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Ok so doing a bit of digging I know that this gent has passed on. Just curious if anyone uses these or perhaps may know someone who has used them. I would like to buy some but not finding any being sold in my search.
I guess that the next way to go would be Niemi. From reading though it seems that the Rorscharch may be just a bit better.
Those are the big names in swage dies right there. Set of those dies cost up wards of a grand or two. EDM cut from carbide and dimond laped. Top of the line I'm sure. Many benchrest shooters have won severial titles shooting bullets made from those dies.
These guys have used dies from those you seek.
http://www.saubier.com/forum/index.php
BT
Ok, so not much of a response here. No one here even uses them? That I find hard to believe.
BT! What would the big difference between the aforementioned dies and yours? I understand material that they are made out of. I assume though that there is not a difference between your ogive and there's! Is there something that I am missing?
The guys that use those dies are to busy making bullets trying to fill orders to be posting results on any forums, you'll soon figure out that the bigger of the smaller guys making bullets are keeping their recipes top secret, their bullets are winning matches and the voodoo that went into making them is what your paying for, the dies are only part of the equasion.
Carbide dies will not wear and will make a lifetime supply of top notch bullets, steel dies need to wear in a little to make good bullets, then they wear to much and there usefullness is over, but before you read to much into that do note that we are talking about the accuraccy going from 0.1 inch groups to 0.3 inch groups, steel dies are not known for building bullets capable of such a feat, and if and when they are the life span of them is short, 250 000 bullets out of steel dies well maintained is the norm, some a few more some a few less.
Is you rifle capable of driving 0.1 inch groups or 0.5 inch groups, if you paid the money to shoot in the 1's then your the type willing to buy the dies to make the bullets that can do it, If your rifle is a MOA rifle, then steel dies are your best bet.
VIbullets,
What you said about die wear is absolutely true. However, I know there are a few guys making and selling top notch bench rest bullets on Blackmon's steel dies. I would think that a steel die can make every bit as accurate of a bullet, just not as many of them.
To add a little perspective to this, the Rifle magazine issue from 1972 about his work indicates he was only considering making carbide dies then. His work was tool steel at that point.
In 1972 he was charging 275 bucks for a steel die set in .224 That works out to $1510.00 in today's dollars.
B.
Rorschach dies . wow haven't talked about those in a while {like 1974]
They are great dies. Carbide. the bullets made on them won many many Benchrest matches. They were top quality, with a lot of bearing surface. They are also very hard to find , so if you have a set take care of them. Rorschach stopped makeing those dies a long time ago. I believe he has passed away .
never used the Rorschach dies but I have shot alot of bullets made with them when I shot benchrest. Top names did set records with them, I have had the priveledge to shoot with one of them here in Kansa City. One heck of a nice guy and was willing to take time to help teach and coach younger shooters, my hat goes off to Walt Berger I know he sure helped me.
Nemi dies fwiw I don't believe he is makeing any to sell at this point in time.
If you really want carbide dies try david detsch at david@diemakerus.com
He makes carbide dies full time. His quality is right up there with Neimi and others.
His price for a full set is very reasonable at about 2k Nemi were about double that.
Lot of big names in shooting/swaging/benchrest there. Mr. Berger! Cool! All of them seem to be a generation ahead of my time. I do see quite a bit of info posted from Eric (grandson I think of Walt?) on various shooting forums.
$2K-$4K for a set of dies. I don't doubt it nor question it, just wish that little bit of info would spread a little bit so others here don't think $800 for a set of 22 cal dies is a lot.
Good shooting and swage on!
BT
4 to 8 hundred dollars is a lot of money. It truly is. When folks go to the reloading shop and see a set of dies for reloading at 50 dollars they think that swage die makers are ripping people off. But what most dont realize is that Hornady , RCBS , Lee and companies like them are making these dies by the millions. And so their costs are lower but the start up investment is enormous so much so that there are very few die makers out there. And they are making dies for a market. If swage dies were profitable for them to make and the public would buy them they would make and sell them.
quality tool steel is not cheap so material costs are high I haven't bought any in a while but you can figure about 20.00 a foot for them least grade of tool steel that you would want to use. then tooling costs are enormous anyone that owns a lathe can tell you that a quality insert for a turning tool is about 10 dollars a pop that gives you from 2 -4 cutting edges if your lucky and dont break it you may get a set of dies from an insert. since we are talking threaded dies you have a threading insert from ten to twenty a pop and you may get a set of dies out of a threading insert. machine time is not cheap the average shop rate anymore is around 65 dollars an hour on the low end. just turning on an engine lathe in a 3 die set your looking at 6 to ten hours of machine time less if on an NC or screw machine ... but there you have to have many many sets to pay the set up. All that just for straight through dies when you start talking point forming dies then you have specialty reamers that cost a lot , specialty laps to polish the point form die that cost a lot lapping compound... and then again TIME TIME TIME.... oh yea and as your doing the lapping if you go just a little to far which is pretty easy to do .. guess what you have a scrap die and its start all over. when you start to add it all up and consider what all is involved in making a set of swage dies 4 to 8 hundred isnt that bad a price. IMO
What Reload said. I've made dies for myself and SIL, IT AIN"T CHEAP. IMO BT's price is very reasonable.