Best Chisels

[hobbit]

Could someone please point mein the right direction of the top 3 chisel manufacturers

TIA

[engineerone]

do you have a budget in mind???

bahco orange handles are pretty decent

paul

[hobbit]

engineerone said:

do you have a budget in mind???

bahco orange handles are pretty decent

paul

Limit it to £25 a chisel, now you are going to tell me that I have no chance of top 3

[jfc]

I like the Marples orange and yellow handles . £50 for a set of six .
I looked at the Bahco ones and it looked like grinding lines all over the blade .
At the end of the day if you know how to sharpen them then a set of faithful at £25 will do as you tw*t the other end with a mallet /hammer . If you want some nice handles then turn them your self .
I can see no reason on spending a fortune on a chisel like some do on planes . You can make a cheaper chisel sharp and work just aswell as long as the blade is ok .

[hobbit]

jfc said:

I like the Marples orange and yellow handles . £50 for a set of six .
I looked at the Bahco ones and it looked like grinding lines all over the blade .
At the end of the day if you know how to sharpen them then a set of faithful at £25 will do as you tw*t the other end with a mallet /hammer . If you want some nice handles then turn them your self .
I can see no reason on spending a fortune on a chisel like some do on planes . You can make a cheaper chisel sharp and work just aswell as long as the blade is ok .

Thanks, what about Kirschen, seen these at Axminster

[engineerone]

in aw of jasons work though i am, i would question whether a person who spends more time cabinet making would whack them with a hammer ;D

the bahco ones in my hands which i must admit were some of their earlier ones under the new incarnation, ie about 4 years old, were pretty easy to clean up front and rear.

for really cheap i do not think you can beat those sold by lidl
great for learning about sharpening, even jacob's method

have you thought about japanese ones???

otherwise it is strange, many recent american reviews say that marples are very good, but personal experience and that of friends who bash them is not so good. maybe like post second world war, the best british stuff still goes there ;D

kirschen and two cherries seem pretty good, but again a lot depends on how you use them.
paul

[paulchapman]

I've found that if you look around in second-hand shops you can find some very good chisels by makers like Sorby and Marples (when they were good) at very reasonable prices - £10 or less, so well within your budget. Don't know where you are based, but places like Classic Hand Tools and Pennyfarthing Tools often have good ones second-hand - I've bought a few from them.

Cheers

Paul

[Sparky]

Well

Since you have heard about good choices at reasonable prices I'll mention the ones that are very expensive.
(least to most expensive ones in the US, all of which are very very good)
Lie-Nielsen
Blue Spruce
Barr

You would know better about the european chisels but
Two Cherries
Ashley Iles
maybe Henry Taylor or something from Sweden?

And finally the Japanese Chisels are made with more attention to detail and thus cost than the ones above combined. If you wanted you could get some for more than what Karl Hotley would charge for a FEW planes. I just don't know who makes them.

Sparky

[mrgrimsdale]

hobbit said:

engineerone said:

do you have a budget in mind???

bahco orange handles are pretty decent

paul

Limit it to £25 a chisel, now you are going to tell me that I have no chance of top 3

You can get a whole set of OK useable chisels for £25. To be realistic you don't get much added value if you pay £25 each, except they will look a lot nicer and they should also have properly bevelled edges - which often gets skimped on cheapos.

cheers
Jacob

[dunbarhamlin]

Certainly of those examples I have, I find the Robert Sorby bevel edge chisels better than Ashleigh Iles. At this price point I think there is a lot of variation between examples from a given supplier. For instance, I have three Sorby 1/4", two reground as skews. One of the three can have taken no more than five minutes to fully lap, the other two somewhat longer.

(Again, of those examples I have (had)) Henry Taylor I would put on a par with Crown. Good for the occasional paint tin lid or as a glue chisel.

[colincott]

I have to agree with Jacob and JFC on this one as I dont see the point in buying chisel for more than is needed, like these which did get a good review in one of the mags when they tested a few of the chisel maker.

