Thread: Holdfasts - any opinions on Gramercy vs Henry Eckert?

I very much doubt that they are Australian made. Nothing in the blurb says as much. They are also $38 (a pair) more than the Gramercy sold by Terry Gordon:
https://www.hntgordon.com.au/bench-vices.html

I make no comment on the quality of the LN version (but I'm sure they are fine). I have a Gramercy pair which work very well.

Not the LN ones Brett. HE Toolworks are manufacturing cast holdfasts in Sth Aus. They are also starting to cast some basic plane bodies.

https://www.thetoolworks.com.au/prod...kert-holdfast/

Ah, I see. I have to wonder about cast iron being "shatterproof" but I guess there is some kind of warranty (a good idea to ask about it). Similar price to the Gramercy (which are steel wire - extruded, not cast).

Since the OP literally used the word OPINION in the title of the post, that's what I plan to provide below. Last time I shared the following opinion, however, one of the admins deleted it, so I sure hope that doesn't happen again. Freedom to express ones thoughts on a topic in a civil and respectful manner is the foundation of a forum like this one.

I have used the Gramercy and there is a reason it is the gold standard. It is, from a physics standpoint, perfect, and it is extremely well priced. Probably about the cheapest you can buy. Assuming the HE works to perfection, it could still never be much better than the Gramercy, because there simply isn't much room for improvement. With that said...

I have had extremely negative customer service experiences and in person interactions with the same, high ranking person at Henry Eckert. I won't elaborate or use hyperbole, but it simply reached a point where I decided they had all of my money they were going to get. On the other hand, Terry Gordon has been a pleasure to communicate with every single time, including providing considerable communication when a product wasn't working properly. I look forward to my next reason to send him an email.

For that reason, it is my opinion that I, personally, would rather buy the Gramercy in this particular instance.

Australian made is a great thing, however. In this world we have to be very respectful of products which create jobs which provide a livable wage. That's something to seriously consider.

Good luck. I'm sure either will work great.

Cheers,
Luke

Luke, I am of a similar opinion to you concerning the two retailers mentioned. You're not alone brother. We can both be banned together

Cheers gents, looks like it’s the Gramercy for me! I was kind of leaning that way anyway, the formed wire seems like it would be more durable in the long run vs cast ones.

I doubt you'll be disappointed.

I have some tool storage under my bench which makes the prospect of holdfasts a tough one given their downward protrusion. Nonetheless, if I ever decide to get some I'll either get the Gramercy or just make some (which I think is remarkably easy with basic smithing gear, by the way).

Cheers,
Luke

McJings have holdfasts at about $20 each.
Regards
John

I was going to provide some links to previous threads on the subject, but a simple "holdfast" search in fact brings up a whole host of information on this Forum (the search engine doesn't always seem to work that well, but it also may be a failing of us/me when adding tags).

There was also an extensive thread on timber holdfasts made in the workshop. IanW did some extensive research on this, but I can't locate the thread at the moment. The shop made timber versions performed extremely well.

Just for the record (not "Record" , which were the first holdfasts I ever encountered ) I have a pair of Gramercys and about four timber versions for back up.

Regards
Paul

Yes I agree. I have a pair of the Gramercy and have no problem

Regards