Well, now that I have one of my own, I guess I could let you in on my secret. If you go onto ebay and search their business and industrial metalworking section for Greenfield, you will see listings for Greenfield Little Giant tap and die sets. These sets are by far, the best hand tap and die sets in existance. 10 size set, 1/4-1/2 inch NF, NC will run you well over $700 through Grainger. I got mine, almost complete for about $50 including shipping. The dies consist of a collar and 2 cutting bits. The bits are replaceable and sharpenable. They are very high quality steel and rarely require shaprening, if ever within your lifetime. The die can be adjusted to cut any thread classification. Their greatest advantage is that they are much more difficult to break than a standard die. I don't know if any of you have done this, but on a standard die the entire piece is tool steel which is very brittle. Greenfield makes the collar for their dies out of mild steel which can withstand a great deal of punishment.