I am lucky to have almost a full set of old Marples. some Sorbys ( old and new ) but for site work I have a set of the old Black handle Stanleys

[mrspanton]

The ones I use are all old/pre-war British makes eg mathison, greaves, ibbotsons, marples, toga, herring etc. All refurbed in electrolysis tank, hand polished back's, Home made handles (and ferrule's, and leather washers on ones that needed it) Usually no more than 50p each.
Have you thought of silverline or rolson makes? They are very popular nowaday's.

[mrgrimsdale]

sparky said:

Well

Since you have heard about good choices at reasonable prices I'll mention the ones that are very expensive.
(least to most expensive ones in the US, all of which are very very good)
Lie-Nielsen
Blue Spruce
Barr

You would know better about the european chisels but
Two Cherries
Ashley Iles
maybe Henry Taylor or something from Sweden?

And finally the Japanese Chisels are made with more attention to detail and thus cost than the ones above combined. If you wanted you could get some for more than what Karl Hotley would charge for a FEW planes. I just don't know who makes them.

Sparky

When I first started with _{another place} about a year or so ago, there was a spate of complaints about Lei Neelson chisels - "crumbly" edges, bad finish, poor handles etc. I wasn't too impressed and daring to point this out was the start of the slippery slope to a ban as I was obviously being sacreligious and upsetting the true believers ;D ;D
They might have improved since then, the chisels that is, I expect the TBs are as silly as ever.
But you can get a lifetimes supply of Silverline for less than the price of one LN crumbly

cheers
Jacob

[Scrit]

engineerone said:

in aw of jasons work though i am, i would question whether a person who spends more time cabinet making would whack them with a hammer ;D

Take it from me, Paul, if you use a mallet on site they call you a pooftah - at least until you smack them with the mallet ;D

engineerone said:

for really cheap i do not think you can beat those sold by lidl great for learning about sharpening, even jacob's method

I'd agree, and not half bad. At least with the LIDL cheapies you don't mind painters opening cans with them or even riving away at plaster They hold a reasonable edge, too. But good quality they are not. I still use Stanley 5001s, but I believe these are no longer listed, and it appears as though I'm in good company ;D:

colincott said:

but for site work I have a set of the old Black handle Stanleys

The 5002 is similar, but not as shiney, and have blue handles

Scrit

[hobbit]

Thanks for all the info, I do have some Sorby turning chisels, just need a lathe to go with them and a bigger workshop to fit the lathe in, lol, I do have some cheapish chisels, about £5 each but was under the impression that a more expensive chisel would be made from harder steel and would hold the knife edge longer.

[nickw]

mrgrimsdale said:

there was a spate of complaints about Lei Neelson chisels

IIRC it was a "spate" of 1.

I'm very happy with mine, they take all sorts of crap without complaining - or crumbling.

[mrgrimsdale]

I've got some Stanley 5001s too. They look good and seem to be harder steel than most of my others. I'm never sure of the point of harder steel - they hold an edge longer, but they take longer to sharpen - hence you are likely to use them blunt for longer.
I suppose it's all a matter of compromise and depends on what you are actually doing with them.
I've also got some stanley 5005 s which don't look anything like the latest ones. They are squat and ugly with black cheap looking handles and very feeble bevels. More like firmers with the edges taken off slightly. But they sharpen OK and are perfectly useable.
The only chisels I've found unuseable are various old ones which have probably been misused and over heated. They don't take an edge - a soft wire edge comes up immediately, showing how soft they are.

cheers
Jacob

[engineerone]

hobbitt,
as you can see we all have different views.

i personally have a diverse selection,
5 or so older ones, well at least 40 years and maybe 50
including some early faithfull, which i have only recently cleaned and re sharpened,

i also have some wooden handled marples of about 25 years age, which seem not to take a 25 degree edge, plus the bahco,
plus some dutch ones in swedish steel, one of which colin cott now has

plus about 4 japanese chisels which i only occassionally use, but find have specific uses. plus of course my lidl ones which as scrit says may not be good, but do keep an edge for a surprisingly long time, but also allow you to learn your sharpening skills.

it all i think depends on how much site work you do, and how much fine work. on site you want cheap and cheerful because someone will always borrow them when you are not looking.
at home alone, then you can look at some of the other brands you have seen mentioned here.

