Looking for good quality chisels

[JimB1]

I've been using a set of Stanley 300 series chisels for a while now and before that an even cheaper set of Sears ones. I think I need to upgrade.

Here's what I'm looking for:

1) Wood handles (the Stanley's have a fat rubber coated handle which is OK but you tend to feel less in control of the blade to me it gives a little so then I end up overcompensating and slicing more aggressively then I want to. I like the solid feel of wood on a well made chisel handle.)

2) Holds an edge well. (the Stanley's aren't bad but really seem to be made for soft woods like construction grade fir. In harder woods like Oak they dull fairly quickly.)

3) Longer (the Stanley's seem to be shorter than a bench chisel but longer then a butt chisel. I think I want a bench chisel size as a good all around chisel and the longer length will let me lower the angle to the surface more then I can with a shorter blade meaning I can clean up a spot of dried glue or whatnot without gouging as much. I could use a scraper but sometimes you just have a little spot to do and a scraper scrapes the whole area around the one little spot you need to hit.)

Ideally I'd be able to get a set of common sizes 1/8. 1/4, 3/8. 1/2 for a reasonable price say under $150 or so. Lie-Nielsen is a little out of reach for now I think the price range should find me some good, solid options though.

So let's hear what you like and are using. I'm sure I'm not the only one that can't stretch for the top tier of the tool world but still needs to have something decent.

As always, thanks for your help.

-Jim

[jlloydparks]

I will speak to what I have experience with an others can chime in on their experiences.

I might suggest opting out of the 1/8" and pick up the 1/4", 3/8" and 3/4" from Lie-Nielsen. That is just a bit over your $150, but they are excellent chisels. You can then fill in the rest as needed. I love my O-1 LN chisels they get a work out in my shop and hold up well The handle fits in my hand like it was custom made.

Go over and look at the Ashley Iles chisels at Tools for Working Wood. These were my first set and probably the best bang for your buck if you are looking for wooden handles, small bevels and quality steel. Not quite the finish as the Lie-Nielsen chisels but very nice. I keep these around sharpened at about 35d for a bit more rough use in tough woods like hard maple. I have a chisel problem. You should be able to get the chisels you want for under $150 with this brand. I would also recommend that you add in a 3/4" chisel. You will find that one very useful to have. I seem to use my 3/8" and 3/4" more than any other chisels.

Best of Luck!

[Dan S]

Check out the Narex set at LV, or if you can wait a little bit, Chris Schwarz is going to review the new Stanley 750 chisels, and they might be of good quality at a fair price.

[mikepdarr]

I second Josh on the Ashley Iles. I got a set the year before last for my birthday. Love them.

[nikbrown]

Go over and look at the Ashley Iles chisels at Tools for Working Wood.

+1 on the Ashley Iles ones. I have that set and love it. They are great pairing chisels with great quality steel!!! Sometimes they seem a bit long to me when I am doing things like chopping dovetails. But they also have the American pattern ones that are shorter: http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/Merchant/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=toolshop&Product_Code=IL-100-20.XX&Category_Code=CIL

My dad has that set and loves them.

[Jonathryn]

I think it depends on what you want to do. I have and can recommend Ashley Iles's American Pattern butt chisels. The steel is excellent, they are ground to a very fine bevel on the sides that you can reach right in between tails & pins on dovetails. They're short, so it's easier to use on dovetails than a long, unwieldy paring chisel for paring and slicing and chipping away in those little joints. If you're going to do dovetails, for Pete's sake make sure the sides are ground very narrow so you can get in to the corners. you can't do that with, say, a firmer or mortise chisel.

I also like long paring chisels for carving things like saw handles. I repair a lot of saw horns and find it easier to do most of the initial work with a long paring chisel. The length literally gives you a greater degree of control. Envision how much fine motor control you have in fractions of a degree with a 4" long chisel versus a 16" long chisel. Raising the handle up or down a half an inch makes a huge difference with how the edge of a 4" chisel approaches the work, whereas raising the handle of the long paring chisel a half an inch might change the angle of attack by only five degrees or so. I think one or two long, thin paring chisels of about 1/2 inch introduce accuracy and are a pleasure to use. I would recommend O-1 steel for this because you want to be able to get a very acute bevel angle, like 20 - 25 degrees. A-2 type steel doesn't like that and it doesn't make sense to me to use A-2 for that purpose. I would also look into crank-necked chisels for this one.

Another thing that's handy around the bench is a really big chisel with say a 2" wide blade, the longer the better. I use mine like you would a pocket knife that has a handle at a 90 degree angle; it's handy for all sorts of things. You can use it as a striking knife in a pinch. You can knock little corners out to start a saw cut. You can chamfer an edge or the first bit of a tenon to slip it in to the mortise a little easier. If you use the entire length of the edge it'll dull slower than if you did the same work with a 3/8 inch chisel. This could be a firmer-style chisel or even just something that you pick up at the hardware store, like Stanley or Buck Bros. I've read that the steel in Footprint brand chisels from Sears is really good.

