# Stanley Chisels? - Revisited



## MickCheese (27 Aug 2011)

Just bought these from eBay. Paid £9.25. I like my old Stanley chisels, they seem to hold a really good edge so just as a cheap addition to my tools I thought, 'What the heck'.









I was interested in the ones with the square handles and the strange hand shape thumb grip and the flip up at the end. I had not seen any like that before. Although the others are Stanley socket chisels the flip end ones have a strange collar that the chisel tang seems to fit to the handle through.

Does anyone know what they are? Are they Stanley even?

Need a good clean and a sharpen. The flip up ones are really blunt and have some sort of back bevel so will need a bit of the leading edge ground away to get a flat back.

These were just bought on a whim for the three that I knew were Stanley that will fill in the gap I have with the Stanley chisels I already have that were given to me by my father many years ago.

I will clean them, sharpen them and see how they do.

Mick


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## condeesteso (27 Aug 2011)

if they are older Stanleys (60s maybe 70s...?), I suspect you will find the steel and the machining is very good indeed. I have a few old Marples with the blue handles (replaced with nice wood ones) - they are very good indeed - super-flat back, very hard carbon steel, keep the edge extremely well.


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## MickCheese (27 Aug 2011)

My old Stanley's like the three on the left of my picture seem very good and remain very sharp longer than some of my other tools.

I am still not sure about the squarish handled ones on the right but they have a very comfortable grip.

They were sold as Stanley but I just don't know.

Mick


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## Jacob (27 Aug 2011)

3 on left are probably Stanley 5001s which are very good chisels. Not socket though - there'll be a tang too (I guess). I bought some new in about 1976. They were top of the range and more expensive than the blue handled ones (also very good).


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## MickCheese (27 Aug 2011)

I see what you mean about them not being socket and I agree they will have a tang inside, I have seen Alf's re-handle thread of these type so should have been clearer.

I have just sharpened two of the normal ones and, like the ones I already have, they cut really well.

The square ones I will have to work harder on. I tried to sharpen them but they need to be ground back further as someone has put a small bevel on the back side that I need to get past before they will even cut cheese.

So will have another go tomorrow.

Mick


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## No skills (27 Aug 2011)

My dad had some of the round handled ones like whats pictured on the left, probably ruined by me in my teens and given away a few years later. Nothing like 15 years of hindsight ehh ](*,)


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## woodbloke (27 Aug 2011)

The ones on the left were the first set of chisels I ever had (early 70's) and as I recollect, they were pretty good but I didn't like the plastic handles so they were sold on and replaced with boxwood handled Marples - Rob


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## jimi43 (27 Aug 2011)

I am making a huge collection of old Stanleys and Marples and stock piling them for "international handle day"...24 hours of replacing plastic with exotic woods.

The steel of these old chisels is fantastic. Good score.

Jim


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## Jacob (27 Aug 2011)

jimi43":2r9a9yf4 said:


> ..."international handle day"...24 hours of replacing plastic with exotic woods.
> 
> ...


Why FFS? Best thing for chisel handles is plastic. Lasts forever.


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## Tom K (28 Aug 2011)

Jacob":1kd1owyc said:


> jimi43":1kd1owyc said:
> 
> 
> > ..."international handle day"...24 hours of replacing plastic with exotic woods.
> ...



Feels like cheap shyte though (hammer)


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## jimi43 (28 Aug 2011)

Plastic handles, rounded bevels, rusty unrestored chisels....

Sounds like the ones I pick up for 50p at bootfairs Jacob! :mrgreen: 

Jim


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## condeesteso (28 Aug 2011)

There is one very large problem with plastic handles. They is UGLY.
If you have access to a small lathe, you can turn up some really nice handles in a short time - and unless you use hammers on your chisels, they will be well up to the job, look nicer, feel nicer to use... and fine tools lead to finer work I believe. Very good chisels though.


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## MickCheese (28 Aug 2011)

So no clues as to the origins of the square ones?

Very comfortable for paring with the shape of the handles.

Mick


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## Alf (28 Aug 2011)

The square ones ring a bell, but can't even begin to think which book to start looking in to jog my memory. I'm thinking a 70s/80s kinda time frame, but don't quote me.


