At the first Virginia Cirque, two years ago, I stumbled across a Hozan
<HKC> spoke screw "cutter" at a price I thought reasonable. It's not
really a cutter, as far as I can tell, but a spoke thread roller. It
puts enough pressure on the spoke to defore it, raising threads while
pushing down the diameter. Just like real spokes are made in factories.
A little hand-cranked device. image at
http://www.nexternal.com/
Used it for the first time tonight, to shorten some 2mm. butted stainless spokes. The darned thing works! Rolls out nice, neat, threading, and easy to set up to get about the same depth and length each time.
It's not near the machine of the incredibly elegant Phil tool,
http://www.bikeparts.com/
I don't think I can do as many as 2/minute, counting cutting them off, so it's not going to cut down the stocking needs at a shop. But sure is a fine accessory for occasional use, or for adapting vintage stock for shorter needs.
No, I don't think I have a roller head for French/Robergel spokes. C'est la vie.
harvey sachs
mcLean va