Have you ever used a bamboo level? Me neither, but I still stand impressed by Johnson’s hardwood one. Apparently bamboo is better than wood since it stands up better to humidity and dry weather.
There are other great things about bamboo besides its ability to remain stable and true in damp and dry conditions. For one, it’s renewable, or at least more renewable than wood. According to Johnson Level, bamboo also has the tensile strength of steel, resists moisture, and is durable enough to endure everyday jobsite use.
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With all this in mind, it’s no wonder why Johnson is expanding their line of bamboo layout tools to include t-bevels and try squares.
There will be two versions available – t-bevels and try squares with traditional bamboo handles, and those with carbonized bamboo handles. Carbonization treatment creates a richer, more elegant bamboo finish for the true artisan.
The t-bevel features solid brass edging, and the try square has precision stainless steel gauging edges. Both have stainless steel blades and routed handgrips.
Model Numbers:
T-Bevels: 1915-0800 (bamboo) and 1926-1000 (carbonized bamboo)
Try Squares: 1909-0800 (bamboo) and 1940-0800 (carbonized bamboo)
All T-Bevels and Try Squares (via Johnson Level & Tool)
Porphyre
While I’m sure Johnson puts a finish on these pieces, my experience with carbonized wood is that it is more fragile than regular wood. I have used carbonized poplar and ash. It seems the wood becomes weaker with the grain. It’s easier to split or take a corner off. Brittle is the most accurate wood I can think of. Gouging or cutting across the grain was basically normal. Dent resistance is lower. I’ve used carbonized wood in decorative boxes and medium sized laminationed picture frames.
Never heard of carbonized bamboo. But bamboo is pretty tough. Maybe it’ll be fine.
fred
My first sliding bevel was a Stanley #25 – its major issue was a wing nut that got in the way of using the tool in some situations and could not tighten things down enough to prevent a set angle from getting bumped out of its setting. I don’t know how Jonson tightens the setting in place – since the picture doesn’t show it – but if it is a wing nut like the Stanley – then all of the nice wood in the body – just gets cancelled out by a weak design.
Jon
I don’t have a Johnson sliding bevel, but my Empire one tightens with a large knurled disc (think oversized thumbscrew) on one face. From the picture it looks like the carbonized one above has a similar disc, so I’d guess that’s how it tightens up. On my Empire the face of the disc is flush with the handle, so it won’t get in the way.
My question would be if the try squares will actually be square. I went through most of the rack of carpenter squares and try squares the last time I bought them trying to find one of each that was. It’s amazing how bad many of them were.
fred
Thanks for the observation – my “try square” has no wood at all – rather is a Starrett Double Square #13C. When I need something longer I switch to a Starrett 33H-12-4R – sometimes using a protractor head or centering head on this square.