailer and go to the source, that would be great.

A lot of the big box stores are going right to China (or an emerging market) to have things built to spec. Basically the volume of the stores is so large the items are made directly for the chains. They basically become their own wholesaler in affect buying straight from the manufacture.