What Chisels to add

[Petey83]

In the market for some chisels now I am getting back into finer work. I have a set of Narex 8105s I bought after selling of my Lie Nielson socket chisels as i wanted something i could use for general DIY like chopping in door hinges etc as well as for making the odd bit here and there when i fancied it.

Am trying to decide if i should get some butt chisels and use in tandem with the 8105s or just by some finer and nicer bench chisels and leave the 8105s in the tool bag.

 

[AJB Temple]

It is a myth that you need fine chisels. You may need different sizes, but the most important thing is getting them sharp and using them properly.

 

[AJB Temple]

PS.I know this because I have Lie Nielson socket bevel chisels. Old Ward chisels off eBay. Pig stickers. Chisels my dad gave me as a kid (Footprint with red plastic handles) and framing chisels (big). They all do a good job when sharp. I have no issue with chopping out for hinges etc with the LNs. But for deep mortice chopping a proper heavy chisel is good.

 

[Petey83]

PS.I know this because I have Lie Nielson socket bevel chisels. Old Ward chisels off eBay. Pig stickers. Chisels my dad gave me as a kid (Footprint with red plastic handles) and framing chisels (big). They all do a good job when sharp. I have no issue with chopping out for hinges etc with the LNs. But for deep mortice chopping a proper heavy chisel is good.

the issue with the 8105s is the have a lump and hope on the end as they are made to be malleted. Have thought about cutting off and reshaping but the whole handle is quite big across the range and its also not round. They have been top notch for carpentry work around the house but feel a bit cumbersome now i am trying to use them for craft projects.

 

[AJB Temple]

I agree actually. I don't like Narex as I dislike the handles. So whip the handles off and make some new ones.

I have a few old chisels with metal hoops and I use them for heavy work. Wards and Marples. I also have quite a few hooped Japanese chisels and they are perfectly OK for fine work.

Surprised you sold the LNs really. I think they are pretty good (mine are excellent and dead easy to sharpen). Maybe get one or two of them or Veritas if you like that more delicate feel.

 

[Blackswanwood]

I agree with the previous comments and have recently gone back to using my blue handle Stanley and Marples chisels after another post on here reminded me how good they are.

A friend has the Narex cabinetmaker chisels which are comfortable to hold and use.

 

[Petey83]

Not Sure i really want to re-handle the 8105s so will certainly be a new set.

The Narex cabinet makers are nice for the money. Just wondering if i'd be better getting some but chisels to compliment the bigger NArex 8195s i aready have.

 

[AJB Temple]

It is saying "set" that makes me query this. Why do you need a set? I find I use a couple of chisels mostly for finer work.

Sometimes we all want some new tools. Except Mike whose signature says "I have enough tools and so do you". (I think). Anyway, whatever, this is right.

What you actually really need is some Blue Spruce chisels. Dems de best.

https://www.classichandtools.com/acatal ... tml#SID=19

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I like different handles, I find sets irritating. I always pick up the wrong one.
Also, modern ones don't often have handles with graduated sizes.

 

[Droogs]

Download the Narex catalogue from their website and have a look at the range of chisels they do. I use 811 series chisels as this is their bench chisels range, as well as having old pigs stickers and use a set of middle of lidl as things to be wholloped. Narex also have a new Richter series which uses a different more modern metal blend and is cryo frozen kinda thing.
So they do have a range of handle types (see below)

https://www.narextools.cz/en/woodworking-tools

Basically just get the appropriate type of chisel for the work you want to do as this will ultimately lead to a more satisfied workman and then (hopefully) better workmanship due to being happy with the tools being used. But in the end if you have the skill you can be as great as Grinling Gibbons or Mssr Roentgen using stuff from lidl LV Veritas or B&Q

 

[Bm101]

Hello Pete! Good to see you back on here.
The answer is no chisels! You have chisels! spend the money on wood!
Second answer is old cheap chisels if you need a size. Wards etc. Millions out there in the UK. Maybe a parer would satisfy the urge for summat new to you.
If you are convinced you need new tools again(... :| ) and want butt chisels these got a good review by someone whose opinion I would trust and you won't need to remortgage but right now is the time to take a step back and think why you need more tools that you already have.
Don't mean to lecture. Honest. I was just sharpening that QS number 4 the other morning and wondering if you were well and here you are! Odd eh? :wink:
post1258491.html#p1258491

https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/323390141827?c ... gKg9vD_BwE
Hope all is well. Pleasure to see you post again.
Best regards.
Chris

 

[MikeG.]

I'd be surprised if anyone here chisels more than me, and I use basically 5 plastic handled bevel edged chisels for almost everything. So, what's your preference.......Marples orStanley?

 

[dannyr]

BUT if you feel a need to collect tools --- nothing better than chisels - older usually means quality for little money: clean, sharpen, make a new handle, gather a set and pass them on. Wards, Marples, Greaves, etc.

Maybe not as productive as building fine furniture, but fun and useful to the next owners.