The sash mortise chisels from Narex are good if you're going to do a lot of that kind of work. I have a set and the steel is very good, but for big joints I prefer a long, old, heavy, socket millwright's chisel. I have an old 1/2 inch one that gets down to business in short order. The pig stickers look nice for this purpose but I haven't used them.

And put some money aside in your budget for sharpening. That's a whole other can of worms. Approach it piecemeal, get high quality so you won't have to pay extra for regret. And keep your old Stanleys. I still use my first set for all sorts of disgraceful stuff, like punching through drywall. They're still good, useful chisels, and I'm always sure to clean and sharpen my good beater set after all these years.

[JimB1]

I think it depends on what you want to do.

Well that's sort of the rub. Right now I just use chisels for simple things like squaring hinge mortises, cleaning up tenons and so on. I am looking to do more though and am trying to get a good general use chisel set together for now. I think as I get more into hand tool woodworking I will need to gather other more specialized chisels but for now I am just looking for a good, do-it-all set.

I also like long paring chisels for carving things like saw handles. I repair a lot of saw horns and find it easier to do most of the initial work with a long paring chisel. The length literally gives you a greater degree of control. Envision how much fine motor control you have in fractions of a degree with a 4" long chisel versus a 16" long chisel. Raising the handle up or down a half an inch makes a huge difference with how the edge of a 4" chisel approaches the work, whereas raising the handle of the long paring chisel a half an inch might change the angle of attack by only five degrees or so. I think one or two long, thin paring chisels of about 1/2 inch introduce accuracy and are a pleasure to use. I would recommend O-1 steel for this because you want to be able to get a very acute bevel angle, like 20 - 25 degrees. A-2 type steel doesn't like that and it doesn't make sense to me to use A-2 for that purpose. I would also look into crank-necked chisels for this one.

I wondered about A-2 vs O-1. Thanks for the info. You summed up my thought on looking for something longer perfectly.

And put some money aside in your budget for sharpening. That's a whole other can of worms. Approach it piecemeal, get high quality so you won't have to pay extra for regret.

Yeah, I need to build some sharpening skills. There are some decent videos out there though that help.

I'll have to look into the Ashley IIes chisels. Never heard of them before but looks like most of you have tried them and given the thumbs up I'll think about buying LN one at a time too. That might be an option, I have a birthday in a few months, maybe I can buy 2 or 3 first and hint strongly to my wife that I'd like the others .

Chris Schwarz is going to review the new Stanley 750 chisels, and they might be of good quality at a fair price.

I've been reading about the new Stanley Sweetheart line and the 750 chisels. I'm not in a big rush so I can wait to get some more info on them. My Stanleys are still usable so I can take some time to find exactly what I want.

If anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know. Like I said, I have time to research and look around. Probably won't be buying until the end of Feb or early March anyway (after taxes are paid )

Thanks

-Jim

[wilburpan]

Yeah, I need to build some sharpening skills. There are some decent videos out there though that help.

If you can make it to the CJWA meeting tomorrow night, I promise you'll leave with the knowledge and skill to sharpen chisels and plane blades.

[jon003]

The Lie-Nielsen chisels are improved copies of the old stanley 750, the cadillac of chisels.

You can either buy them or vintage 750s and rehab them. (Although based on the ebay prices, the LN seem practically cheap!)

You can't go wrong with the Blue Spruce chisels either.

[alindsey]

Haven't seen them mentioned yet, so I'll throw in that I've been very happy with the Crown chisels I bought a year ago. Woodcraft sells the basic set of four for $89.00.

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2001833/2849/CROWN-Set-of-4-Classic-Bench-Chisels--Best-Value.aspx

I've been using a set of Stanley 300 series chisels for a while now and before that an even cheaper set of Sears ones. I think I need to upgrade.

Here's what I'm looking for:

1) Wood handles (the Stanley's have a fat rubber coated handle which is OK but you tend to feel less in control of the blade to me it gives a little so then I end up overcompensating and slicing more aggressively then I want to. I like the solid feel of wood on a well made chisel handle.)

2) Holds an edge well. (the Stanley's aren't bad but really seem to be made for soft woods like construction grade fir. In harder woods like Oak they dull fairly quickly.)

3) Longer (the Stanley's seem to be shorter than a bench chisel but longer then a butt chisel. I think I want a bench chisel size as a good all around chisel and the longer length will let me lower the angle to the surface more then I can with a shorter blade meaning I can clean up a spot of dried glue or whatnot without gouging as much. I could use a scraper but sometimes you just have a little spot to do and a scraper scrapes the whole area around the one little spot you need to hit.)

Ideally I'd be able to get a set of common sizes 1/8. 1/4, 3/8. 1/2 for a reasonable price say under $150 or so. Lie-Nielsen is a little out of reach for now I think the price range should find me some good, solid options though.

So let's hear what you like and are using. I'm sure I'm not the only one that can't stretch for the top tier of the tool world but still needs to have something decent.

As always, thanks for your help.

-Jim