I recently discovered that the chisels I have are not going to be good for furniture work. I was wondering if anyone had a favorite set of chisels that they would recommend buying. Thank you.
Discussion Forum
Get It All!
UNLIMITED Membership is like taking a master class in woodworking for less than $10 a month.
Start Your Free TrialCategories
Discussion Forum
Digital Plans Library
Member exclusive! – Plans for everyone – from beginners to experts – right at your fingertips.
Highlights
-
Shape Your Skills
when you sign up for our emails
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. -
Shop Talk Live Podcast -
Our favorite articles and videos -
E-Learning Courses from Fine Woodworking
-
-
Replies
I have a 10 year old set of Mapes Blues, and a newer set of LN. The latter are great for paring and dovetails. I have some Hirsch mortise chisels and a few other odds and ends.
Unfortunately, the quality (and quanity) of steel in the Mapes seems to have declined recently- too bad, they were a good buy. I have not heard any bad comments about the Two Cherries, and they are less expensive than the LN. You could also look around for a set of old Stanley 750s (pre-WWII), but they are getting more expensive and a bit harder to find than formerly. I would not buy them without checking them out first (e.g. avoid eBay).
The LV chisels might be OK- I haven't any first hand experience with them, but they are reasonably priced and LV has an unrivaled rep for quality/value and outstanding customer service... Perhaps someone else can comment,
Glaucon
If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...
The LV chisels might be OK- I haven't any first hand experience with them, but they are reasonably priced and LV has an unrivaled rep for quality/value and outstanding customer service... Perhaps someone else can comment,
A friend of mine had them and they didn't seem to hold to hold an edge very well. Too make a long story short he returned them and got the Hirsch Firmer set (? $125 CN for the set, wood handles...). A woodworker mentor who teaches night classes has a similar opinion.
One thing I noticed about these chisels is that they are being sold under the LV name not the Verities brand like the planes and jigs and such. So my guess is they don't make them themselves.
If you live near LV they may still have some of the older Maples Blue.
Over thirty-five years of wood working I have gone through my share of chisels, cheap and expensive ones. Plus, I have two grown sons who use to like to give away (lose) tools. Got me out of the habit of spending a lot of money on chisels. Currently, I own an old set of Stanley 750's that I just had to have, Sorby Mortises, several old unmarked socket chisels (my beaters), a set of Sears Craftmans (fat black handles with metal striking cap), and a new set of Narex bevel edged chisels that I got from Highland Hardware. The Narex are as good as any British, Swedish, or German chisels for about a third the money and come boxed.
The Stanley 750s have a good feel to them, but the steel is soft and require constant honing so I only use them for light work. For fine paring of the really hard stuff the Narex, hold an edge, hone very sharp, and are comfortable to use for long periods. For mallet work in the hard stuff the Sears chisels work extremely well, hold an edge longer than any other chisel I've used (tried and hated an expensive Japanese chisel, the hollow back drove me nuts, stayed sharp though). I did regrind the bevelled edges on the Sears Chisels, these things are fat. Bought them because a few years back Fine Woodworking did a review of a dozen or so brands of chisels and these cheap Sears chisels rated pretty well as far a the quality of the steel goes.
I use to think I had to spend big bucks to get decent chisels, I was wrong. Get a set of Narex, not much money to risk if you don't like them, but I think you will find them up to the task. (Sorry for the long windedness, just hate to see people waste money.)
You should check out Two Cherries. They are readily available in sets, are a good fit in the hand, can take a serious beating with a mallet, and hold an edge better than most sets that cost twice as much. I've got a very expensive set of Nishiki dovetail chisels, and my set of Two Cherries. I use the two cherries for most of my everyday chiseling, and the Nishiki's come out for dovetailing.
Jeff
JeffHeath,
A word of warning !!!!....do not, repeat, do not handle the LN chisels. I got to play with them last weekend at Woodcraft...they have that same look and feel as the 41/2 does to other planes...wow. Given your penchant for quality toys...Beware.
