I want some wood chisels...

[dobbslc]

I'm after a small set of cheapish wood chisels for cutting in door hinges etc. I've seen the Narex brand, are these any good for the money?
Says made in the Czech republic so not Chinese sheeet.

Narex 8105 Bevel Edged Chisels Boxed Set

Narex 8105 Bevel Edged Chisels Boxed Set, set of 6 - accurately machined, isothermally hardened with the feel of a much higher priced chisel. Workshop Heaven.

workshopheaven.com

 

[winchman]

I have these all bought second hand never had any issues

Pardon our interruption...

 

[Keith 66]

I have some narex turnscrews, Also bought from Workshop heaven, very good quality & a nice company to deal with.
As for Irwin/Marples, I have a fair few original old Marples chisels & they were good, but in my experience anything with irwin in front of the name is far eastern tat & a far cry from what they once were.

 

[TEO]

I'm after a small set of cheapish wood chisels for cutting in door hinges etc. I've seen the Narex brand, are these any good for the money?
Says made in the Czech republic so not Chinese sheeet.

Narex 8105 Bevel Edged Chisels Boxed Set

Narex 8105 Bevel Edged Chisels Boxed Set, set of 6 - accurately machined, isothermally hardened with the feel of a much higher priced chisel. Workshop Heaven.

workshopheaven.com

The Narex ones are excellent value for money & you won't get better customer service than work Worksopheaven.
Whatever you buy you'll need to flatten& polish the backs before putting on the bevel.

 

[winchman]

I have some narex turnscrews, Also bought from Workshop heaven, very good quality & a nice company to deal with.
As for Irwin/Marples, I have a fair few original old Marples chisels & they were good, but in my experience anything with irwin in front of the name is far eastern tat & a far cry from what they once were.

Thats a very good point I know this from my Vice grip collection once they have Irwin on them I feel the quality goes down. All mine are very old bought for a £1 or 2 at car boots.

 

[gaz1]

the screwfix chisel set is ample enough for basic chiseling or enough to get anyone going the 20.00 set is good enough

i cant give a link as for some reason firefox wont go near it or better known as my firefox install

 

[Ian X]

I have these all bought second hand never had any issues

Pardon our interruption...

Agreed fully. Some people advocate for the "old" ones, I dont have a problem with any of them. The handles take some welly and the steel keeps its edge well for the price.

 

[reb78]

I have these all bought second hand never had any issues

Pardon our interruption...

I have a set of these too. Nice chisels .

 

[brightspark]

i have a set of these decent quality and the price isnt bad . got mine second hand half the price https://www.screwfix.com/c/tools/wood-chisels/cat9800002 the irwin ones 41 quid

 

[oldbikedavey]

A cheap sharp chisel is a lot better than an expensive blunt one....

 

[dobbslc]

What started this off was me losing my dads old wood handled chisel under the floor in the house .
I think it's buried under the new oak flooring and that's not coming up to find it, someone in the future can have a nice surprise!
I fancied a treat for myself as I've had a hard year with a knee replacement and no bike riding I'm certainly not a skilled wood butcher but want something nice to look at and use

 

[oldbikedavey]

What started this off was me losing my dads old wood handled chisel under the floor in the house .
I think it's buried under the new oak flooring and that's not coming up to find it, someone in the future can have a nice surprise!
I fancied a treat for myself as I've had a hard year with a knee replacement and no bike riding I'm certainly not a skilled wood butcher but want something nice to look at and use

Mr eBay is your friend, and there will be some really good kit available on there....
A leather flap wheel for the bench grinder and some polishing compound is a nifty step towards being able to shave with your chisels.
That, and a little Eclipse honing guide for stoning the things.....

 

[dobbslc]

I've got a couple of honing guides (one was my dads actually) and stones, I also have a couple of those flat diamond hones that seem ok.
The leather thing I don't have.

