Replies

1. 
   baldmountain | Sep 22, 2005 05:29am | #1

   Sorry, this isn't going to be a lot of help but here goes... You seem to be looking at sets, large sets of chisels. Rather than buying a large complete set why not just buy one or two as you need them and buy the best ones you can afford?

   A lot of folks come to wood working thinking they need to buy one of everything. (I sure did.) But you can buy one or two here and there and build your collection as you need it and spend just a bit here and there rather than dropping a huge bundle all at once on a large set.

   I'm learning that you can try and save money on tools, but in the long run you end up replacing the inexpensive tools with good ones so buy the good ones as you need them and don't waste your time and money on inexpensive, "cheap" tools.

   As far as your current chisels go, in the distant past people built perfectly good furniture using tools that would be considered junk in comparison to what you find at KMart. But those tools required a lot of work and skill to make them usable. The reason for buying quality new tools is to get a tool that is in good working order out of the box.

   geoff
2. 
   rod | Sep 22, 2005 06:02am | #2

   I'm also thinking of getting better chisels. There have been a number of threads about good chisels in the past. You might find them with a search. What I recall is that people liked Two Cherries and others said that Hirsch was the same a Two Cherries but cheaper. I know that Lee Valley often has good prices on a set of six Hersch chisels. My chisels, which I've had for 5 years, are yellow handled Marples. Their defect is that the edge chips in hard woods like oak or ash. Now that I use a 35 deg. micro bevel this defect is less pronounced. FWW did a rating a few years ago and Two Cherries and a Japanese Blue Steel got ####good review. I hope this helps.

   Rod

3. 
   lwilliams | Sep 22, 2005 06:15am | #3

   Matt,

   I suggest you join a tool collectors' group. Skip the idea of a set and get some good old ones but you'll have to buy 'em as you find 'em.

   Paring chisels are usually longer and thinner, often paring chisels are tanged rather than socket.

   Registered chisels are light duty mortise chisels.

   Firmers are heavier than paring chisels but many people define them as being square edged rather than beveled.

   Look for good old chisels if you want to avoid the cost of good new ones like Lie-Nielsen.

   Witherby, Charles Buck (not Buck Bros), James Swan, Merril and Wilder, Anton Berg, L & IJ White and Ohio Tool are some good names. Even the old Stanley #720 and Everlasting chisels were good. Remember though, that even the better makers may have put out a dog or two. I'm glad I have a heat treating furnace or I'd have been out of luck with the James Swan 2" chisel I bought that was too soft.

   Good sets of good chisels aren't cheap, new or old. It's very hard to find sets of old chisels.

   You can spend a long time putting together a good set of old chisels. In the mean time, I suggest you get by with what you already have.

   
   

   ---

   Edited 9/21/2005 11:16 pm ET by lwilliams

4. 
   Segil | Sep 22, 2005 12:25pm | #4

   Steamtrain,

        I realize your going to get a wide range of answers to this thread, so here is my two cents.  I find that I have three uses for chisels;  Fine carving work in solid wood at the highest level(most expensive chisels), garbage work like scaping stuff off of other stuff or chiselling where nails are present(lowest range), And a middle range where you need sharpness and quality, but the blade can't be brittle.  I have threeJapanese framing chisels for the high end which I got at Hida Tool in Berkeley,CA.,  my grandfathers set of Stanleys Everlasts for the middle, and of couple of Buck brothers hardware store specials for the lowest.  The japanese chisels are the quarterback, the Stanleys are the runners and receivers, the Buck Bros are the interior line.  Never let your quarterback get sacked! 

    

5. 
   Bioman | Sep 22, 2005 02:23pm | #5

   Ditto on Segil's comments, right on the mark.  I reserve my Japanese chisels for fine work requiring an ultra-sharp edge where pounding with a mallet is not needed, and have other chisels of lesser cost for heavier work, get a mixture and only get the sizes you need; my first set that I bought decades ago, still has two or three sizes I have never had a need to use.

1. 
   dukeone | Sep 22, 2005 04:56pm | #6

   Hello: I started out with a set of Pfeil ''bench'' chisels. I never see that brand mentioned, are they considered quality tools? They seem good to me but what do I know. Is the designation ''bench chisels'' nebulous? KDMKenneth Duke Masters
   The Bill of Rights
   December 15 1791
   NRA Endowment Member
   LEAA Life Member
   CRPA Member

1. 
   DCarr10760 | Sep 22, 2005 06:04pm | #7

   Dukeone,

   Pfiel Chisels are great!  They make the Swiss-Made carving tools that Woodcraft has sold forever.

   Very High Quality IMHO

   David Carroll

6. 
   robert1 | Sep 23, 2005 03:21am | #8

   What do you need the chisels for? For example, if you plan to do mortising by hand, then a good set of mortising chisels will be necessary. Alternatively, if most joints and woodworking will be done via machinery, then a set of good bench chisels are all that you will need. I do most paring and wood whacking with an old set of Marples, but if I were in the market for a good set of reasonably priced bench chisels that work well, I would strongly consider these:

   http://www.tools-for-woodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=745

   I have used one of these chisels and it worked very well. I received one free when I attended one of Highland Hardware's toolfests a few years ago.

1. 
   papanick | Sep 23, 2005 09:46pm | #9

   a good set of Marples (now Irwin) Blue chip chisels will handle most anything.

   They hold an edge well, have well ground bevels for dovetailing, take a fair bit of abuse, and they're cheap. They're also pretty easily available.

   I find myself using them as much as my Lee Valley chisels.The older I get, the better I was....

7. 
   kesac | Sep 25, 2005 06:48am | #10

   Those Freud chisels might require extensive lapping, but you don't have to do all of that in one day, just a bit here and there as you might need to use a particular chisel.  After that, they will probably last for a hundred or so years, and you might find one or two that you never really got around to using.

   Get a catalog from Highland Hardware.  Their catalog makes a fine textbook on lots of subjects.  You will like it.

1. 
   polarsea1 | Sep 25, 2005 07:11am | #11

   Another vote for the older chisels.

8. 
   BobOehler | Sep 25, 2005 08:03am | #12

   I vote for the old chisels also. I just kept a look out at garage sales and flees' and now I have about 15 of my favorite chisels. A few for tennion work, dove tails etc and a few knock around.
   A couple did not even have thier wood handles but that was not to hard to fix. most are Stanley but old and needed work to bring them back.

   take care
   Bob Oehler

1. 
   MHBurton | Sep 25, 2005 04:14pm | #13

   I love the old chisels myself. I started using the Marples Blue Chips but couldn't keep an edge on them. (I use them in Mesquite mostly). Then I lucked out and found an almost complete set of Stanley 750's on eBay for $125 and I love them. (BTW: If anyone has a 1/8", 1-3/4" or 2" 750 chisel I am interested in rounding out a complete set.)
   I like to think about who might have owned them before and what they built while I am using them myself. It is a matter of pride for me to use old tools and keep them in good working order for another generation. They were built for craftsmen to use and not sit on someone's collection shelf.
   When I am buying hand tools, I start looking for turn of the century stuff long before I consider buying a new one, whether they be planes, backsaws, chisels, etc. They are of far higher quality than most of the tools available today, except for the really high end stuff. Most of my hand tools were made before my grandpa was born. :-)Michael BurtonThunderbird HardwoodsKD MesquiteLlano, TX

9. 
   ted | Sep 25, 2005 04:48pm | #14

   There is a lot of good old steel out there. Bob Smalser has written some really good articles on finding, acquiring and restoring old chisels. Check out his articles at woodcentral.com You can piece together a set of far superior old steel for a fraction of what a new set of equal quality would cost but of course you'll have significant investment of time.

10. 
    UnclePaul | Sep 25, 2005 04:58pm | #15

    I have a set of Freud chisels given to me as a gift about 20 years ago and they work fine. At times the cutting edges seemed to chip a little too easy, but they are a sentimental favorite.Over the years I've collected some old TH Witherby and Charles Buck chisels that  I find to be outstanding.Something about the older steel....None of the older chisels cost me a fortune, as compared to what you could pay new for equal quality.  

11. 
    eddiefromAustralia | Sep 25, 2005 11:58pm | #16

    Matthew,

    Larry's post is good advice.

    Hit the flea markets.

    I prefer Berg or old Nooitgedagt chisels, but most chisels from pre-1940 are cheap (coz' they're ugly) and work well.  If they don't, you've only blown $5-

    Cheers,

    eddie