Just wondering why the synthetic hones cost so much more in Europe?
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Just wondering why the synthetic hones cost so much more in Europe?
Because the hones pases throu one or two more persones, after the japanese dealers , that whant to profit even more ,than the japanese dealer and the manifacturer . And so as aways , merchants greed , push the prises up in the skys .
I houp this answer is satisfying , as it is the thrueth.
Then how come they are significantly cheaper in the US? Your answer was what I always thought.
Are you talking about with the VAT ? The value added tax would certainly be a consideration. Without VAT I don't know.
Is Vat different in the US?
I would also check out what kind of duties/Tariffs are payable on imports from outside the EU. It might be that from Japan the importer has to pay a pretty penny depending on what sort of trade agreement the EU has with Japan. Death by a thousand cuts.Quote:
Originally Posted by dmnc
Bob
Thought it might be something like that. Would also explain why so much stuff from the US gets stopped in customs.
We don't have VAT in the US. We also don't have 'free' health care, and other social services European nations provide. Who is better off depends on your point of view I suppose. In the particular state I live in sales tax is 6.5 % on the dollar. If I buy from the Internet, out of my state, no tax.Quote:
Originally Posted by dmnc
And your point of view depends on your age, health, and bank account!
It's dependant on the importers and taxing but the UK isn't a hard place to find well priced rocks. We generally pay an equivalent price provided you use the right shops.
Naniwa
Kitchen knives, pocket knives, torches & binoculars| knivesandtools
These guys are normally within a few £'s of SRD. The 1K choosera is about £10 cheaper, and the rest are slightly more.
From them 1pro, 5, 8, 12 = £222
SRD 1pro, 5, 8, 12 = £203
Shapton glass.
https://www.classichandtools.com/aca...on_Stones.html
Very similar pricing to SRD.
1, 4, 8, 16 = £280
SRD 1, 4, 8, 16 = £284
Nortons always seem to be double price, but I suspect that is because there a USA company and the stones are expensive to import because of that.
King stones can also be picked up pretty cheap if you look at the woodworking sites.
Add the customs and VAT duty to the SRD prices to import and suddenly £20 more is reasonable.
Cheers guys. Was looking at the king 8k a while ago to go between chosera 1k and 3k bought from the knives and tools site and my slow coticules(still not great with my fast narrow one). But the reviews didn't seem that great. Spent too much over Christmas and need to save up a bit for 8k and maybe 12k ss I think. Koraat blade just ordered is where last of my spare money went for now. Could probably afford the thin ss stones but if I'm going for those quality ones would want the 20mm thick I think. May have to look into the King 8k gold stone 18 cm long 6cm wide and 19 mm high in the short term as a cheap try, never know I may really like it.
If you already have a 1K and 3K then adding the 8 and 12 will work fine.
My own progression is 1, 5, 8, 12. But I can't see anything wrong with 1, 3, 8, 12.
Don't worry about the SS been thin. Especially at higher grits, You don't remove a lot of metal at higher grits it's just polishing. And because of that you don't wear them out fast at all.
The 8K is more than enough to shave from. So if you are tight on budget pick that stone up. It will leave the edge crisp and well polished, and after a few laps on Chrome oxide the shave will be perfectly acceptable. Then finish on a coticule. The other thing you could pick up is one of the other naturals and use it from the 8K edge. Personally I would not feel limited if my highest stone was the 8K. I also don't use a slurry on my 8 or 12K stones, they don't need it, and not building a slurry and removing swarf with a scratch pad seems to work pretty well. I lap them probably every 4-5 razors. And it's just a very light grid lap to make sure everything is still nice.
The king on the other hand I have never used. I have a 1/6 king and the 6K side is no where near the 5K SS polish. The scratches are much deeper and the edge is only just beginning to polish. In SS comparison it's probably similar the the 3K. If that is true for the range then the 8K could only be as good as a 5K SS. Don't quote me for correctness on that as the 6K I have may well use a different manufacture, binder, or abrasive to the 8K.
VAT is an EU Tax and it is made against the American Ecomonomical export , mainly . As the US stocks or goods are at a good prise and they are at a nice qualiy , Japanese also , Chinise also has a good ratio of quality prise , so the ЕU leaders get money and make the import of not US goods in EU more conplicated In this way the EU manifacturers are at a better position , at the prise stage , than the import goods
Business lobby and protect of interest and there are other taxes for the so called not tax free goods - Tobacco , Liquer and cosmetics , medicines and so and so
Taxex that assure that the people buy only from the official importers at big prises
As a matter of hones better buy from Japan directly or from SRD shop as theyre prises for Synthetycs are veeery good
The Dieter Schmidt site has what they're calling Naniwa Sharpening Stones. Are they the same as super/specialty stones? Colours seem to match, white 12k and yellow 8k.
My Naniwa Super Stones are 12K white, 8K yellow and 3K brown if that helps any. You could also query them direct too.Quote:
Originally Posted by dmnc
Bob
Will be month at least before looking at buying, don't like querying from sellers when not looking to buy immediately (tends to tempt me into premature purchasing). Thought someone may have seen them both being sold somewhere if they were different. If the same then that site has the 2cm thick ones for the price I've been seeing the 1cm ones elsewhere. Was making me doubt that they're the same as the thicker ones seem to cost significantly more most places.
When I first bought Naniwas several years ago they were the thin ones which came with bases attached. The colour coding for grits was the same as for the thick ones I bought last year. The site I bought the 2cm thick ones has the 8K for $88.95 CAD and the 12K for $126.95 CAD currently.
Bob
VAT is not against importers from outside. VAT is on all goods bought in the EU. It does not matter who made it. It is sales tax without cascade effect. By the way VAT is also in Japan. In many countries, VAT is one of the most important state revenues.Quote:
Originally Posted by RusenBG
It pays to buy at Fine tools than direct import in most cases. VAT and transport from Japan will get a similar price.
If you are inside the EU and buying from inside the EU you pay the country of sale's VAT%. (buying from germany you pay the german VAT% wherever you are in the EU) if ordering to an outside EU country from the EU they simply decuct the local VAT % and then you pay your countries VAT % when it goes into your own country. In germany they have like 19% VAT and in scandinavia its 25% so buying from germany to for example sweden is saving you money if the shipping cost is low or if you are buying lots of stuff at a single purchase. UK also has low VAT. Also the more peiople living in a country or language region the cheaper it becomes since now there is competition. In sweden for example there lives about 10mil people, in germany/austria/switzerland "the german region" its like 100mil. so the prices go down.