Value

Value hacksaw

Value (n): An amount, as of goods, services, or money, considered to be a fair and suitable equivalent for something else; a fair price or return.

Compare and contrast the above definition with the picture of the current state of a 'Value hacksaw', which I purchased today. I went in search of a tool to work on my unicycle, adding a brake to the frame. This needed to cut through a tube of stainless steel. A standard and simple task.

I went to a good hardware shop in the Guildhall Market in Bath. It smells industrious in there. The smell of grandparents and small useful things at reasonable prices. The smell of the kind of place where you can expect to find the kind of things which the world seems full of, but which all too often are difficult to find in highstreet shops.

The owner is a lady who seems to be firmly installed permanently behind the counter. She, who without the briefest pause, can point to the location of any given item in the kaleidoscopic range of her stock to an accuracy of within two inches. Inches, of course, not centimeters.

"Kettle descalers?"
"There."

"Salt shakers?"
"Over there"

"20 Watt screw-fit lightbulbs?"
"Just down there"

I didn't have to ask where the hacksaws were. In a shop which contains a close approximation to everything, even a quick browse around will reveal to you the item of your desiring. I found the hook upon which hung a small collection of Junior Hacksaws. This is what I had come looking for, and I was satisfied to purchase one.
Then my eye strayed.
Barely four inches to the left was a yellow device, seductive in its apparently solid dependability. At 75% more expensive, it required some consideration of its merit, and a visit over the road to the cash machine. A full size blade, a recognised brand, a double action yellow handle. I was helpless to its charms.

Not cheap, but 'Value'. Hmm...

Within ten seconds of using it my dreams, and the first part of the blade, shattered. Over the course of the next hour or so, I continued my slow task, the blade getting progressively shorter. Eventually I reverted to using the 6cm mini hacksaw blade on my penknife, originally seeming so paltry, now magnificently effective.

The problem is fundamental in the design - hacksaw blades are intended to be tensioned from both ends. A one ended hacksaw is like an ocean wave approaching the shore. It seems impressive, looks beautiful and draws you in, but when it comes to the crunch it is doomed to break.

Value doesn't seem to always mean that you get what you pay for.
Next time it shall be the Junior Hacksaw.