Chisel Suggestions

the irwin/marple blue handle sets are a good average chisel for the money. they hold an o.k. edge and will do most hand work that you need.

-- Roper - Master of sawdust-

Here’s a second vote for Marples. It’s a good intermediate set. I would for sure stay away from the Buck Brothers or other lower priced sets you’d find at the big box stores – they are junk and take way to much time to tune up to usable status.

-- You can't get a hug from Facebook.

Well I bought a set of Stanley chisels from Lowes, put a killer edge on them with my Worksharp 3000 and use them everyday. Have not had any problem with them not keeping an edge. I guess it depends on how you use them. Sorry Betsy.

-- Jerry--A man can never have enough tools or clamps

Highland woodworking in Atlanta has a set called the Narex Boxed Set. Comes with 6 most used sizes. I have some of these and they are great! They get good reviews and aren’t going to break the bank.

In case your not sure… $60 is a great price for 6 chisels voted best buy from fine woodworking magazine.

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=754

-- LAS

No apologies needed Jerry. You’ve just had better luck than me.

-- You can't get a hug from Facebook.

Irwin Marples are more than adequate for wood working. They hold an edge and are better than most in this price range. Keep the tool sharp and you will have no problems or regrets.

-- If you are not living on the edge you are taking up to much room.

I will second skywalker’s recommendation of the Narex chisels. I have a set that has worked well for me as a general use chisel. Also, I was in Woodcraft recently and their Woodriver brand has come out with a set of chisels for a really good price. pkennedy

-- P Kennedy Crossville, TN

The Two Cherrys have been outstanding chisels, sharp as razors and I expect them to last a lifetime. They are indeed a pleasure to work with. I have others but these have been so much better. I am glad I bit the bullet and got the better set, there is a difference.

-- Never board, always knotty, lots of growth rings

I use the Blue marples and have great luck with them.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

I can’y say enough about the narax chisels. This is the first quality set of QUALITY chisels and they are really super. I use the scary sharp system (sand paper) and have no problem. Fine Woodworking made no mistake when they named these as the best value in western style chisels. They have also some mortise chisels, also at very reasonable price. I bought the 4 chisel set and added the other two in the 6 chisel which is cheaper because it doesn’t include the wooden case. I’m not certain that the 2 addition chisels are really worth having. These are European made not Chinese, which the Marples now are. I would suggest a 4 set and then decide on what additional sizes your interested in.

-- RTB. "dumb animals are not stupid they simply can't talk "

I also vote for the Narex. I bought a set from Highland and am very happy with them. They take a little bit of tuning when you first get them to flatten the back and get them sharp. But once you’ve done that; they do a great job.

I’ve also had really good results with my Narex chisels from Highland. Good quality and not very expensive either.
Here’s the article summary (and full article, subscription required) from FWW that skywalker referred to earlier.

-- Steve -- University Heights, Ohio

I’ll take a look at the FWW article later this evening.

Thanks for all of the suggestions!

Chunk

-- Chunk

I would second the Irwin/Marples. I have the 1/4 – 1” set and bought a couple extras singly on sales from Rockler. I saw this link on another site:
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=3&p=63260&cat=1,44047&ap=1
not a horrible price but only a few of them in larger sizes. If being used for cleaning up mortises I have had great luck with them and haven’t needed to resharpen after plenty of use. As for using to actually chop mortises I would be weary but I am a dedicated mortiser kind of guy :)

Food for thought: I’m in the boat of deciding on a new set of chisels myself. I had a set of Sorbys recommended to me, and was deciding between that and the Pfeil Swiss-Made ones (I was going to piece the set together one or a few at a time.) However, when I went to Woodcraft to compare the two, I thought the odd-shaped handle of the Sorbys would get on my nerves, and for some indescribable reason they didn’t feel comfortable. I was indifferent on the Pfeils. However, I saw a set of 8 from Woodriver for around $80 that I thought were much nicer, more comfortable to handle, and at a fifth of the price. It might be worthwhile to go to a Rockler or Woodcraft and get a feel for what you might like.

“It might be worthwhile to go to a Rockler or Woodcraft and get a feel for what you might like.”

That’s not much of an option when you live out in the middle of Hog Territory. It’s a long ways from everywhere here but it’s nice quite! lol

Chunk

-- Chunk

TWO CHERRIES or Pfeil…....my two favorites.

-- Francisco Luna, San Francisco Bay Area.

Wondering what the significant qualitative difference is between the Marple Blue Chip chisels ($70.00/6pc set at Rockler) and the $30.00/4 pc set that HD sells? (The Blue Chips come in a nice box. No box at HD.)

