Review on Fowler Bevel Edge Square 52 426 006 by Bob Kandravi

I thought I'd get big bucks on an American made square. I was wrong - this is a solid Chinese square I received. It comes in a very crappy wooden box that looks like a treble. The square was coated in medium-thick machine oil, but luckily it wasn't some smelly, sticky cheap stuff. It smelled and felt like thicker 3-in-1 machine oil. Came off easily. The square doesn't have the nice finish of the 1950's Starrett or Brown & Sharpe, but it doesn't have any burrs or wire edges. There are even traces of grinding on the surface and, apart from the inner recess, there are no traces of processing. The beveled edge feels straight compared to my class B surface board. I hope the Fowler name means they control the quality of what they sell under their name. Since similar unnamed Chinese squares cost between 20-30 and I paid 40 I think it was worth it. I wouldn't pay much more, especially given the really poor quality of the case. Blade 16 cm or 6-5/16 in. Beam/bearing 10 cm or 4 inches. Its thickness is 1/4 inch.