# Buck Brothers



## rtwpsom2 (Mar 7, 2007)

I am not very impressed with the two items I have purchased from Buck Brothers (Home Depot). A #4 plane and a 1/4" chisel. Try as I might, I cannot get any of their stuff to maintain a really fine edge. I used a combination of scary sharp and three high grit Japanese water stones. I have some cheapo stanley chisels I used them on and got a OMG edge which surprised me, but the buck bro chisel was more expensive and after an hour of working it, it looks like crap. Sure the flats are smooth and shiny, but not as shiny as the cheapo stanley. Plus the whole end of the chisel seems to have been machined so that the top an bottom are not parallel, leaving me with a skewed edge which I can't straighten out for some reason. As for the plane, I have been trying to lap the sole of it for a few weeks now, and am getting nowhere. I think the metal is just to soft. And no matter how sharp I get the blade, it doesn't ever give me the smooth clean passes I keep reading about. Do you guys think it is just me or are Buck Brothers tools crap? I am okay if it IS me, because I might be doing something wrong and I need to know. What do you guys think?


----------



## dennis (Aug 3, 2006)

Humm…HomeDepot…It might not be you.


----------



## North40 (Oct 17, 2007)

Yeah, I'm with Dennis, I don't think it's you.

See Budget -v- Quality


----------



## TheGravedigger (May 20, 2007)

If you got an edge on the Stanley, it's not you. I'd save the chisel for rough work, ditch the plane, & move up a notch or two in quality. My daddy always said, "Buy cheap, buy twice."


----------



## rtwpsom2 (Mar 7, 2007)

That's just it, I didn't think I was buying cheap. The plane was $40 so yeah a little inexpesive but the Ace Hardware one was $15. The chisel was $8 for a 1/4" chisel. That seemed pretty expensive to me. I guess maybe I need to re-adjust my thinking of what cheap is.


----------



## North40 (Oct 17, 2007)

I'm glad ebanista voiced his approval of Marples chisels - I agree, but I've seen a lot of hate for Marples since they were bought by some big tool company (don't remember which). They still seem to be making a good product. I bought a set of four of their chisels and have been really happy. I also have a couple of Marples pull saws that have more than earned their keep.

I don't know if you can get a good plane at the hardware store anymore. The old Stanleys were really good and you can find them pretty cheap on ebay. With new planes, I think you have to pay up for quality. Or have Thos. Angle show you how to make one yourself!


----------



## rtwpsom2 (Mar 7, 2007)

I ended up returning the home depot one and went over to the tool store (they sell a lot of rockler). I ended up with a Bahco one from sweden. It has a rockwell hardness of 63, which I hope is better than that cheapo one.


----------



## mjpierson (Jun 20, 2007)

only buck bros item i have is a drywall saw - and it will probably stay that way…

buy cheap…buy twice - I like that…


----------



## cheller (Feb 24, 2007)

Looks like you've already got this solved, but I'll throw my 2 cents in anyway. Two years ago I took a workshop at the North Bennet Street School in Boston. It was a fantastic experience. I'd recommend it to anyone in the Boston area. One of the things they insisted on was good tools, all of the workshop was hand tools. One of the guys in the class showed up with some Buck Bros. chisels and was told that he really needed to get something else. The two brands that the school store sold were the Marples Blue and I think Crown (I'll have to go look at my tools to be sure).

Incidentally even good brands occasionally produce duds. One of the chisels I got had "bad" steel - good brand amazingly frustrating chisel. It just would not hold an edge, not when I sharpened it, and not when the instructor sharpened it. When I replaced it I was much happier.


----------



## toddc (Mar 6, 2007)

OK I'm going to throw a monkey wrench into this thread- I don't have a really good set of chisels, I have bought Stanley chisels and Buck Bros. I use them in the shop and in the field. During their use I hit nails during demolition and they get dropped on concrete and really get dinged up. What I am trying to establish here is that they get used and abused.

I use a belt sander with a worn out 100 grit belt on it and get them pretty sharp. To finish it out, a few laps on a strop board from Woodcraft and they will make the hair will fly off of my arm.

I do consider my chisels disposable because they are very utilitarian, but they do take an edge and hold it for as long as I expect them to for the way that I use them. When I am doing fine work in the shop, I only need to lap them on the strop occasionally to keep the razor edge. I don't spend hours religiously sharpening my chisels but I can get them SHARP. Sharpening is a skill developed by constantly doing it.

If I get an expensive set of chisels I will treat them with more care.


----------



## USCJeff (Apr 6, 2007)

I got a Jack Plane (Buck Bro.s). Upgraded the iron and am happy. The fact that you can replace the iron at Home Depot for $2 is scary. There's no way a $2 iron will hold an edge. I have a couple of their chisels. Nothing special, but I like them much more than the planes.


----------



## rtwpsom2 (Mar 7, 2007)

Where can I get another blade for it?


----------



## Dust4brains (Oct 1, 2007)

I agree, return them to the store. I've been looking for a block plane to get started and I checked out the lower priced ones, (my price range) and I saw the Buck Bro's. This looked questionable to say the least. I also checked out the Great neck brand at my local Do-it-best dealer and this was the same. I then went to Sears and checked out Craftsman. It looked great in the packaging but when I opened it in the store I saw the blade had a serrated look. It still had flashes left on it from casting I guess? Eventually I got a Stanley from that well known wood store Fred Meyers (yeah, the supermarket). This works great and cuts well and cost me $20. I hope you can return these and wish you happy tool hunting.


----------



## USCJeff (Apr 6, 2007)

Rob,
Check out the Hock Blades. Lee Valley sells them. I'm sure they're sold elsewhere as well, but Lee Valley is the most mainstream I know of. They have pretty good customer service. I'd call to make sure you're getting the blade that matches your plane. If I remember right, the price was around $35-$40 shipped.


