Home > Arrows and Arrow Making > Jvd Metal Body Taper Tool

Test up date 12th January 2010, originally this tool was tested on 7th October 2009 as follows:-

Yet another taper tool, like most archers the first taper tool I had was one of the plastic pencil sharpener ones - if you have used one you will know why there are so many others on the market, I have used many, in fact most if not all and every type of taper tool, I make a lot of arrows. If I have less than 2 dozen to make as a custom order this is the tool I reach for.

It comes with two cutters, one for the point and one for the nock, there are also three interchangeable collars which accept 5/16 11/32 and 23/64, so you have just about all the basis covered.

There are several other similar tools on the market, I have owned this one for many years and it has one small but significant advantage over the others - there is an adjuster screw at the end of the point cutter, it acts as a stop to the shaft and means that you can cut a long taper or a short taper and anything in between.

Over the years I have noticed that points do not all come from the same place and they are not always tapered the same internally, whilst we are on the subject they are not always of the same quality, there have been some nasty ones about recently that will rust up if you look at them, anyway the point is that using this screw can give you the option to completely fill the point if it happens to be long inside.

Spare blades are readily available and should be changed regularly other wise a shaft can be badly chewed with a blunt blade.

It's an excellent tool, takes mere seconds to use and the result is always excellent. The photos on the right are the old tool and those below are the new version.

UPDATE 12th January 2010

Decided to order up another of these tools as I discovered that the design had been updated slightly, as can be seen from the following photos there are indeed several changes

 

Firstly the material used is a much nicer looking matt flat Aluminium, having tested some of the other taper tools I was struck by how grubby and used looking my old JVD tools had become and how slick the other models looked, now JVD have joined the good looking taper tool club.

 

The Adjuster has also changed to a single bar with a screw thread, the old tool didn't have an adjuster on the nock end so the addition of one can only be a good thing despite the fact that I never had cause to to wish it had one.

A closer inspection of the adjuster bar however....

 

 

... reveals the absence of a lock nut to keep the adjustment set, something the old tool had and which marked it out from the rest. In use the bar doesn't necessarily want to move in or out, but it can and it is easy to find the screw working it's way one way or another unless a close eye is kept on it whilst working.

 

 

The small Allen bolts which hold the blade have been changed too, they look a little more refined and add to the overall professional look of the tool. The set still comes with the 3 main sizes of arrow shaft. I used the tool to prepare 3 dozen 11/32 shafts and found that the 11/32 collar was very snug, a good thing when the shaft needs to be kept square to the blade whilst sharpening.

Rating
Features & Design
It covers all the bases, most folks own just one taper tool, there is no reason why this one shouldn't be it
Performance
Guaranteed excellent taper, the adjustment screw gives this tool extra usability but the loss of the lock nut irks me.
Value for Money
Certainly !! But I am feeling ruthless today and am docking a half point for the loss of the lock nut
Overall
Excellent bit of kit, worth every penny. It's no problem to find a small nut for the adjuster and once this is done then all other changes to this tool are improvements

 

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Steve Nicholson and Andy Gilfrin, are real archers interested in the best archery suppliers have to offer. In our search for the very best bow, arrows and equipment we have shot, used and worn pretty much everything on offer.

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Essential Details
What : Jvd Metal Body Taper Tool Price : £22

This one has tapered maybe 6000 shafts or more, with only the blade needing to be replaced - what a great tool.

Collars are interchangeable and used on both cutters

With the addition of a few spare blades you will be tapering for England !

Magazine

Magazine We were very pleased to give our support to the James Whale Kidney Foundation shoot which we cover in this months magazine. We were also contacted by Lars Pilø with news on the archery related finds on Jovfonna, and while we couldn't get out there ourselves Lars kindly filled in some background information for us.


A mixed bag this month, me in the South West, Geoff putting the record straight, a chat with Keith Stay and the wisdom comes from South Cox of Stalker bows. 

We take a tour the length and breadth of the British mainland to visit Scotland with Border Bows, Yorkshire with Aidy Hayes, the Wirral with Jason from thelongbowshop.com, down South with the Company of Canterbury Longbowman, and Geoff is in Spain.

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