# Stanley Sweetheart 750 chisels declining in quality



## MrDan (May 26, 2009)

So I bought a set of Stanley's Sweetheart chisels when they first came out about 7 years ago and really liked them for the price.

One of the things I appreciated about them was that they ground the sides very small so that they can get into corners without bruising the wood, much like (although not as good as) Lie Nielsen's bench chisels.

For various reasons I was forced to sell the set I had and figured I'd get another set down the road.

Well I finally did get a new set and to my surprise they are not equal to the originals. There are a couple differences: 
1. The sides are now very large.
2. They front edge is not ground 90 to the sides. There is a slight skew on a few of them.
3. They moved the SW logo on the leather tool roll to the opposite corner so that it's not visible when they are rolled up. (Granted this is a very minor complaint, however I just can't understand why the change would be made)

I can fix the skew on my slow grinder so it's not a huge issue, but it's disheartening to see such poor manufacturing.

The sides being as large as they are is such a huge disappointment. This was one of the key features that Stanley boasted about when they were first released. Now 7ish years later, they just don't care anymore. Makes me wonder if they switched to an inferior steel as well.

Here's a pic of what they look like now:


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

I have a collection of the old 750's and they are work horses. I've looked at the newer and wasn't real impressed, but I bought 3 of the Lee Nielson knock off's and wasn't thrilled with them either, and sold them off. Hardly anything is made as well as it used to be, sort of a fact of life in our enlightened age.

I've bought some of the Lee Valley PM-V11 and for modern day tools I believe they are as good as you'll get. They are pretty costy though.


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## MrDan (May 26, 2009)

Yeah Steven that PMV11 steel is fantastic. I have a few plane irons with PMV11 & I love them.

To be clear here I am comparing two different sets of the new SW 750s. Manufactured approximately 7 years apart.

I'm certain the original 750s from decades ago are superior to the new ones but I'm surprised to see the differences between the two new sets. I expected Stanley to keep it together longer than this.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

They still sell the "Bailey" version as well…..may look into those?


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## Lemwise (Sep 17, 2016)

I have a full set of these Sweetheart chisels that I bought just after they were introduced in Europe. In fact, I was the first one in all of the EU to buy them. The sides of the 32mm chisel start at 4mm and end at 2.5mm. They're a bit smaller on the other sizes.


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## MrDan (May 26, 2009)

That's interesting Lemwise, my original set was closer to 1mm at the business end. My new ones are about 2-3mm now.


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