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## xy mosian (28 Aug 2011)

The Stanley 5001 chisels, along with their 5002's, were originally sold as having 'sword handles'. The blue handled variety were good quality steel blades whereas the black handled had the same blades but highly polished, some looked as if they had a coating of some sort. If I remember correctly Stanley claimed these chisel handles would withstand hammer blows. I bought mine, new, in about '67, '68 initially. I would happily have given £9 for the three sword handled chisels alone.

xy


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## Jacob (28 Aug 2011)

xy mosian":9tc2qt8a said:


> The Stanley 5001 chisels, along with their 5002's, were originally sold as having 'sword handles'. The blue handled variety were good quality steel blades whereas the black handled had the same blades but highly polished, some looked as if they had a coating of some sort. If I remember correctly Stanley claimed these chisel handles would withstand hammer blows. I bought mine, new, in about '67, '68 initially. I would happily have given £9 for the three sword handled chisels alone.
> 
> xy


Not same steel in my experience, I've got both. The black handled 5001s are definitely harder stuff than the blue handled but yes are more polished but looks like different metal. More chrome, or chrome plated?


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## xy mosian (28 Aug 2011)

I hesitated to mention chrome Jacob, but that's certainly what it looks like. If it is a chrome plating, not saying it isn't, it's the best I've ever come across. Most platings come off, at least it did from my bike handlebars. Of course if the chrome is part of the steel then it would polish well, might that also produce a better blade steel?

xy


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## soulboy (28 Aug 2011)

Hi all, after following this post about chisels I'm wondering if anybody has 5002's with red handles? chris


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## alan2001 (29 Aug 2011)

Also on the subject of Stanley Chisels... I know this is going to hurt, but I can handle it. 

I thought I was doing the right thing buying what I thought was a quality set of chisels, i.e.:






They were about £35 from amazon, new. Did I make a massive mistake, and if so, why so? I feel so inferior about all my new tools after having read this forum for a while and restored some old stuff myself recently. These ones do have very comfy handles but I'm not sure if their very quick bluntening is due to poor quality steel or my crappy sharpening techniques. 

Sorry for the derail. Didn't seem like it was worth another thread. (Or post, even.)


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## andy king (30 Aug 2011)

Hi Alan,

I've just reviewed a similar set of these - three chisels rather than five, but esentially the same kit.
If you are trying to hone on the supplied stone i doubt you'll get an edge that you could call sharp! On the one I had, it was not only bent with about a 3-5mm deflection, but also twisted, so any chance of getting a consistent edge was a dodgy option to say the least.
Trying to flatten the back on the inch chisel indicated a lump on it when put on the kit stone, yet on a Trend diamond stone, it showed very flat.
Not only that, the stone is really too coarse, even on the fine side, and is so porous any oil on the surface was immediately sucked in when i used it - it drinks more than Oliver Reed in his heyday!
I found the chisels hold a pretty good edge off of a good stone, but are that little bit softer than the premium brands, but for general work they are OK, and i've always been an advocate of sharpen often, and found it a good habit to get into, so going back to the stone regularly is a regime for me no matter what the steel quality.
That said, there have been many comments and threads on forums about chisels and the hardness of the steel, and 2 or 3 years ago I had 18 chisels from all the main players, plus a couple of older car boot gems tested independently for Rockwell hardness as part of a test I was doing with some very interesting results... :shock: 
The honing guide supplied is one i've commented on before. 
I don't want to go down the route of guide versus freehand, but on this particular one, the blade projection for a traditional 30 degree honing angle is minimal, and when you back off the wire edge, there's very little chisel on the stone - i always look to get at least 25mm bearing on the stone so the backs polish in and wear more evenly.
As a cheap set of bashers the chisels are fine, the stone is a doorstop, little else, and if you favour guides, i'd look for a different one that offers a better blade projection when backing off.

hope this helps.

cheers,
Andy

PS. with regards to the shaped black handled chisels, I have a vague recollection that Paramo used to use this profile, but not 100% certain!


