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I'm not "in" on this discussion, but I have made my own hammers out of
a Schaff rod with a bit of stainless welded to the end, and they are
light and plenty stiff. There's a local tech who uses the Jahn
exclusively and has sung its praises while cursing the 15-degree head.
I caught him one day and showed him the junk I use, so he wanted to try
it. "Wow," said he. "That feels really nice." The guy has a masters in
piano performance, and is the best tech at the biggest store in town.
So, there are working alternatives to the very expensive hammers. I
think I have about $20 dollars in mine, including the $1.95 ball on the
end. I carry two of them, plus one of the "midget" extension things,
and go back and forth, using often all three in a single tuning. When
working a difficult tuning my brain and arms go a bit more nuts than
usual and I need the change which the switch off brings.<br>
les bartlett<br>
<br>
David Andersen wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:36BCEE51-6E85-4461-BDD5-C23A2E96D812@davidandersenpianos.com"
type="cite">Agree 100%, Kent, with everything below. Except I haven't
owned a Fujan, just used one for 6 tunings, and I own one Faulk
titanium, not three.
<div>David Andersen</div>
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<div>On Aug 23, 2008, at 4:39 PM, Kent Swafford wrote:</div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
<blockquote type="cite">
<p style="margin: 0px;"><font
style="font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"
face="Helvetica" size="5">I don't see the problem with discussing
personal preferences. What else is there to discuss?</font></p>
<p
style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 19px;"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><font
style="font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"
face="Helvetica" size="5">For one thing, I don't believe that it has
been objectively established that the stiffest lever = best lever.
There are other factors, after all.</font></p>
<p
style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 19px;"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><font
style="font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"
face="Helvetica" size="5">I have a Fujan, 3 titanium Faulk levers that
I accumulated while trying to find a comfortable handle, and I have a
Charles Faulk carbon fiber lever.</font></p>
<p
style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 19px;"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><font
style="font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"
face="Helvetica" size="5">I use the Faulk carbon fiber lever to the
exclusion of the others. The Faulk carbon fiber is very stiff, has the
most comfortable handle of any lever I have ever used, and costs 2/3 or
so of what a Fujan costs.</font></p>
<p
style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 19px;"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><font
style="font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"
face="Helvetica" size="5">Kent</font></p>
</blockquote>
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