good luck

paul

[Scrit]

mrgrimsdale said:

I've got some Stanley 5001s too. They look good and seem to be harder steel than most of my others. I'm never sure of the point of harder steel - they hold an edge longer, but they take longer to sharpen - hence you are likely to use them blunt for longer

On oak, of course, you end up sharpening at least every other day....... So it's good for practice, I suppose

engineerone said:

on site you want cheap and cheerful because someone will always borrow them when you are not looking

Maybe in your part of the world - round here that can get you a severe case of "Passy finger" ;D

[mrgrimsdale]

engineerone said:

snip
it all i think depends on how much site work you do, and how much fine work.
snip

You can do fine work with a rufty tufty cheapy chisel, no prob. It just has to be sharp enough. Except bevels often crap on cheapos, but then you can easily grind a bit of bevel if really necessary.

cheers
Jacob

[modernist]

30 year old blue handled stanleys for everyday work which are good steel and reasonably well proportioned, and a set of Japanese cabinet makers (blue steel multi hollow backs and full bevel over the whole top) for showing off and enjoying myself.

There is no doubt that the latter offer a sharper edge and are great for finish paring especially on arkward timbers such as Columbian pine where the end grain is very uneven. Despite the pictures of steel hammers in Japan they are more brittle and tend to "crumble" if hit "wrong".

I could only find that combination of Japanese from the woodworking museum site in the States but no doubt they are availalble here now from some of the more esoteric suppliers (at a price)

[dirtydeeds]

bacho 343s

with the exception of london pattern registered mortice chisels

nothing comes close for heavy duty use

[evergreen]

Hobbit

Lots of good advice above. I'd just add that if you do woodworking for interest/fun, you could buy just one expensive chisel and see if it's really worth the difference in price. Does it help you do better work or is it just more satisfing to use? Or is it overpriced? At least then you would know from experience.

I've got a mix of old pre-WWII chisels and a set of Stanley 5001s (which, in the early 1970s, I could only afford to buy one at a time !). Good enough for my standard of work.

Regards.

[engineerone]

thinking about jacob's question about hard metals for chisels and even plane blades.

it is to me an interesting comment on modern manufacturing.

when i was younger amongst my many jobs, i sold furnace linings, and we used to service what was then british steel. in those days, it was pretty easy to obtain small batches of steel to your spec. these days steel production is i think mainly on a larger scale, so for someone manufacturing tools in a small quantity, you have to buy what is available. otherwise the cost ratios are much too high. as for the so called mass producers, they no longer seem to care about overall quality, only happy with volume sales, so they go for what appears to be a harder steel compound, because they know many of their customers do no longer sharpen themselves, except the amateurs or the specific hand tool pros, and they want it to appear sharper for longer.

it is i think one of the reasons why richardsons of sheffield, continue to make attempts at long lasting blades for their kitchen knives, people no longer know how to sharpen.

in the old days even steel was "aged" in the same way that cast iron was, and i think this is why so many steels of yore seem of better quality, they were not sharpened, hardened and tempered immediately after making, so the internals had time to come to terms with their new position in life. i would think that if you tested a number of the older blades that we all like, they may be less "hard" than modern ones, but more durable.

although steel making now is more accurate, and it is less of the black art which made the kind of steels that we all prefer, and the various processes like cyrogenics make this more marginal than flexible. that is why i think there are so many types available in the market place as blades, and so few that we are happy with.

paul

[mrspanton]

mrspanton said:

Have you thought of silverline or rolson makes? They are very popular nowaday's.

OO yes, forgot the faithful brand as well
(I was being sacrastic in case you never knew, I hope no ones daft enough to actually BUY any of that chinease stuff) That stuff is popular by default because most people dont know any better. It grieves me that our manuyfacturing resources were scrapped so we could then be an increasingly insignificant part of the enforced collective global village. How many file manufacturers are there in sheffield nowadays? No tools any car's, ship's, tanks etc I expect the MOD wil one day have to buy weapons from china (good old cheapo china, there'l be a high price to pay one day) I never knew till recently that HSBC was a chinease banking group