Gordie, when I first started scrolling many years ago, I used Vermont American blades. That's all I had access to, they were a descent blade, and they did a good job for me. By chance I purchased several gross of different sized Olsen blades, I got them through E-bay. They were a better blades than the Vermont American blades were, but I had a dozen Flying Dutchman blades given to me to try. Well, I tried them, and I was hooked. I liked using them much more than the Olsen's. I found that for me they were a little easier to control, and another deciding factor was that Mike was there to answer questions. I still have a few gross of the Olsen's, and there is a couple of gross of Eberlie #2/0 blades left from the E-bay purchase. I had thought about selling them, but changed my mind. I think I'll use them to teach new scrollers with, they are great for that. Bottom line, I wouldn't be rushing out to buy AV blades, but, if I was in a pinch I would definitely use them.
Len