Narex chisels

[Wend]

Hi folks,

I'm looking to get 2 or 3 decent chisels, mostly for small projects, boxes, dovetails, etc, to replace my DIY chisels. My hope is to avoid picking up chisels that aren't good enough, leaving me wanting to upgrade again, without wasting money unnecessarily.

I've read some old forum threads, and watched some videos, and from what I can tell: for Veritas and Lie Nielsen I would be paying a lot of money for the brand and flashiness that I'm not interested in, and Ashley Iles uses O1 steel which, like Matt Estlea, I think I will be too lazy to sharpen often enough.

It seems like Narex chisels are what I'm after then. However, that still leaves me with a choice of 3:

• 8105 is cheapest, but looks like it has thick sides, so may not be able to properly get into dovetails etc, which might leave me looking to upgrade again
• 8116 is about 50% more, and looks like it's a better shape. However, it's described as "Cabinetmaker’s chisels", so I'm not sure if it will be damaged by being used as an every-day chisel, hit with a mallet, etc.
• Richter is about 100% more again, is back to being described as "bevel edged", and also came out on top in Wood By Wright's tests. But I wonder if it is really any more suited to being hit with a mallet etc than 8116? And am I actually getting a better chisel for the money, or am I just paying for chrome and "specialness"?

Finally, I am wondering whether 8116 and Richter are suitable to be sharpened with an eclipse-style honing guide? As the sides are very thin, will clamping the honing guide down cause damage to them?

Thanks for any advice,
Wend

 

[MikeG.]

Why are you looking to buy new? Old chisels are a lot less money.....a LOT........and are often far better tools. There are so many on the market that it doesn't take any time at all to find precisely what you are looking for. If you want new, that's fair enough, but I'd be curious to know why.

 

[Wend]

Why are you looking to buy new? Old chisels are a lot less money.....a LOT........and are often far better tools. There are so many on the market that it doesn't take any time at all to find precisely what you are looking for. If you want new, that's fair enough, but I'd be curious to know why.

Mostly, time. It would probably take me a lot longer to work out which old chisels are good, and which are not. Working out whether old chisels are nearer O1 or A2 would probably be even harder. If they are out of shape then it would either be even more time on the diamond stone, or buying and finding space for a grinder. And if buying singly, then shipping costs will quickly mount up. (and if looking locally, rather than online, then that's even more time, and probably higher prices).

I've just done an ebay search for "1/2 inch chisel", just out of curiosity, and from a quick skim it doesn't look like you'd get much saving vs the 8116s.


Thanks
Wend

 

[Petey83]

I get wanting knew, buying second hand can be intimidating if you are knew to this and it can often just be a case of it being more effort to find things second hand than it is to buy new.

Here's my take on it having owned Narex 8105, 8116 and Ashely Iles chisels (all be it the but ones) as well as Lie Nielson socket chisels.

I had a set of 8116 a good few years ago. They are good for the price but take a few sharpens to really shine as the first few mm of tip steel seems to be brittle from the factory. They are reasonably delicate in use but are still maybe ground a little to thick to make really delicate tasks easy. I sold these when I got the Lie Nielsons which were then sold themselves when I decided to take a break for wood working.

I bought a set of 8105s for DIY carpentry use after I'd sold the LNs as I needed something for jobs around the house. I still have them and use them pretty frequently for carpentry type tasks - I actually used them yesterday to chop out some damp and rotting wood from a door frame before filling. Like the 8116s the tip steel is brittle from the factory so they need a few sharpens. They are to my mind a little to think for done wood working and the handles are made for gripping and whacking.

Don't discount Ashley Iles, the butt chisels I've recently bought are a joy to use and thin enough for the most delicate of tasks without feeling at all fragile.

As for steel, o1 would be my preference as it's easy to sharpen to a very very sharp edge and has decent retention.

Harder steel that needs sharpening less often is a false econamy to my mind as you'll end up leaving it that bit to long and then have to spend ages sharpening where as a few minutes on the stones with o1 and they are good to go.

