Tamper heaven!!

[pault]

I haven't got my actual hands on them yet - but here are pictures of the custom-made Thor-hammers winging their way from the States - one is African bubinga and the other type is called Amboyna burl - I've had theme done to fit both the Spazio and the Giotto - will let people know what they're like to use.

the guy who makes them is nice to deal with - loves his job, a real craftsman

all the best,

Paul.

[mnemonix]

That's some beautiful furniture you've got there

[phil]

Agreed Paul, Les Albjerg (Mr Thor Tampers) is a really nice bloke.

Great looking products too. Promise I'll get one myself if ever I am allowed to have a Spazio.

[Steve]

Mutter Muttter grumble grumble, spose I better get my finger out and order some soon

[michel]

That leaves me with my Reg Barber... which made me very happy everyday till a few minutes ago! When I saw this pictures my head stood still, my heart bounched/bumped like it did never before... so I have to addmit that this is the most beautifull tamper I've ever seen...

About the name of the tamper: Thor
(Thor is the Norse god of thunder. He is a son of Odin and Jord, and one of the most powerful gods. He is married to Sif, a fertility goddess. His mistress is the giantess Jarnsaxa ("iron cutlass"), and their sons are Magni and Modi and his daughter is Thrud. Thor is helped by Thialfi, his servant and the messenger of the gods.

Thor was usually portrayed as a large, powerful man with a red beard and eyes of lighting. Despite his ferocious appearance, he was very popular as the protector of both gods and humans against the forces of evil. He even surpassed his father Odin in popularity because, contrary to Odin, he did not require human sacrifices. In his temple at Uppsala he was shown standing with Odin at his right side. This temple was replaced by a Christian church in 1080.

The Norse believed that during a thunderstorm, Thor rode through the heavens on his chariot pulled by the goats Tanngrisni ("gap-tooth") and Tanngnost ("tooth grinder"). Lightning flashed whenever he threw his hammer Mjollnir. Thor wears the belt Megingjard which doubles his already considerable strength. His hall is Bilskirnir, which is located in the region Thrudheim ("place of might"). His greatest enemy is Jormungand, the Midgard Serpent. At the day of Ragnarok, Thor will kill this serpent but will die from its poison. His sons will inherit his hammer after his death.

Donar is his Teutonic equivalent, while the Romans see in him their god Jupiter. Thursday is named after him.)


Compliments on this one Pault,

Michel

(oh... one question though as the pictures are not clear enough for me to see: is the bottom made of brass/copper? what material?)

[pault]

thanks for the Norse mythology background.

depending on the colour of the wood he uses the bases are made of either blackwood or lignum vitae which are supposed to be pretty much the hardest there are.

I'm chuffed with how nice looking they are but we'll see how practical they are to use - they have added alloy weight inside - so I'm hopeful they'll do a good job. I should get them in a matter of days so we'll soon find out!!

All the best,

Paul.

[pault]

Hi everyone,

attached are some more photos slightly less professionally done than my American friend's

the bigger ones are the new ones I've just got from Australia at http://all.at/coffeetampers

they're sized for my Spazio 53.6mm baskets and fit really well.

only used them a few times so far - but they really work well.

for the sake of comparison I've included in the photo the 51mm Impod and the 58mm Reg Barber. These Auzzie ones are a lot heavier ...

On my weirdly behaving digital scale The impod is 306g, the Reg Barber 330 and the 2 Oz ones are 414g & 428g (the chessboard wood is heavier)

already I've noticed better pulls which wouldn't be difficult because I was using the ill fitting impod (originally bought for the La Pavoni)

my overall feeling is that if you're after functionality they are quite noticeably better than the Reg Barber the half-ball handle-end is excellent and they are *very* heavy. So, all in all, I'm well pleased with them. Aesthetically - they look nice but I fear their wood will pale next to the Thorhammers - but then I'm not comparing like with like - form vs function etc.

will give you an update when the Thor hammers arrive ...

all the best,

Paul.

[kingseven]

Its all about the convex base. Out of the blue someone gave me a rounded bottom reg barber like the one above as a thank you. New toy for the day!

Is it worrying that such a simple combination of wood and steel can be so pleasing?

[Steve]

they look wonderfull, mutter mutter grumble grumble I really should get and order some as i'm using the one on the lusso grinder at the moment, and I know any one of these would be better than that.

best get my act together !

[pault]

but the interesting thing is only my Reg Barber has the convex base and I personally (along with the tamper makers) think the flat bases are better ...

[pault]

please indulge me but ....

the Thor hammer tampers arrived today - THEY ARE BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!

the photos don't do them justice ...

a) each one has it's own unique appearance - I got 2 different woods in 2 different sizes and although you can tell they're the same wood but they have different grains, whorls etc - stunning.
b) I was slightly worried they'd be too light but the 58mm ones are 394g and 388g - and for comparison the RB 58mm is 330

I just used the 53mm ones and they fit the Spazio basket perfectly - produce a great tamp and fit the hand brilliantly.

cut to the chase ----

the guy's a pleasure to deal with
they take about a week in the post
they're stunning and completely unique


do you get the impression I'm happy with them :drink: :drink: ?????????

[Raf]

Er, this obsession with phallic objects, pault, is it a problem?

[phil]

I'd heard lots of good stuff about Les. Glad you're chuffed.

[phil]

So if you've got heavy ones, you've actually bought the "Thor Hammer" versions then?

Oh and - photos please!

[pault]

the photos are the one's earlier in this thread - Les took them of my particular tampers for me,

yep they're the extra-weighted ones - Thor Hammer, I don't think the others would be heavy enough.

I know I must sound like a stuck record but the form/function balance is always important to me and these objects not only do the job well they look beautiful - the perfect combination from my point of view. The fact that each one is custom-made for you and is unlike any other tamper even one that's from the same block of wood is an added bonus that I find great considering how standardised most of the objects we use normally are ...

cheers,

Paul.