Blackburn Tools 9 inch Dovetail Kit Review - Thumbs Down.

June 10 2023 I ordered a 9 inch dovetail saw kit from Blackburn Tools. On March 25 2024 it finally arrived. Kit is great, but not worth that kind of wait. Details on how my order went are in the video.
At about 11 minutes in I said "review of the Veritas saw". Nope, it's a review of the Blackburn.

[@briansprague8043]

Just to show all sides, I ordered just a saw plate March 20th and received it March 26. Thanks!

[@NotanExpert-Woodworking]

Hopefully that becomes the norm. It would be great if he can get caught up. He makes a nice product.

[@1pcfred]

@@NotanExpert-Woodworking if you want to get some customer experience drama follow the Bad Axe saga over at Bat Cave Creations. Wow! What happened to him is the stuff of nightmares.

[@andrewkent4913]

Thanks for this. I had an order placed in October last year, so good to hear there is planned resolution by Blackburn.

[@iamwhoiam4410]

I ordered my 4th Lie Nielson saw on a Thursday and got it on the following Monday. He may have a good product but with his customer service, forget it. I have the Veritas dovetail saw also and the handle is my favorite out of all the saws I own. Thanks for the review. I'll pass it on to a friend that bought one from him and is still wondering where his saw is.

[@jimcarter4929]

I think I responded to your post on Reddit when you showed parts finally arrived.. I have one lousy twelve inch plate on order for a year now, with no feed back from Blackburn of any kind. In my previous dealing with them they have always been somewhat slow but this is absurd. Like you said he most likely works in batches for efficiency so a plate should be pretty straight forward to fulfill. I bought the ten inch dovetail template from him three years ago and made cherry handle that turned out great. I prefer folded backs and used that on my saw. The plate on back order is to replace a worn down Atkins saw. With those hams for hands you may want to consider extra large handle. The hardest part of making saw is slot so go slow on that part. And drilling plate can be tough too. Good luck on your saw. I feel letting others know about how suppliers treat customers is a noble thing to do.

[@NotanExpert-Woodworking]

Thanks for the reply Jim. I wonder if he's having trouble keeping track of orders. I only got a response when I included the paypal receipt.

[@marcbarash6045]

Your points are all valid and valuable. Keep with it.

[@NotanExpert-Woodworking]

Thanks Marc.

[@roxanes43]

Good review about the saw and transparency about the seller. No experience to share about them. Nice to see your face and shirt logo.

[@NotanExpert-Woodworking]

Thanks Roxane. The shirt is a barber's smock. Imaging going for a haircut and seeing that.

[@1pcfred]

It's clearly a small operation that's overwhelmed. But at the same time his prices are low because he's keeping his overhead down. It's easy to say business is booming so expand. But that's huge risk. Long waits from individual craftsmen is pretty par for the course. There's only so much a guy can do in a day.

[@TwinPhoenix666]

Thank you for the absolute honesty and transparency. Even with this being a negative review, I feel as though you still approached this in a very respectful manner; that, in and of itself, speaks multitudes towards your character and why I trust your reviews.

[@NotanExpert-Woodworking]

Thank you.

[@JamesSmith-su3oz]

Before the pandemic hit and hand tool wood working was not popular Blackburn tool was about the only place to get parts to fix or make a saw. You are not the only one dealing with this. Just saying.