Workhorse Irons Joshua Bowers Steeldriver Rotary - Black

Introducing the Steeldriver. After more than a year of design and testing, the Steeldriver is ready. It has proven to be an incredibly capable liner and shader with cartridges and needle tube configuration. The race characteristics of the Steeldriver are different from other Bowers models in that it takes the race philosophy and mechanical delivery to the next level. The Steeldriver is more nimble at the tip than any other Bowers machine, and it still has that mechanical ability that keeps you from feeling like you're skating on thin ice when stroking, but its ability to line and colour equally well at the tip, in the middle and at the back of the stroke is second to none.

The design of the Steelriver is based on the quarter cam phenomenon mentioned in my book "The Right Tool For The Job". This is where I explain that rotary machines have a tendency to want to pull the skin away from the needles when they are going down because the needles are slowing down in that last quarter of the cam rotation. Instead of piercing the needles like a bobbin machine, the needles are easily moved closer to the skin. Both the SC Bobber and Micro Bobber have been successful in engineering this phenomenon, but the Steeldriver goes a step further and eliminates that last quarter of the stroke altogether, the needles coming to a complete stop at terminal velocity. What you get is an incredibly balanced and controlled stroke that is better able to align needle tips with large and small groupings. As a shader, the Steelriver pierces the ink into the skin with great efficiency. Black and grey, as well as other softer techniques, can also be achieved with the Steeldriver through practice.

Ultimately, I have designed the Steeldriver to incorporate the best aspects of the finely tuned coil and rotary machines together. It is more reel-to-reel like than any of the other Bowers machines besides my Steeldriver reels, so it shares its name. The Steeldriver is plug and play, it is designed so that anyone coming from coil or rotary can plug it in and feel comfortable with the machine with very little time to adapt.