I noticed that the HD website for the 4 pc set says that they are not for hardwood. Does that mean a different alloy for the steel or what?

-- Joe

I have a set of the Narex and they are a really good chisel for the money. Good tough handles and hard steel blades. They hold an edge well. Six of the seven I got had nice flat backs, one took a bit of work to flatten. GOOD Tools. Well worth the cost and effort.

-- Sharp tools and thin whispy shavings make woodworking a joy.

I have a set of Marples blue handle chisels (mine were made in Sheffield, England), and I have been happy with them. I just keep them tuned up with my Worksharp 3000.

I also have a set of Menards Tool Shop cheapies that I use for rough work. They require more frequent sharpening, but do a surprisingly good job.

-- The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary. -- Vincent T. Lombardi

I’ve yet to go out and get a set of chisels, but I will! I have a Stanley chisel that I’ve had tossed in the bottom of a tool box for years. It’s been abused and misused. I’m certain that it’s prided a nail or two in it’s day. But I digress.

I got a WorkSharp for a song and a dance and I used it to sharpen that old chisel. I’ve got to say that now that it’s sharp, really sharp, I’ve found a host of uses for this thing and I’m liking it! I reach for it on a regular basis now, almost as much as I reach for my favorite awl.

thanks guys for the tips. I’m really looking forward to having a decent set of chisels. I wonder if I would find as much of use for a decent block plane? Makes me think!

-- Chunk

My vote goes to the Narex set.

I’ve used and abused my marples chisels for years. Best $30 I ever spent. They were cheap and hold an edge for a good while. Since all the rockler stores in my area went the way of the dodo bird, I get mine at HD. I bang out dovetails with my chisels and only need to hone the edge with my 6” mdf wheel on the grinder and some jewelers rouge every once in a while. No resharpening needed in over a year now.

-- Julian, Park Forest, IL

The secret to using a chisel, any chisel, is sharpening. A frequent pass over a stone will keep an inexpensive set working well for years. But don’t open paint cans!

-- Rustfever, Central California

ChunkyC—You don’t have a block plane?! I didn’t know what I was missing until I got a Stanley Low Angle Plane … now I wouldn’t part with it (unless I was getting a Lie-Nielsen, that is!).

-- The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary. -- Vincent T. Lombardi

I agree on the Narex chisels from Highland. I bought a set and was surprised at the quality of the chisels especially considering the cost of the 6 piece set. The main reason I bought the chisels was to have a set I could use on things that I may not want to use my better chisels; however, I find I use the narex almost exclusviely. pkennedy

-- P Kennedy Crossville, TN

Chisels seem to be bit of a bugger to get any consistency out of magazine reviews on – every one of them, UK and US seems to come up with quite widely differing results when they test.

I’m effectively in ‘hog territory’ too in Ireland, in that it’s tough to find a lot beyond Stanley Fat Max and the like on sale locally, and there’s very few users of better stuff i can talk to. For me it boiled down to researching it as best i could, and then taking a punt.

I went Japanese – there seem to be some good options for a bit more money in the form of Ice Bear, Iyori and the like. The name English brands i got the impression may be a bit inconsistent on quality while quite expensive, ditto on quality for the cheaper Japanese. I’ve not started using my Ice Bears yet, but they feel nice.

I’ve not got enough experience to offer an informed view, but the tentative position i reached was that European chisels like Two Cherries, Hirsch, Narex, Pfeil, MHG and the like offer various shades of the decent value/decent steel space.

I guess in the end there’s very few indeed with significant experience of more than their own brand chisels…

ian

-- Late awakener....

My Irwin / Marples came yesterday. I have no idea what I’m looking at so they look like chisels any way. lol One thing that I do know about them is that the sharping job on them must have been done by someone like me because it sucks! I don’t know much but I know what I bad sharping job looks like and man this is it.

But never fear. I jumped on that screw up at Sears and got me one of those Worksharp 3000’s for $17.00. I’ll spend some quality time getting know the chisels and the WorkSharp and see if I can improve on the edge, well I know I can’t do much worse.

I decided on the Marples because I didn’t like the looks of the handles on the Narex’s. I wasn’t sure that I would like the shape so I went with the Irwin/Marples.

A big Thank You to everyone for the help. I’ll post an update when I really get a chance to give them a whirl.

-- Chunk

Chisels do not come sharpened…. Make sure you flatten the back before you work on the bevel….

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

I hear what your saying! I think you can say that with about any “sharp” tool. I purchased a beam circle cutter the other day. First thing was to dissemble and sharpen the cutter. My pocket knife was sharper than that thing and my pocket knife won’t cut melted butter!

cc

-- Chunk