# Awesome Bench Chisels!



## MLWilson

I have the same set, John. About "... I would pay double without thinking twice…,": I got mine for little more than half the price. I don't recall where. But I do know it wasn't Lee Nielson. Probably, the Woodworking Show. Likely Peachtree, or some such. I already had my set of perfectly serviceable Irwins, so, I know I wouldn't have been interested in them at your price. I agree. They're very nice fichisels. Although, I most often reach for the Irwins.


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## Oldtool

Nice review, very informative, interesting reading.


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## fatman51

Thanks, Oldtool. Mark, I really did come close to purchasing the Irwins instead of these but this set was a little cheaper than the full set of Irwin's at this juncture, better finished, and these were true imperials sizes. The Narex sets I was able to find for less money were metric and the irwin set i looked at at Woodcraft was of the mm//x/y variety. Of course, I am not an overly savvy internet shopper and I seldom am able to attend trade shows, but I do hope people are still able to find the same set for less money.


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## jonah

I have the smaller set of four Narex chisels, and I love them. I wish I'd sprung for the larger set of 7 or 11, but I'll settle for adding to my set as I need to.


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## TheFridge

As long as you're happy. The narex are definitely solid. If they didn't butcher the milling on a couple of mine I'd probably still have their mortising chisel set. It held an edge well. Better than my LN? No. I think that guy just likes to look at his own blogs.


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## fatman51

On the other hand Jonah, I do not know that I really had to have all 11 chisels. The four piece set plus the 1-14 probably would have met my needs. TheFridge, I think you are probably right about that guy on the LN to Narex comparison. The other people's LNs I have used were probably worth the money they cost, but impossible for me to justify. It is too bad you got a bad mortising chisel set. I am planning to add that set and the paring set over the next couple of years. Naturally, I will write reviews.


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## TheFridge

To each his own I think. I bought one 1/2" LN and it took me a year to fill out the rest. I now have their large router, dovetail saw and 4-1/2 as well. I didn't know if the cost was justified until I used one 1/2" chisel for a couple months. Then I was convinced.

I'm sure yours will serve you just as well.


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## fatman51

> To each his own I think. I bought one 1/2" LN and it took me a year to fill out the rest. I now have their large router, dovetail saw and 4-1/2 as well. I didn t know if the cost was justified until I used one 1/2" chisel for a couple months. Then I was convinced.
> 
> I m sure yours will serve you just as well.
> 
> - TheFridge


Rather, they will serve me well enough, I can live with the fact that they are not as nice of a tool. All the LN users I know love their tools and I like them too as far as that goes. They are kind of like the Snapons of the woodworking world and the fact that they are made in the USA carries a lot of weight with some workers I know also. If I did not own so much quality stuff from yesteryear I would probably look at LN more seriously, but I can still remember scraping money together to buy Diston, Stanley, Record, and even Snap On tools, one item at a time, when I was young and it pleases me to see decent, affordable, products such as the Narex stuff on the market today. They kind of remind me of the affordable decent quality stuff once sold by consumer grade suppliers such as Greatneck or Wen. New Journeyman and apprentices do not really need Snap On or Lie Nielsen, they do need to quickly assemble the best basic tool sets they can afford to do their jobs without depriving their babies of formula. My poor wife used to get so riled up when I would spend too much of our money on tools…its a wonder she stuck with me for so long. Some may disagree, where others proudly buy junk, but purchasing the best tools is not so wise as purchasing the best tools one can afford that will meet one's needs. That is why I like companies like Narex and why I will purchase their product over more expensive brands that I might afford today. Their tools are adequate and necessary where the Lie Nielsen tools are just really, really nice.


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## WillliamMSP

Thanks for the review! I've been happy with my Narex mortise chisel and will probably add a few more widths.



> I bought one 1/2" LN and it took me a year to fill out the rest. I now have their large router, dovetail saw and 4-1/2 as well. I didn t know if the cost was justified until I used one 1/2" chisel for a couple months. Then I was convinced.
> 
> - TheFridge


See, this makes me want to take the LN one chisel challenge…. aaaand it makes me want to avoid taking the LN one chisel challenge - don't know that my pocketbook can take it.


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## JoeinGa

Ok, so I have a question. This *10 piece *chisel set you show lists for $128 on the Lee Valley website. I spotted this *12 piece *set of Narex on both Amazon and Ebay for like $120.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Z55BB8A/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1F0ZX9W2WURWY

Other then the color of the handles, is there an actual difference in the chisel itself? In other words, does Narex make chisels in "Good, Better, Best" styles?


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## fatman51

Thanks Bill and it's a conundrum isn't it. Outfits like LN make wonderful tools, but expensive, in part, because the tools come ready to use.. For me, the expense would be easier to rationalize than to justify, and I would really have to justify it to the wife.

Good day JoeinGa! the 12 piece set with the clear coated beach handles are metric, where the 10 piece set with stained handles from Lee Valley are imperial (fractional) sizes. Narex does make two different grades of bevel edged chisels. The premium line has hornbeam handles and they do not have a hoop, only a ferrule. Their imperial set includes normal sizes from 1/8 to 1 inch where their premium metric set ranges from something like 3 to 50 mm. I seem to recall that their premium metric set has a couple of different sizes from their ordinary set, but I might be wrong on that. Some people prefer metric, some imperial, some don't care which they get, and others want them all. The imperial set sold at Lee Valley seems unique to Lee Valley but everything else seems to be available on amazon and ebay including the premium imperial sets.