That's funny. I'm quite happy with my Two Cherries, as well as my Nishiki's. I don't anticipate purchasing a new set of chisels anytime soon.
Jeff
Amen brother.
I now have FULL sets of MArples blue chips. Fuller Butt chisels, Lee Valley Bevel Edge chisels, and now the Rosewwod handled Lie-Nielsens.
In addition to about 50 carving tools.
I don't know if I need help, or if they just see me coming from miles away....
The older I get, the better I was....
Edited 1/14/2006 9:59 am ET by papanick
papanick,
I saw the LN chisels two years ago while in trial and was only reasonably impressed. Last Saturday, while discovering the sale on carving chisels at Woodcraft (ugh!)(clasping on to a printout of Lee's dirty dozen must have carving chisels)they brought over the LN's....blew me away...
50...don't say that...please :)
Edited 1/13/2006 11:09 am ET by BG
Oh- don't get me started on the carving tool clearout sale at Woodcraft- I just ordered 10 more Henry Taylors (my whole setup are Taylors, plus a few I made, and a mutts or two).
They're in the air as we speak....The older I get, the better I was....
BG
Great sale, huh? It's hard to beat 35% off! I'm going Tuesday to acquire the rest of Lee's "dirty dozen" that I don't already have.
Jeff
I really think that the most important aspect for a chisel is that it be comfortable to hold. The high carbon steels used in chisels really differ very little, whether it be O1, A2, etc. and what the ratios of chromium, vanaduim, etc. are. The real key is whether it was heat treated and tempered correctly. Some chisels manufacturers like to temper the chisel to a high Rockwell hardness which means the chisel will need honed less, but honing takes longer and they will also chip more easily requiring regrinding. Other manufacturers give chisels a lower hardness which means more frequent, easier honing and less liklihood of chipping.
I have or have had Marples, Stanley, Hirsch, Crown, Japanese style, and recently, Messerschmidt. The chisels that I reach for repeatedly though are Wigson brand chisels made in India! I picked them up several years ago and I love them. The are chrome vanadium and hardened on the soft side so there is no brittleness which I like. They have composite handles and their shape makes them very comfortable to hold. Wigson is a small manufacturer in India and heat treating in India can be very well done, a remnant of formerly being part of the British Empire I suppose. I picked these up in Europe and I have never seen them in the U.S., too bad. I've kicked around the idea of importing some from India for resale, though I probably don't have the wherewithall to actually do it.
My favorites are the Japanese chisels sold at Woodcraft. Don't know the brand (all the writing is in Japanese script), but they hone up easily and hold an edge well. Price is not too bad, either.
Not sure why you think your chisels aren't sufficient for furniture work. Also, its important to first determine what your needs are of your chisels. Will you be chopping dovetails? Paring machine made points? Cuttting mortises or other trickier joints? The answers you get here will not be helpful until you determine what specifically you want to do.
There are a variety of chisels available in a huge range of prices. If you do enough digging, you'll eventually find that there is no one best brand or even type of chisel. So obviously the goal is to find the best chisel set for you and we'll help but we need to know more about what you want to do.
Here are a couple of metrics to evaluate:
Hard chisels are nice for chopping, but they can be a pain to sharpen. Sometimes a hard chisel is nice, sometimes not.
Handles are pretty important. Some are better than others. If you use chisels infrequently, you can get away with almost any handle. If you want to make a chest of drawers and hand cut all the dovetails, you'll need a handle that supports that type of work. Not every handle will.
Often overlooked is the effect of a chisel's width. I find metric chisels unfortunately sized. Because I cut a lot of dt's I find I prefer to have several different sizes between 1/4" and 3/4" (like all the 1/16's).
Lastly, different chisels have different blade shapes and cross sections (patterns). I really like thin, square sided chisels- don't know if anyone still makes these.
So my advice is to consider more carefully what you'll be doing, then evaluate these attributes- steel, handles, sizes, pattern, and of course, cost.