----------



## Radish (Apr 11, 2007)

Wayne's source for Hock blades Craftsmanstudios.com
has: Hock 2-3/8in Bench Plane Blade - Fits 4-1/2, 5-1/2, 6, 7 for $33.50 O1 and $39.50 in A2 steel
Veritas has 2-3/8" x 7" Hock Plane Blade for $37.50 - no mention specifically which alloy these are but they are Rc62
Both are cheaper than at Hock's website. - $40 for high carbon and 49 for A2
Veritas has their own line of replacement blades in O1 and A2 steel thicker than Stanley irons and only 1/32˝ thinner than Hock for $37 and $39 respectively. 
The A2 stays sharp long but is harder to sharpen than the oil quenched steel. The O1 can be sharpened to a higher degree of sharpness on the plus side, is more prone to rust than the A2 on the con side.

I'm shopping for a replacement blade for an Ebay rehab Sargent 410. That's why the replacement iron I quoted isn't the usual #4 replacement iron.


----------



## Dadoo (Jun 23, 2007)

Never heard of Buck Bros. but after reading this, I remember walking the tool isles and seeing their display. And I thought, "These look pretty!" And then, "They also look cheap!" So I figure that they must be "Pretty cheap" and kept on walking.


----------



## USCJeff (Apr 6, 2007)

Nice pun Dadoo. "Pretty Cheap". I picked up a Buck Brothers initially b/c I didn't know if I'd get into hand tools and wanted a test drive. I've since learned cheap planes are probably the reason people dread hand tools. They are not at all a test drive for a higher end purchase. World's apart. I think the initial warning for me was seeing the replacement blades sitting next to the plane. The replacements were all less than $3. Thanks for the additional Hock supplier Douglas/Wayne.


----------



## Mikeyf56 (Jul 31, 2009)

Buck Brothers make junk. I won't make the same mistake twice.


----------



## StumpyNubs (Sep 25, 2010)

I wanna have a word with Buck FATHER about his two sons, cause they make CRAP!


----------



## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Old thread but relevant to tool buyers.

*Buck bros. today is a junk brand. * The steel used in the irons and chisels
is adequate chrome vanadium stuff, but the planes are not made right and
the chisel patterns are handyman type stuff from what I've seen.

*Old Buck bros. chisels can be very nice tools. *I have some patternmaker's
crank necked chisels and gouges by Buck and they are made right.


----------



## renners (Apr 9, 2010)

One of my nicest planes is an old Record No. 5 that my brother picked up at a car boot sale for a fiver. It looks like crap, but I prefer it to my other Stanleys. Irwin is the company behind Marples.


----------



## SalvageCraft (Jun 26, 2011)

I gotta put in my word about buck brother's chisels, and by extension, most of the stuff you can get at the BORG:
This stuff is intended for construction, not fine woodworking. I pray that nobody would spend $200-$300 on a nice set of chisels just for taking chunks out of 2×4's or fitting deck posts. That's the type of work these chisels are made for, and they're great at it.
I've got a buck brother's chisel that I've had for years, and though it is pretty soft and never holds a sharp edge for very long, that is actually helpful in some ways - for one, the softer metal is not as brittle as a really high quality chisel, so it doesn't shatter when dropped or chip if I hit a nail. Like Todd says above, they sharpen up quick enough (due to the softer metal), and that's also really handy on a jobsite if you ever do really need to sharpen it up on the spot. And at only $10 a pop, who cares if you do break it? It seems to me that the handles on these are tougher than most other chisels, too.
I think the designers who produced these chisels must have had this all in mind. But it's the people over in the marketing and sales departments, or perhaps the clerks or managers in the retail stores that try to pass them off as fine woodworking chisels in order to make a few extra sales off them. That's stupid, isn't it? So you sell a few more chisels and make a few bucks, but then you get bad word of mouth from everybody who was told they were getting something they weren't…


----------



## SalvageCraft (Jun 26, 2011)

Yeah, I'm a young'un. I have early recollections of buck being a good name in blades, but I don't think I've ever seen one that I'd call great quality…


----------



## Sawkerf (Dec 31, 2009)

Buck chisels and planes are ok, but not top of the line - nor nearly as expensive. I've a couple of their knives for 30+ years, and can shave with them.


----------



## Gofor (Jan 12, 2008)

Guess I'm the oddball. Have several of the $2 irons and they sharpen as well and hold an edge as well as the Stanleys I have. It takes a while to flatten the backs, but otherwise they are fine. They do not compare with the Hocks, Veritas, etc, but are as good as the Stanleys once flattened and honed..

As for the chisels, I have the "made in USA' ones in 3/8" and 5/8". Both sharpen fine and hold their edge ok (not great but okay for most stuff). Not what you want to use in white oak or purple heart, but fine for pine, cherry, maple, etc.

The are inexpensive, and good for trying out new cambers on plane irons, etc without risking the more expensive ones. The chisels are also inexpensive and work for a lot of everyday tasks. I find that (same as the Stanleys) it is best to go with a 30 degree primary bevel and 35 degree secondary to minimize nicks. (that goes for both plane irons and chisels)

Worth what you pay for them. There are a lot of more expensive ones out there that aren't.

JMTCW

Go


----------



## cjwillie (Sep 6, 2011)

I thought Buck knives and Buck Bros. tools were two different companies??


----------



## Loren (May 30, 2008)

True. Buck bros. goes back to the 19th century.

I dug a bit and apparently the company still makes some chisels in
the USA in the old style and they can still be had for a reasonable
cost, but not at big box stores.

http://www.craftsmanstudio.com/html_p/C!00730.htm


----------

