BURNMASTER 110V Hawk PRO, 1-Pen, 15-Tips & Bag Set

The Burnmaster was the recommended tool for our venture by several members of our Woodturning club.

I started with wood burning not long ago to augment some other wood products I make and took my time deciding which unit to buy. Ultimately, my decision was made by two factors 1) this unit will supply power to a host of other manufacturer's pens and 2) reviews online quoted this unit puts out power and recovers heat in the tip quickly.I've been burning pine, white oak, and walnut and I can say I'm very happy with this unit, likely the only one I will ever have to buy. Even for a deep, dark burn, the unit supplies enough power to get the tip back to blazing hot in less than two seconds. Depending on the material, even at the midway power setting it'll catch the wood on fire from just a touch. Plenty of power for everything you'd want to do, and enough control at the low end to get a nice gentle browning or do do gradual and gentle shading.The assortment of tips are nice, however, my recommendation to a new user is to pick one and just go with it, don't try to change tips too often. I like the knife edge and the smallest ball tip. Learning how to use one or two tips to do 90% of your work will really improve your skills and save you time on larger pieces or batches.Having just one pen isn't a big deal for me, I'm mostly doing lettering and some simple embellishments. For a proper artist who needs a couple tips at the ready, to not disrupt their flow, I can see getting additional pens with the tips already installed (two small Philips screws, a cheap screwdriver is included in the set)). Once a pen is plugged in it takes less than ten seconds for the tip to heat and be ready to use. The power of this unit can't be overstated, it just works.The unit itself is silent, no buzz or whatnot. The pen does get a little warm near the finger guard but nothing uncomfortable especially if you aren't blasting the power. If your fingers are sensitive to the heat, I'd recommend a ProFlex 7042 heat resistant glove, for about $12.Final note, it comes with a decent nylon carry bag/box with stiff sides so everything slides in and is generally protected. For the price, this was a welcome inclusion to the set and helps keep my workspace neat and orderly when the unit is stored away. I repurposed a leather pouch to hold all the tips together.