Adam
Thanks for the reply. I have kind of construction type -general purpose chisels. They have teeth on the front and back, and tend to mess up the wood on delicate work. I won't use them all that often, since I am just a hobbiest, but would like to get something that would last me from here on out. I would mainly use them for joinery. I like to do mortise and tenons, and eventually would like to try dovetails. I have an older stanley sweetheart chisel that I really like. I think it is called a pear shaped handle? It fits me well. Do you know of anyone who makes this style handle? Thanks again for the help.
Okay- so you have the chisel/rasp combo tool? If so you're absolutely right. These won't do.So for just some misc. paring, I would go with the standard 1/4",1/2",3/4",1" chisel set. I think it would be fine to get a cheap set. Marples are cheap and they have oval shaped handles that you may like. I would trust the others here who recommend LV or Narex (or whatever). (People who know me here are presently wondering if aliens have taken over my body. I usually rail against these sets. But there's a method to my madness.) I'd like to recommend the chisels I use and/or restoring antique tools, but you may be better off starting with cheaper tools, getting comfortable sharpening (you'll get plenty of experience with marples), etc. Plus, I think you should buy one really expensive chisel right away. I recommend purchasing a 1/4" or 5/16" (english) Joiner's mortise chisel. You can get one second hand and restore it. Or you can plunk down $50 and get one from toolsforworkingwood.com (no affliation). These tools really are superior to all others for this purpose. They are a joy to use. When you get into dovetailing, you'll need those sizes I was talking about. By that time, you may well have your own strong opinions about what you want to use. As your confidence with your chisels grows, I recommend purchasing an any antique that looks clean and is 1-1/2 to 2" wide and fairly thin. A wide paring chisel is very handly for mortise and tenon work. This won't be a chisel you'll beat on, so its handle needn't be great. You may find this would make a good "project" chisel- to restore, make a new handle etc.Lastly, please read or reread my article in last year's Popular Woodworking entitled "Advanced Chisel Techniques", if for no other reason that it will help you put my advice into perspective. I also recommend Garret Hack's very pragmatic article on Bench Chisels in FWW (two year's ago?). Your public library may well have both issues. If not, I'm sure both magazines would be happy to sell you back issues. If you e-mail me offline, I'll be sure to get you the exact issue number etc.Good luck with the chisels. I really like chisels (as you can see).Adam
I'm just curious, what kind of chisels do you have and why don't you think they are suitable for furniture work?
Brent
I have four total, most of which are more for construction I think. They have teeth on the fronts and backs of the chisels. Other than a 1", 3/4" and 1/2" in that style, I have a 1/4" chisel that has the beveled edges. I use it most. I would like a set similar to it along with 1/8" chisel for the little stuff. Is there any sets out there now like the Stanley sweetheart chisels? I have one of my grandads, but don't want to use it. But I like the design. It fits well in my hands.
I have a set of Marples and they are garbage. They seem to chip easily and don't hold an edge well. My other set, used constantly is a set of Craftsman I inherited from my Dad about 40 years ago. They are marked as made in Germany, hold an edge forever, and have a great handle that will take a beating. I thought I needed a new set when I bought the Marples. Recommend you look for an older used set by Craftsman or Stanley and avoid the 6 week wait for the overpriced LNs.
I'm surprised to hear that you've had a problem with your Marples Chisels. I got a new set last year and they're great. I also have a set of Robert Sorby and Crown morising chisels that I enjoy as well. I spoke to a friend that deals with Marples, and he said the chisels are still made of Sheffield steel and manufactured in England. The chisels are not as nice as the LN, but they are also 1/4 the price. After 18 years of fine furniture building I reach for the marples all the time.
I've had a set of Two cherries for several years and love them. They are a terrific chisel.
Alan & Lynette Mikkelsen, Mountain View Farm, est. 1934, Gardens & Fine Woodworking, St. Ignatius, MT
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled