Artisan Price Decrease

[Art]

Hi Tony,

That puppy is a German Shepherd. I'm pretty sure SGSB (China) bought out Kugelfischer in 2005. The gentleman who stated they are made in the Czech Republic is correct, I am not sure where every part is made, but nonetheless they are still a very good machine and with the 16.5" arm they are comparable to a 441. You pays your money and you takes your pick.

Art

I bought my Adler from Ferdie's son, Ron, when he had Richland Industrial Machines about 10 - 12 years ago. Where would mine have been made?

Tony.

[tonyc1]

Hi Tony,

That puppy is a German Shepherd. I'm pretty sure SGSB (China) bought out Kugelfischer in 2005. The gentleman who stated they are made in the Czech Republic is correct, I am not sure where every part is made, but nonetheless they are still a very good machine and with the 16.5" arm they are comparable to a 441. You pays your money and you takes your pick.

Art

Thanks, Art.

Tony.

[Cobra Steve]

Thank you Art for the help, and for telling it like it is. Your friend, Steve

[skipj]

I remember a "war" between two camera shops in MI years ago. One was open Sundays the other wasn't. The store that was closed on Sundays put up a sign when they were closed offering a popular camera for a unbelievable price which the store which was open couldn't match. Of course, when both stores were open the next day, the great price was unavailable. I guess they were trying to keep their competitor from selling cameras when they weren't open. It would jusr drive me away, but some folks didn't see what was going on.

I wonder if something like this is happening with sewing machines. Or perhaps it was a buy at the show only special.

Does Artisan Dave have the authority to make such an offer? He seems to represent Artisan on the forum.

SkipJ

[BruceGibson]

I don't have a dog in this fight/hippo in this race, whatever. But, I bought my Artisan Toro 4000P from Steve three or four years ago. Since then, when I thought "Artisan," I thought "Steve." In other words, the two were synonymous. I've never regretted the purchase, and anytime I came up with an asinine question to ask, it was Steve who I called for the answer.

I won't badmouth Artisan, but I will continue to refer folks to Steve. Irregardless of who he represents, the value is in the man, not just the product, or who's nameplate's riveted to it. Not only has he helped me out when needed, he's taken extremely good care of every referral I sent. And there have been several. There will be many more.

Integrity's always meant something, but it's so damn uncommon nowadays that when you find it, it glows like neon in Vegas.

Steve's good people. He shoots straight, won't jerk your chain, and he'll be there when, and if, you have a problem. That's good enough for me.

[greg gomersall]

Thank you Art for the help, and for telling it like it is. Your friend, Steve

Steve if you guys are gonna come out with a big splitter we should talk. The old International splitter is a lot better design than the Randall and you might be interested in copying mine. Greg

[Art]

Hi Greg,

The Randall clone is not really ready for prime time. There are no guides for setting thickness, and it takes forever to get the blade back in and aligned. It might be made better by developing a jig to install the blade, and a couple of dial indicators would help the thickness setting issue. I would be interested in the International to see how they did it. Other than that, a good used band splitter even at two or three times the price of the Randall might be a better idea.

Art

Steve if you guys are gonna come out with a big splitter we should talk. The old International splitter is a lot better design than the Randall and you might be interested in copying mine. Greg

[BruceGibson]

Steve I am dying to see a picture of the new machine and maybe a side by side comparision of the Corba, Toro, Bull and the cowboy. Price as well! In this economy if anyone has the gumption to start a business I have much respect!

-Andrew

Here's a little preview if you'd like a look: Cobra Machines from Leather Machines Company

[greg gomersall]

Hi Greg,

The Randall clone is not really ready for prime time. There are no guides for setting thickness, and it takes forever to get the blade back in and aligned. It might be made better by developing a jig to install the blade, and a couple of dial indicators would help the thickness setting issue. I would be interested in the International to see how they did it. Other than that, a good used band splitter even at two or three times the price of the Randall might be a better idea.

Art

Art the international has blades stops built into it so the blade slides ahead to the same spot every time. It takes approx. 2 minutes to remove or install blade and has a feed system one can only dream about. My splitter has a hand crank wheel while the other end has the original belt drive wheel to mechanize and a quick disengage lever on lower front if one needs to diengage quickly when under power. As for a dial for depth indicater it isn't really practical for anything more than casual reference as the firmness of one piece to the next will vary, so you will have slight differences due to this. Greg

[Andy]

Steve,

I have tried emailing from the web site a few times, no responses and some bounce backs. Not very inspiring for a potential customer.

Andy

Hello everyone, my name is Steve and i formerly worked for Artisan. Many of you know me through trade shows, leatherworker.net, word of mouth, or talking to me on the phone. I have always done my best to to help the customer. I have set the industry standards for customer service & tech support. I am well respected in the industry because of this. I have always been honest with you because i respect you and admire your skills. I have been reading some of your posts regarding the price decrease of the Toro Machines. I cannot stay silent anymore regarding this issue. The truth of the matter is credibility and ethics. I know for a fact, (i heard it from a very reliable source)that the real reason that Artisan dropped their price so drastically was for one reason, and one reason only. That reason was to hurt me and my new company, the Leather Machine Co., Inc., where i was introducing my COBRA line of Leather Machinery at the Wickenburg Leather show. Artisan felt that if they lowered their prices so low, that i would not be able to compete, and essentially putting me out of business. This underhanded tactic did not work. People came to my booth and wished me well on many occasions. I also made my share of sales, even though the deck was stacked against me. I welcome competition and i even said why don't we sell the machines at a fair price for both of us, but this fell on deaf ears. Price, as you well know, is not always the contributing factor when purchasing machinery. My features on my new line of COBRA leather stitchers are far better than Artisan's, including presser feet that were approved by very respected saddle makers and holster makers. There are other features that the COBRA machines have(that come standard on the machine)that make this the absolute best buy available. Quality is standard when you deal with me, and service is more important than the sale itself. If you have a problem in 6 months from now, and i am not able to help you, believe me, you will not tell your friend about me, but if i am able to give you the best service and support available, and you are satisfied with me, then you will tell your friend to call me. Many of the people that i sold machines to, recommended another person to call and ask for me. I am deeply grateful to you for doing so. If you would like to talk to me about anything that i have written about, then please call me at 1-866-962-9880 or cell 1-909-800-1429. And if you are not able to get the service that you deserve, you can always call me, i don't care where you bought your machine. Thank you for taking the time to read my post, your friend always, Steve