Yet another chisel thread

[jb94]

That looks like a bargain to me.

If you are going for new the Midlands Show at the start of March (Newark Showground) - pretty sure AI and Robert Sorby have stands there if you want to inspect before you buy.

Yeah sadly it sold as soon as I got back from work, I was umming and aahing because like I said in my original post I don’t want to invest too much time restoring a load of tools and I’ve been stung before with some lemons on eBay and pictures making things appear a bit better than they actually are.

I was looking to go to that event actually but it’s the one weekend in March (or in fact for the next few months) I can’t do just my luck!

 

[Morag Jones]

That looks like a bargain to me.

If you are going for new the Midlands Show at the start of March (Newark Showground) - pretty sure AI and Robert Sorby have stands there if you want to inspect before you buy.

Planning on going to Newark, will be my first such show. I’m anticipating there will be tempting things there, are the show prices generally favourable?

 

[jb94]

Planning on going to Newark, will be my first such show. I’m anticipating there will be tempting things there, are the show prices generally favourable?

I went to the Harrogate show and for most hand tools the price was the same as normal. Maybe if you were buying a selection they’d offer a discount? I suppose they work on commission of some sort at the shows?

It was just before Black Friday when I went so the deals were better online a week or so after.

The advantage is you can see stuff in person from a lot of manufacturers and ask questions.

They did have an AI stand at the Harrogate show but if I remember rightly it was all factory seconds and potluck.

 

[Blackswanwood]

Planning on going to Newark, will be my first such show. I’m anticipating there will be tempting things there, are the show prices generally favourable?

There are usually “special” prices but mainly on power tools and consumables (finishing stuff etc). How special they are is debatable as we always seem to be in a sale season … January sales just ended … there must be some Valentines offers due!

 

[jb94]

Update, I sent for the Ashley iles 4 piece set and I’m happy I did.
Not had time to fully tune them up, just lapped the back of the 1” chisel and strop and it cuts like a hot knife through butter

Can’t wait to test them out on a project!

 

[AJBaker]

Great! Which sizes did you get? 1/4", 1/2, 3/4 and 1"? How much was it for the set? Pictures?

 

[jb94]

Great! Which sizes did you get? 1/4", 1/2, 3/4 and 1"? How much was it for the set? Pictures?

Hi,
Yeah it was ¼,½,¾,1. I’m going to see how I get on with the 1 inch and if needs be order the 1 ¼ or 1 ½ later.

It was £133 including posting from Toolnut with a discount code I found online (blog5).

 

[llywmog]

I love the lightness of the Ashley Iles handles. Really lovely chisels to use

 

[AJBaker]

Hi,
Yeah it was ¼,½,¾,1. I’m going to see how I get on with the 1 inch and if needs be order the 1 ¼ or 1 ½ later.

It was £133 including posting from Toolnut with a discount code I found online (blog5).

View attachment 197245

I find that a 1 1/2" (or even wider) chisel to be very handy, even more so than the 1" or 3/4". Big chisels like that are great for tenon shoulders, or for slicing off wood (almost like a drawknife). I would add one to your collection, I find them very useful.

If I had to, I could probably get away with three bench chisels:
- A small 1/4" inch chisel for small gaps (there's no alternative to a small chisel if you have say dovetails with small pins: a big chisel just won't fit).
- A medium sized chisel (or two) between 1/2" and 1" for general chiselling work.
- A huge chisel (1.5" - 2") for deepening knife lines in joinery or slicing things.

On top of that I'd just need one or two morticing chisels, and maybe some carving tools for decorative work.

 

[Eshmiel]

I find that a 1 1/2" (or even wider) chisel to be very handy, even more so than the 1" or 3/4". Big chisels like that are great for tenon shoulders, or for slicing off wood (almost like a drawknife). I would add one to your collection, I find them very useful.

If I had to, I could probably get away with three bench chisels:
- A small 1/4" inch chisel for small gaps (there's no alternative to a small chisel if you have say dovetails with small pins: a big chisel just won't fit).
- A medium sized chisel (or two) between 1/2" and 1" for general chiselling work.
- A huge chisel (1.5" - 2") for deepening knife lines in joinery or slicing things.