 

[Petey83]

Hello Pete! Good to see you back on here.
The answer is no chisels! You have chisels! spend the money on wood!
Second answer is old cheap chisels if you need a size. Wards etc. Millions out there in the UK. Maybe a parer would satisfy the urge for summat new to you.
If you are convinced you need new tools again(... :| ) and want butt chisels these got a good review by someone whose opinion I would trust and you won't need to remortgage but right now is the time to take a step back and think why you need more tools that you already have.
Don't mean to lecture. Honest. I was just sharpening that QS number 4 the other morning and wondering if you were well and here you are! Odd eh? :wink:
post1258491.html#p1258491

https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/323390141827?c ... gKg9vD_BwE
Hope all is well. Pleasure to see you post again.
Best regards.
Chris

Slowly getting back into it Chris but with a very different mindset to a few years ago. It's helped that a lot of the restoration work to the house is done so i've had time to actually do other stuff and to actually miss working with tools and making stuff from wood. Strangely the lockdown has been the catalyst as i'd usually be out most weekends shooting clays or riding my mountain bike. I was in the workshop sorting some of the gardening tools out at the start of the lockdown and found some old 18mm birch play off cuts that i decided t try and do something with. ended up with a set of 4 coasters - nothing special but gave me the bug again.

Luckily I used some of the money I got from selling on all my super expensive stuff to replace some of the items with more modestly priced tools hence the Narex chisels i have alongside a QS LA jack and LA block plane and a few marking gauges etc. The only bit of Festool i now have is a little CXS drill driver and a tape measure :lol:

A lot of lessons learnt over the last few years......

Anyway back to Chisels, Set is maybe the wrong word so lets go with new selection. I don't have to have new chisels but i find the Narex 8105s to be a little thick now i am trying more delicate stuff and as said the handles are made for hard whacking as opposed to paring etc.

Thinking about what i want to achieve over the next few months I may well just treat myself to a a couple of nicer chisels for dovetailing - maybe a 6mm and 9mm.

I think my original question was really a "would i benefit from Butt chisels"

 

[D_W]

If you're in the UK (presume you are), find any good condition used UK chisels of the tang and bolster type. like these:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-VINTAGE-BEVE ... SwvbZej59v

As a beginner, I bought into the heavy chisels, light chisels, butt chisels, dovetail chisels etc. but most of that stuff is hocum. This type of chisel will do just about everything in large or small work other than heavy mortising and the blade is light enough to make the balance appropriate for using the chisel while holding the handle.

They're generally a better hardness level than the narex stuff and the wire edge comes off of them a lot easier. If you're in the UK, they should be no more money.

 

[Trevanion]

The older style Stanley 5002s, the absolute best chisels I've come across and I've tried many different ones. They hold an edge very well, they're ground perfectly with very thin lands each side which makes them absolutely perfect for fine work, the handles feel great in the hand and they can take a clobbering if needed as they're a plastic handle rather than wood. They won't suit everyone, especially the people who are too vain to have "disgusting plastic handles" or "post-war Stanley tools" but they suit me to a tee and I don't really see why anyone would need much more from a chisel.

 

[D_W]

The older style Stanley 5002s, the absolute best chisels I've come across and I've tried many different ones. They hold an edge very well, they're ground perfectly with very thin lands each side which makes them absolutely perfect for fine work, the handles feel great in the hand and they can take a clobbering if needed as they're a plastic handle rather than wood. They won't suit everyone, especially the people who are too vain to have "disgusting plastic handles" or "post-war Stanley tools" but they suit me to a tee and I don't really see why anyone would need much more from a chisel.

I've bought two sets of those and two marples blue handle. Perhaps out of dumb luck, in three of those sets, there has been one chisel in each that wasn't fully hardened (I don't mean a little bit different). The geometry is great - if you're paying the same price for older chisels, I'd choose the older ones, though. That type of chisel (the marples shape) is excellent for general work and --"zoopergut" - with a lighter ash handle and in slightly older models.

The current sorby kind of copy of that style has nice handles, and the rest is OK but subpar (especially for the price).

(the difference in edge holding between that type and the older chisels is pretty much nil in softwoods, though - not sure what's common in the UK. It's easier to get clear hardwoods in the US than softwoods. I understand there's also an ANSI or ASTM spec in the united states that the R. Sorby chisels meet (it's a soft spec - like for construction and homeowners) that most of the chisels such as the Ashley Iles type are too hard to meet).

 

[D_W]

Separate comment -I've seen some of those blue handled older marples sets fetch $125 here in the states in the last year or two. Stanley 5000 (1), (2), etc are not common here, though.

The fat sided modern marples/irwin/whatever name they go by chisels still available new aren't nearly as nice as the ones you've posted.

 

[AJB Temple]

Those look very similar to the red handled Footprint chisels my dad gave me as a kid. Excellent steel. I still use them a lot. I only bought the Lie Nielson chisels because I wanted some special sizes.

 

[D_W]

Footprint are closer to typical boutique chisel hardness, but the acetate handle is heavier than whatever the lighter plastic is in the marples.

If gripping by the handle and wanting light chisels, the footprint types with wooden handles are actually about as good as a general purpose chisel will get (the sheffield made with delicate lands), but not often seen over here, and like the marples, often priced like a boutique chisel.