# Thoughts on the Narex mortise chisels?



## Purrmaster

Hello!

I checked out the reviews for the Narex mortise chisels here. They seemed mixed and I was curious as to whether anyone had used these.

I've been looking for an affordable set of mortise chisels and have had my eye on these for some time. My bench chisels just aren't cutting it for chopping mortises. But from what I can tell it seems there are two version of their mortise chisels.

The ones from Highland Woodworking: http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/narex-set-of-5-mortise-chisels.aspx

And the ones from Lee Valley: http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=66737&cat=1,41504

The main difference I see is that the Lee valley set has plastic handles and the Highland set has wood handles.

Is either set superior to the other? From the reviews section it *seemed* that the Highland chisels got better reviews.

I won't be picking them up for a couple of weeks so I have plenty of time to solicit opinions/advice.

Thanks in advance.


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## ShaneA

Got mine from LV,they have the darker handles. But, they are Beech. Seem to be a good value, I am not an expert, and havent used them all yet nor have I used them a lot yet. Without looking at both sites, I thought one set as metric, the other imperical. I am easily confused though.


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## mcase

Purr,

I have become a real tool review skeptic. There are just so many reviews that rave about items that are mediocre at best or make big deals out of trivial drawbacks on otherwise outstanding tools. Having said that you may want to look at the chisel review in FWW Sept. 2008. They reviewed Narex along with Lie Nielsen, Two Cherries, Pfiel and others. Unlike many reviews I found this one had merit. According to the review, the traditional laminated Japanese chisels were superior to the Western style chisels in many ways, particularly edge retention. I have found this to be true. Even the very moderately priced Japanese chisels I own do indeed hold their edge better than relatively expensive western chisels. I found other parts of the review to be accurate as well. For Western chisels I have a set of registered Robert Sorbys that don't hold an edge for crap. I also have Pfeil and Two Cherrries chisels. The Two Cherries and the Pfeils are virtually indistinguishable as far as edge retention goes and the Sorbys run a poor second. Again this more or less agrees with the FWW findings. The Swiss Pfeil and German Two Cherries both employ a hard vanadium steel. It seems overly brittle compared to Japanese steel. This is what I think you will find with Narex, a hard, fairly brittle vanadium alloy that is serviceable, but nothing more. That's how I found Pfiel and Two Cherries chisels to be and the Narex are generally billed as about comparable, but at a better price. I wouldn't be surprised if they all used the same steel bar stock from the same supplier. As I recall, Narex was given the best value award in the FWW review. So given the great price of Narex chisels, I say if they feel right in your hand when you use them be content. They will undoubtedly hold an edge better than expensive Sorbys and most likely will be very comparable to the Pfeil and Two Cherries.


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## nwbusa

I bought my Narex mortise chisels from LV. As stated on their site, the handles are wood (solid beech). I used the 1/2" chisel extensively on a couple of big projects and it performed very well. You can't go wrong for the money on these chisels, IMO.


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## wapakfred

I only have one of them (1/4") from LV, and it really took a beating on the project I bought it for. Also held an edge real well…which was my concern.


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## tenontim

I have a set of the Narex mortise chisels, with the wood handles, and am happy with them. Be advised, the imperial sizes are made to the closest metric equivalent, but this is no problem if you're cutting your mortises and tenons by hand.


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## Cato

I got a set of these chisels from LV, and they seem well built and adequate for my needs.

Sharp out of the box and worked well for me on my last table project.


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## Mosquito

Going off of what Tim said, I would be inclined to believe they're the same set of chisels, but Highland states their metric size with closest imperial measurements also listed, and LV just lists them based on the imperial size. I have the set from LV and they are stained wood handles, not plastic.

Mine were fairly flat on the back when I got them. It didn't take too long to get them flat, and get them honed up.


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## crank49

I got the three piece set of Narex Mortise chisels from Highland. Been very happy with them. The fit and finish is very good. The edge retention good and they do not appear to be too brittle. I'd buy these again, but would opt for a larger set.

In refference to the above comment about Narex being a vanadium alloy, I dissagree. They are a manganese alloy. Manganese imparts a work hardening property to steel, not brittle. I can't speak to the comparison to Japanese chisels, however, since I do not own any of those.

My only regret is I got the 3 pc set instead of the 5 pc. Now, if I want more they cost more per each.


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## Arminius

Not sure if they are still the closest metric equivalent - the Narex bench chisels that LV now carries are true Imperial. Otherwise, I suspect they are the same other than the handles.

In any case, they are a remarkably good value. A bit more work to prep the first time than some premium ones, but well made and hold an edge quite well.


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## MonteCristo

Narex seems very good value to me.


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## Kreegan

I recently got a 6mm Narex mortise chisel from Highland Woodworking. It has a wooden, not plastic, handle. I'm pretty sure it's beech. The back was nice and flat and didn't really require much lapping. The edge sharpened up easily using a honing guide and diamond stones. I did a test mortise in some pine and it cut very nicely. I looked at the versions from Lee Valley and Highland Woodworking. I bought a set of Narex bench chisels from HW, and they have the same color handle, so I went with the HW version just so my chisels would match.

Rich


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## Purrmaster

I'm not terribly concerned whether they are true imperial sizes or not. But I have heard mixed reviews about edge retention. Even with my Work Sharp, it's a pain to sharpen chisels all the time.

I want mortise chsiels I'm having a very hard time chopping to a line with my Marples bench chisels. I like the idea of being able to position the chisel and the line and chop down into the wood. I'm also concerned about damaging my bench chsiels by whacking them, even with a wood mallet.

So is there a difference between the Lee Valley and Highland chisel sets? Other than possibly the color of the stain on the handle?


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## Purrmaster

I ordered the 5 chisel set from Highland Woodworking. I'll let you guys know how well they work. I am concerned about edge retention though so I'll keep the receipt.

Does anyone know what bevel angle these are ground to?


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## RobLee

Hi -

A clarification on measurements… the Lee Valley Narex are all manufactured to Imperial (inch) sizes - not metric.

Cheers -

Rob Lee
(who bought two sets …. one for my brother!)


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## davidmicraig

When I bought my mortising chisels, they were ground at the factory at 25 degrees. I reground them to 30 with a 35 degree microbevel. Opinions vary considerably on mortising angles but I read that a higher bevel seems to offer some benefit for harder woods.


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## Ocelot

I bought a set of 6 of the Narex. I haven't tried them yet. I was just reading around on here trying to find out how to use them!

I got mine from Lee Valley, and they are true imperial size (checked with digital caliper). They do taper narrower toward the handle, which keeps them from getting stuck so easily I have read. I suppose if you sharpen them a lot, they won't have the true dimension anymore.

The handles are dark stained beech.

-Paul


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## kaerlighedsbamsen

I have two Narex chisels: a mortice chisel and a bench chisel.

*Like: *On both the steel is top notch. Hold the edge for a long time, not to hard to sharpen and notso brittle the edge break. Perfectly straight ground sides and the mortice chisel is nicely tapered both towardsthe handle and towardsthe back.

*dislike:* I find the handles to be a bit too large and somewhat clumsy. So much that I have changed the shape on one in order to work more prezicely. Well i guess that is personal taste.

For the prize i think that, even when having to change the shape of the handle, they are good value and a safe investement.


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