As for using a guide, an eclipse will be fine with any of them although it's fiddly with 6mm / 3mm chisels.
What I would say is try and learn to do it freehand. I did this just recently after watching a Rob Crossman video on you tube and it's changed the way I work for the better. I still use a cheap eclipse guide for plane irons buy all my chisels are done freehand now with no negative effects on my work or the chisels themselves.

I can't speak to the Richers but at the price point you'd be into the Ashley Iles territory and they would be my preference now.

 

[Blackswanwood]

Looking at the 8116’s I would be happy to hit them with a mallet. If you want some reassurance it may be worth e-mailing Matthew at Workshop Heaven. He’s always helpful and has helped Narex develop their products for the UK.

 

[AJB Temple]

Narex are OK. Far from a premium tool as the finish is basic and the handles are rough.

Most people do not need many chisels. Hit up eBay and be patient. The old Ward, Footprint, Robert Sorby, old Marples will all be good in most cases, for peanuts.

 

[Emstuv]

I while back I purchased a small set of Narex Chisels for making a workbench (needed something I could whack with a mallet) and then later on dovetailing etc.

Sharpening was fairly straight forward, flattening the back took some work on the diamond stones. For chopping out mortises they were great.

Later I started practicing dovetailing and installing some small hinges on a cabinet and some boxes. When holding the chisel close to the edge more maximum control/precision I noticed how top heavy they were. After a weekend in the shed I could feel fatigue in my wrist and fingers, so I decided to get a few AI chisels. They are moderately priced compared to LV and LN.

Again sharpening was no issue, the backs were flatter and, like the Narex, produced razor edges.

However working with them on smaller items (chopping out hinges, dovetails) was a lot "easier" on the wrists as the handles are much lighter. Note I would not whack it with a mallet - I'm sure they can handle it but for that I go to my Narex.

Granted I am a fairly new woodworker (just a few years under my belt), secondhand on Ebay is not really an option as I would have to pay shipping and import VAT to Norway. To put it in perspective I recently picked up a No.78 on Ebay for £35, it was in good order with all the parts but with shipping and VAT it came to near £70. (A brand new Veritas would be slightly above twice the price).

As for youtubers, I believe Matt Cremona also enjoys his AI Chisels.

 

[Wend]

Hmm, thanks for all the input. I think I have ruled out the 8105, but I will think harder about the Ashley Iles MkII.

 

[Emstuv]

When I am doing some chiseling work (especially on some harder woods) I have the sharpening board on my bench (some what like Sellers). It has the usual angles with blocks (25 deg and 30 deg) and I use the LN honing guide.

I am not yet to comfortable doing freehand sharpening and the few seconds I save is just not worth it for me to end up with a rounded bevel as i do not have a grinder to re-grind the primary bevel.

As for O1, A2 and PMV-11..... don't have enough experience. Only have a Veritas Low Angle in PMV-11 and its fine......but so is my 80 year old Stanley. Although I am tempted to upgrade the blade to a Hock blade and breaker.

 

[Dynamite]

Hi Wend, I'm also in the same market as you were and have exactly the same question as above. What did you choose in the end?

Also wondered if anyone also has anymore input given its now 3 years since this post.

Kind Regards... Rob

 

[fezman]

I've got 3 sets of chisels.
Aldi / Lidl special at £8, sharpen easy and keep an edge handles are really basic
Narex 8116 3mm to 25mm. Never had a problem with them
Lie Nielsen socket variety - like these but always feel a bit guilty bashing circa £500 worth of chisels.

I would say the Narex are the best £ v quality

 

[deema]

Here you go

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/32579074...8mfAKrtRtW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
I like the 5002, which are blue handles, generally cheaper than 5001. If you don’t like them you can sell them and if you’ve sharpened them make a profit!

I really like Palm Tree brand, good chisels, easy to sharpen, good steel, and cheap as chips.