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## alan2001 (30 Aug 2011)

andy king":4xvb6s1g said:


> I found the chisels hold a pretty good edge off of a good stone, but are that little bit softer than the premium brands, but for general work they are OK, and i've always been an advocate of sharpen often, and found it a good habit to get into, so going back to the stone regularly is a regime for me no matter what the steel quality.
> 
> As a cheap set of bashers the chisels are fine


Fantastic reply, thanks very much.  

Funny you should say that about the stone - mine was exactly the same - rougher than the surface of the moon, holes on both sides, and decidedly not flat. I already had two other new stones so I just relegated it to lawnmower blade sharpening duties, which is all it's good for. (Yes, I know I should have sent it back to Amazon, but hey. :roll: ) The honing guide is rubbish and difficult to adjust, but as a beginner it's been very useful to me before I learn how to do it freehand (or just splash out on a Veritas MkII, haha.) I've been here long enough to know that life is too short to get into honing guide vs freehand debates, hehe. 

I am now not totally disheartened with these chisels and will endeavour to work harder on my sharpening techniques. Like in this thread about Diamond Stones: topic44987.html

Cheers Andy.


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## jimi43 (30 Aug 2011)

andy king":27epxqqz said:


> .......That said, there have been many comments and threads on forums about chisels and the hardness of the steel, and 2 or 3 years ago I had 18 chisels from all the main players, plus a couple of older car boot gems tested independently for Rockwell hardness as part of a test I was doing with some very interesting results... :shock:



Can you let us in on the result...those of us that didn't see the review that you did?

I would be most interested.

Jim


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## andy king (30 Aug 2011)

jimi43":2q718go0 said:


> andy king":2q718go0 said:
> 
> 
> > .......That said, there have been many comments and threads on forums about chisels and the hardness of the steel, and 2 or 3 years ago I had 18 chisels from all the main players, plus a couple of older car boot gems tested independently for Rockwell hardness as part of a test I was doing with some very interesting results... :shock:
> ...



Hi Jim,

I'll have to check with HQ on that one - it was an expensive test for us, and i'm not sure if they would want me to put that in the public domain when, like other publications, we are trying to offer stuff for the readers and potential buying browsers to buy for so its not really fair to give such info away...
I know this may sound harsh, but we try hard to offer stuff to make people want to buy our magazine for, which is always going to be difficult with such a diverse thing as woodworking and the tools we use to achieve it. 
I often read comments on forums about magazines not offering anything and being all the same, which can be disappointing to read when I personally (i can't vouch for others) do try to look at different angles and give maximum info where possible. 
I may be able to offer some insight via PM, but can't guarantee anything - we have our own website with an electronic back catalogue of issues for a subscription fee which gives access to issues 185 to the current one, 244, so includes the issue 212 with info from the test.
Sorry for the negativity, but i'll see what I can do...

cheers,
Andy


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## jimi43 (30 Aug 2011)

It's ok Andy...I think I already know the answer....certainly from my non-technical, suck it and see tests....

As a clue...I doubt if I would sell any of my old Sorbys anytime soon! :wink: 

Jim


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## MickCheese (4 Dec 2011)

Dug this up from the past as I may have the answer to the square handled chisels question.

When I first posted this I asked if anyone knew who made them or where they came from.

I now think I know, I have recently seen them under the guise of both Black & Decker and Elu.

Cannot find a name on mine.

Posting here just to round off the thread should anyone be interested.

Mick


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## Evergreen (4 Dec 2011)

Mick

Thanks for posting. 

The "mystery" chisels looked like an old Bahco design to me but they were always clearly marked. I guess the fact that yours are anonymous might suggest they were made by some third party and then decals were added according to which company marketed them.


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## No skills (4 Dec 2011)

Very spooky that this thread has resurfaced just as I have dug through my tool boxes and found all my rubbish chisels (not that I own any good ones  ), lo and behold amongst the rubbish is one of my dads black handled stanleys (1/4"). Its in pretty bad nick - very rusty  I have found out since I first posted on this thread that the only wood working tools my dad has kept out of everything is his stanley chisels! thus I need to restore and return it (hammer) 

Off topic I know, but thats nothing new for me #-o


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