 

[brewdexta]

I have quite a few chisels, some acquired at my time as a BT apprentice (Footprint), some from card boots (old Sorby etc.), some inherited from my dad (mainly Stanley) and gifted for Birthday/Xmas (New Sorby)

A while ago I thought I would treat myself to some new posh Sunday best chisels. I was quite depressed by the British top-end chisels like Sorby and Ashley Illes, they look like they were made on a Friday after the pub, badly finished, completely asymmetric, alright for fitting some hinges but the finish isn't that good.

Here's a selection of my posher ones

Left is a Narex mortice chisel I used when building my woodworking bench, just the one of these as I have a morticer but the bench was too big/heavy to get onto it.
Next is an Ashley Illes dovetail chisel, just one of these, they are curved rather than bevelled and are great for clearing out a dovetail after using a jig, or doing them from scratch. Finish isn't too bad but not perfect.
Next is some relative;y modern Robert Sorby, probably about 10 years old. Work ok but the ring around the top can drop off and the back needed a lot of flattening.
Far right is a Narex Richter cryo steel chisel, I have a full set of these, finished lovely, very little flattening needed and keeps a great edge - and they were on offer and same or lower price than Ashley Illes or Sorby. I hide these from my daughter's they use the Stanley's

This shows what I mean about finish, if it was a 10 bob chisel from screwfix then fine, but these are supposed to be top end chisels.

Top one is the Sorby, completely asymmetric and rough as a badger's. Ok, doesn't matter to the operation of the sharp end but it is surely not difficult to build a jig to grind this, even if they are hand finished.

Bottom one is Narex Richter, night and day, finished lovely, pleasure to use.

So, yes, Narex are good

 

[grim_d]

I'm very happy with my Narex chisels.

 

[tom2207]

Thats a very good point I know this from my Vice grip collection once they have Irwin on them I feel the quality goes down. All mine are very old bought for a £1 or 2 at car boots.

I still buy Mole grips , old quality being one reason , the other is that the lever un does the other way from vise grips , so easier to use with thick gloves on.

 

[Smallfry]

Agreed fully. Some people advocate for the "old" ones, I dont have a problem with any of them. The handles take some welly and the steel keeps its edge well for the price.

As a long time professional wood botherer, I have to say that the modern Marples set is OK. Handles don't break, even if using a hammer.

BUT, they can't hold a candle to an old, proper, Marples, with "Made in Sheffield" stamped into the blade. Do not hold an edge anything like as well. Proper Marples had wooden handles, and needed to be used with a wooden mallet.

Footprint, Ward, and Marples were best and most available. I can't comment on modern ones other than Marples, as I have never had to buy any. B&Q and the likes are good for opening paint tins though, and I use them as gasket scrapers and for car bodywork.

Bevel edge chisels are not good for producing mortices either, as they twist.

 

[Smallfry]

I still buy Mole grips , old quality being one reason , the other is that the lever un does the other way from vise grips , so easier to use with thick gloves on.

OT, but some years ago I bougth some "Crescent" brand ones, made in USA, and I have found them better than "Mole" grips in every way.

 

[Welderpaul]

As a long time professional wood botherer, I have to say that the modern Marples set is OK. Handles don't break, even if using a hammer.

BUT, they can't hold a candle to an old, proper, Marples, with "Made in Sheffield" stamped into the blade. Do not hold an edge anything like as well. Proper Marples had wooden handles, and needed to be used with a wooden mallet.

Footprint, Ward, and Marples were best and most available. I can't comment on modern ones other than Marples, as I have never had to buy any. B&Q and the likes are good for opening paint tins though, and I use them as gasket scrapers and for car bodywork.

Bevel edge chisels are not good for producing mortices either, as they twist.

I have bought a lot of the old 1970's/80's blue handled marples or record chisels, I have a Tormek so restoring them to a razor sharp perfect cutting edge is an easy job. They can be bought for next to nothing on ebay and will continue to provide good service long after I have lost interest.

They are night and day difference to anything modern

 

[Barking Mat]

Lidl have a set coming in next week (in France).

Check your Lidl catalogue.