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## CyberDyneSystems

Great review and story, thanks for posting.

I rank the Narex well above the current Irwin, which are no longer made in Sheffield. (China in fact)
For a while, the Irwin branded blue chips were being made in the same factory as the prior Marples, and were of equal quality, but its been nearly a decade since they moved production to China.

I do have some older made in Sheffield Marples Blue chips and the other more durable yellow handled Marples as well, and the English steel is superior to the Chinese.

Many rate the Narex chisels as a "best buy" and I would agree.

P.S. anyone looking for actual Sheffield steel with a blue handle should look to "Footprint" Chisels available at woodcraft, and Amazon.


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## fatman51

Thank you, CyberDynesSystems

I was just looking at the newest Irwins at the local Woodcraft store yesterday and now that I can visually compare them to the Narex, I am even happier with my choice. Frankly, I like my Narex chisels better than anything I saw in the Woodcraft store yesterday. I have one of the yellow handled Marples chisels and it has been a good tool.


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## dczward

I bought the 11-12 piece Narex set about 4 or 5 years ago, as my first set of "real' woodworking chisels. I think they are a great value, and are good chisels. But I shouldn't have got that many chisels. I think 4-5 are all you need, and that big set is just overkill. Also, I can tell that their edges do tend to crumble a little too quickly for my taste. Not fast, but they just don't last as long as I think they should. This was fine as was learning to get my sharpening skills and system down, but now that I know what to look for, I think I'll trade up. I'll be looking for those 4-5 LV chisels or vintage Stanley 750s if I can find them.


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## ssnvet

How do you like that old yellow and red handled Marples Split Proof?

I purchased a 5 pc set of these ~20 years ago and they seem very similar to the Narex in both metal and handle shape.


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## fatman51

Douglas, Thank you for reading and for the feedback on your Narex chisels. I think you may be correct about the necessary range of chisels one generally needs, but it depends on what you are doing. Day to day as I work on different projects, I use a good variety of different sizes. I wanted the full range of the 10 piece set and the the 3 mm that I ordered seperately. 3mm is about .007 under 1/8th. I do not know when Narex changed their line from the standard bevel edge to the classic but their classic bevel edged chisels sold today are supposed to be somewhat improved over their older tools So far, working with honey locust, which is a little harder than white oak, the 1-1/4 and 2 inch narex have held up as well as my old stanleys. When I am working with chisels that do not hold their edge as well as I would like, or using them in a manner that is hard on them, I will hollow grind the bevel in at 30 degrees and hone them on a coarser stone so that I do not give them a finer edge than the steel can support. If needed, I will hone a micro bevel in at 35 degrees.

The vintage 750s are a wonderful tool, well milled with narrow lands, but they are a socket chisel, which can be aggravating at times, especially for people who live in a dry climate, and used sets are rather expensive on ebay. I have looked at the new Stanley 750s at our local Woodcraft store, they seem decent enough but they are still a socket chisel and my new Narex chisels are better finished, tanged, and have a bigger handle, which led me to choose them over the Stanleys. The Lea Nielsen are nice a tool and well finished, cost a little less than the Veritus, but they cost quite a bit more than the new Stanley 750s. The Veritas pm-v11 are a well bolstered tanged chisel and will keep their handle better than a socket chisel. The only drawback I can see is the price but it would be nice if they manufactured a 1-1/4 size in their bench chisel. So far, I am glad I bought them, but tine will tell.

Happy shopping and I hope that you will post a review of whatever you choose.


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## fatman51

Maniac Matt,

I love that old marples chisel and use it regularly. In my opinion, the pre-Irwin Marples were some of the finest chisels on the market. The old Marples splitproof have a big, comfortable, handle, decent length on the iron, and were well milled. The steel is very good and time will tell me if the steel in the Narex is as good, but, for the money, I would be surprised. The new Narex have wooden handles, which I prefer, and the edges are well bevelled with narrow lands for the length of the iron. I would buy a set of the old Marples with split proof handles if I found them. The iron on the Marples is heavier. I will post a couple photos for comparison when i get a chance.


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## RootandBranch

Nice write up. Nice collection too. I have an 8 pc set and they serve me well.


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## fatman51

Thanks Root and Branch. You know, when I spend fifty cents or a buck at the flea market every now and again, or cautously purchase what I want new after months of consideration, it doesn't seem like I am building such a collection until I look at the pictures.


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## ssnvet

Thanks for the reply…

I found that you can still get the Marples Splitproofs, but have to order them from vendors in the UK and ship over the pond. I lost a chisel and wanted to fill in the set, so I ordered two replacements, only to find that the metal finish was not as nice as on my old ones. Turns out that they are now "assembled in England" from "globally sourced" (aka China) parts.


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## fatman51

> Thanks for the reply…
> 
> I found that you can still get the Marples Splitproofs, but have to order them from vendors in the UK and ship over the pond. I lost a chisel and wanted to fill in the set, so I ordered two replacements, only to find that the metal finish was not as nice as on my old ones. Turns out that they are now "assembled in England" from "globally sourced" (aka China) parts.
> 
> That's a bummer. Are the British/China Splitproofs adequate, or will you be watching the used tool markets an original replacement? I can not fathom whatever Irwin thought they were doing when they outsourced the manufacture of Marples tools to China at a time when tools manufactured in the UK were becoming more popular than ever, globally.
> 
> - Mainiac Matt


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