 

[Hornbeam]

I have a couple of the narex 8105. The blades are fine but the handles are not my style so have turned new handles and used the old ones on some files

 

[homeinthecity]

I have the 8116s which have been great.

Still the same issue as above with the first few mm being a little brittle and not holding an edge well.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I've got 3 sets of chisels.
Aldi / Lidl special at £8 ...

To my knowledge (and I watch for them) Lidldeealdi haven't had them for six or seven years.

 

[Jarno]

I have the Narex japanese style dovetail chisels, despite them having a ring, the steel really isn't up to the task, so short of the Richter chisels, I am not likely to buy Narex again.
My regular bench chisels are the Stanley 750 reissue chisels, which I bought at 100 euros for a set of 8, I really like them, light, steel holds up really well.
Also have a few specialty chisels from MHG and that is also good steel, very basic finish though, easy enough to remedy. Recently bought two butt chisels from Pfeil, gotta say, those are REALLY good, also pretty fond of a few gouges from Kirschen (Two Cherries). Both Pfeil and Kirschen are insanely sharp, right out of the box.
Curious about Ray Iles and Crown, harder to get overhere (in NL), would love a few Ray Iles plane irons.

 

[Lons]

I have loads of chisels of various makes, far too many tbh but also a set of 5 Narex Richter which have been excellent. There is some very good steel in old chisels which you can pick up for peanuts so you've lost very little if you don't like them.

You can't get away from sharpening and little and often is the key while your working so really it's probably a mindset you need to change so it isn't a chore which it will be if you let them get so blunt it becomes a major task.

PS I've only mentioned the dreaded sharpening word because Jacob is on "holiday".

 

[Dynamite]

I've got 3 sets of chisels.
Aldi / Lidl special at £8, sharpen easy and keep an edge handles are really basic
Narex 8116 3mm to 25mm. Never had a problem with them
Lie Nielsen socket variety - like these but always feel a bit guilty bashing circa £500 worth of chisels.

I would say the Narex are the best £ v quality

To be honest, I really like the look of those Narex 8116. I know its not about the aesthetics really but hey if you feel good about them, its a bonus if they perform well too.

Regards...Rob

 

[Wend]

Hi Wend, I'm also in the same market as you were and have exactly the same question as above. What did you choose in the end?

I realised that of the DIY chisel set (1/4", 1/2" and 1"), I was using the 1/2" by far the most. Sometimes that is for precision dovetail work etc, but often it was just to make something roughly the right size or shape, kludging together some kind of jig, or to remove a sharp edge.

So what I did was to get a 1/2" 8116 and a 1/2" Mk II, figuring I would use the one I preferred for the precision work, and the other one for the more mundane tasks. That would mean that I could do the mundane work without having to worry about losing the edge of the "good" chisel, and I could be a bit more cavalier with it without worrying. And having both would allow me to work out which style was right for me.

Having tried both, I don't remember if I actually thought I was getting better results more easily with the Mk II, but I certainly got more joy from using it. In any case, after the next Christmas, I had 4 or so more Mk IIs. Your mileage may vary, but I definitely think that taking the above route and ending up with a general-purpose 1/2" worked well.

Hope that helps!

 

[Kai]

Mostly, time. It would probably take me a lot longer to work out which old chisels are good, and which are not. Working out whether old chisels are nearer O1 or A2 would probably be even harder. If they are out of shape then it would either be even more time on the diamond stone, or buying and finding space for a grinder. And if buying singly, then shipping costs will quickly mount up. (and if looking locally, rather than online, then that's even more time, and probably higher prices).

I've just done an ebay search for "1/2 inch chisel", just out of curiosity, and from a quick skim it doesn't look like you'd get much saving vs the 8116s.


Thanks
Wend

Hi Wend, older chisels won't be A2 as this technology came out rather recently in comparison to when the older chisels were being produced on masse. Did you manage to find out what the differences in the various narex chisels were? I am also looking to find out what the differences are between them