| Review by Tony | posted 14 days ago | 1010 views | 1 time favorited | 12 comments |  |
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- NAREX Woodline Profi
- Brand: NAREX | Category: Chisels and Carving Tools
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Narex Chisels
These wonderful chisels (Model # 8101 & 8105) are manufactured by NAREX, the company is located within the European Union in the Czech Republic, here is the link to Narex website. This link will take you to the correct pages in English.
The chisels are made from Mn-Cr (magnesium-chrome) steel and are hardened to 59Hrc and manufactured in accordance with the European standard DIN5139 (Firmer chisels with tang). These chisels were reported by Fine Woodworking magazine, Sep/Oct 2008 and were given the Best Value chisel against a large number of better known competitors.
After reading this article, I was pleased to find that my local store, Plektra Trading Helsinki had the same chisels available – so I purchased a set of 6 in a nice box (6, 10, 12, 16, 20, 26 mm), in order to evaluate them.
Out of the box, I found that the back of the chisels were quite flat, the bevel was ground to 25° and the blades were coated in a light protective coating. the bevels along the left and right edges of the chisel were ground very precisely and were at a very good angle for dovetail work. The handles are made from European beach (traditional wood for tools) with metal ferules at the end, my preferred version had the dark stained handles.
Sharpening and performance: The backs flattened quite quickly starting with 1000 grit water stone, the bevels were just tuned up with some 4000 grit and a small micro bevel was introduced (about 28°). Chopping into Hard maple does damage the edge quickly (as with 99% of all chisels), but using the tools correctly and paring and slicing, the cutting edge is maintained for a significant amount of time, only requiring re-honing now and again. I found the handles to be quite large compared to some other chisels, but they are really comfortable hold and control.
I have been using this set of 6 chisels for a good 6-8 months with absolutely no problems or regrets. Since this time I have increased my collection of sizes, I have now added the 8, 18, 32 & 40 mm to my collection.
Today I received 3 more of these chisels for evaluation 3, 4 & 5 mm (Approx 1/8”, 5/32” &, 3/16”) these will be used mainly inlay and very fine work.
I have also purchased 3 mortise chisels (model # 8112) from there site; 6, 8 & 10 mm. These chisels were built to the same high standard as the bevel chisels. The cutting edge is 6, 8 & 10 mm wide, but the top edge of the chisel is slightly bevelled (about 0.5mm), which helps to stop the blade being wedged in the mortise. The ground bevel was at 25°, but this time I reground the micro bevel to 32° , these chisels really keep a sharp edge even when chopping into hard maple or even Jatoba.
These chisels will become my main set of chisels for daily use and my old set of expensive chisels (not so good a quality) will be re-ground to make speciality chisels as needed or plane irons.
A definite 5/5 and highly recommended for beginners or professionals alike
-- Tony - All things are possible, just some things are more difficult than others! - SKYPE: Heron2005 (http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi)
12 comments so far
mgd48
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3 posts in 264 days
posted 14 days ago
Highland Hardware Atlanta has the 6 piece set for $60 which is interesting since the Narex site sells them at todays exchange rate for $35. I guess s&h will make a difference :-)
Routerisstillmyname
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109 posts in 400 days
posted 14 days ago
Thanks for the info.been looking for a reasonable set.
-- Router è ancora il mio nome.
rtb
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678 posts in 604 days
posted 14 days ago
I bought this set, or rather all these sizes, by getting the 4-set and the two extra chisels and avoiding the cost of the box. I later added the 10mm mortise chisel and expect to be adding a couple of the wider ones later this winter. Unlike Tony I have very little experience with chisels and using these has been an entire education in itself. Everything that he has said is 100% on. I Can’t understand how anyone could want anything other than these. They have served to reinforce My conviction that for really good steel tools, go europe
-- RTB. "dumb animals are not stupid they simply can't talk "
Dusty56
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3455 posts in 579 days
posted 14 days ago
Nice review Tony : )
-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .
blackcherry
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730 posts in 714 days
posted 14 days ago
Thank Tony for your review, I been looking at these same chisel for quiet some time and now I might pull the trigger on the purchase. I need a every day set of chisel and your review confirms what I’ve been reading and hearing, again thanks for your time and efforts….Blkcherry
Peter O
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1015 posts in 765 days
posted 14 days ago
Good review! I’ll have to look around and see if these are available in my area.
-- http://www.north40custom.com -- http://north40studios.etsy.com --
rozzi
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43 posts in 213 days
posted 13 days ago
Good review and I appreciate the information. Been looking for a decent set of chisels with wood handles without spending a ton of money.
-- Duane, Iowa
Bob #2
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3031 posts in 912 days
posted 13 days ago
I am tempted to place an order with them.
That’s excellent value and the attention to detail is refreshing as well.
Thanks for the review Tony.
Bob
-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner
Tony
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812 posts in 921 days
posted 13 days ago
Hi guys
I do not think that you will be disappointed if you do buy these chisels. They have really made a big difference in the way I work (less trips to the sharpening station).
The only minor down side (for our IMPERIAL buddies) is that these chisels are metric and not quite full equivalents of the standard imperial sizes I.e 1/4” = 6.mm, 3/8” = 9.53 mm, 1/2” = 12.mm 3/4” = 19.05 mm, which means in most cases you may have to use a chisel that are up to 0.5 mm (3/128”) to 1.5 mm (1/16”) smaller, saying that I can live with it, I am so used to mixing imperial and metric on the same project now, I do not think I could work purely in one or the other any more.
-- Tony - All things are possible, just some things are more difficult than others! - SKYPE: Heron2005 (http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi)
WayneC
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5953 posts in 988 days
posted 13 days ago
They look pretty nice Tony. You making a return trip to the US any time soon?
-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov
Tony
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812 posts in 921 days
posted 13 days ago
Hi Wayne: We keep trying too, but something always seems to get in the way. work, teaching, family commitments or projects (everything is last minute)
-- Tony - All things are possible, just some things are more difficult than others! - SKYPE: Heron2005 (http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi)
Scott Bryan
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20519 posts in 713 days
posted 12 days ago
Thanks for the review, Tony. I have been using a set that I bought many years ago that are not high quality tools (I bought them based on price alone) and see where I would benefit from a better set. I will have to see if there is a distributor in my area.
-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.