On top of that I'd just need one or two morticing chisels, and maybe some carving tools for decorative work.

It's interesting to look at chisel widths and sizes in terms of what actually gets used. I often use 2, 3 and 4mm chisels with a matching router (hand or motored) when doing stringing or other very small decorative effects. Then its the 6mm and 10mm but rarely anything above that until the 32 and the 50mm. Mortise chisels excepted, of course. I do have 6mm and 10mm skew chisels (left and right) that get used regularly too. And similarly with cranked chisels of the same widths (not the 32 and 50mm though. I do, for some reason, like to use a 19mm long paring chisel, and there's a 12mm version too that gets used.

So (perhaps like you) I have a number of chisels that have turned out to be redundant in the way I work - typically the 19mm and 25mm that come in sets of three or four, which one buys to "save money" but ..... it didn't really work to do that, after all.

 

[Jacob]

It's interesting to look at chisel widths and sizes in terms of what actually gets used. I often use 2, 3 and 4mm chisels with a matching router (hand or motored) when doing stringing or other very small decorative effects. Then its the 6mm and 10mm but rarely anything above that until the 32 and the 50mm. Mortise chisels excepted, of course. I do have 6mm and 10mm skew chisels (left and right) that get used regularly too. And similarly with cranked chisels of the same widths (not the 32 and 50mm though. I do, for some reason, like to use a 19mm long paring chisel, and there's a 12mm version too that gets used.

So (perhaps like you) I have a number of chisels that have turned out to be redundant in the way I work - typically the 19mm and 25mm that come in sets of three or four, which one buys to "save money" but ..... it didn't really work to do that, after all.

It depends on what sort of work you are doing.
1/2" 3/4" 1" firmers were standard issue for C&G Carpentry and Joinery, and very useful.
I picked up a massive 2 1/2" Marples but I can't quite see who would want it. Cleaning sides of very big mortices perhaps? You could do it with a 1" if that's all you had.

 

[AJBaker]

It depends on what sort of work you are doing.
1/2" 3/4" 1" firmers were standard issue for C&G Carpentry and Joinery, and very useful.
I picked up a massive 2 1/2" Marples but I can't quite see who would want it. Cleaning sides of very big mortices perhaps? You could do it with a 1" if that's all you had.

I'd want that! I bet it's a lovely tool!

I'd use it on tenon shoulders: knife the line, then make a knife wall with the big chisel. Much more precise than doing it in many steps with smaller chisels.
For precisely cutting up a board, I sometimes knife the line the same way and make a small chanel first for the saw blade to rest against. A big chisel works better for that.

I'd also use it for trimming a dowel flush. With the big blade I can make more of a slicing motion which usually gives a better result.

It would also be handy for shaping things like a chair arm. You can take big slicing motions to remove a lot of material quickly.

 

[Jacob]

I'd want that! I bet it's a lovely tool!

I'd use it on tenon shoulders: knife the line, then make a knife wall with the big chisel. Much more precise than doing it in many steps with smaller chisels.

Well yes I wondered the same; to make a precise cut mark. But it's such big heavy tool compared to a marking knife! And would have been expensive, it's laminated with hard steel

For precisely cutting up a board, I sometimes knife the line the same way and make a small chanel first for the saw blade to rest against. A big chisel works better for that.

I'd also use it for trimming a dowel flush. With the big blade I can make more of a slicing motion which usually gives a better result.

It would also be handy for shaping things like a chair arm. You can take big slicing motions to remove a lot of material quickly.

 

[AJBaker]

Is it more of a timber framing slick? We have a similar tool here called a "Stossaxt". It's basically a huge chisel with a perpendicular handle.
I have one I found second hand, but I haven't found much use for it (yet). It's really a big timber framing tool, not quite properly suited to furniture making.

In any case, give me ring before putting the Marples into the bin .

 

[Eshmiel]

Is it more of a timber framing slick? We have a similar tool here called a "Stossaxt". It's basically a huge chisel with a perpendicular handle.
I have one I found second hand, but I haven't found much use for it (yet). It's really a big timber framing tool, not quite properly suited to furniture making.

In any case, give me ring before putting the Marples into the bin .

View attachment 197345

Ooooh - that's a Thing! Does one use it like a froe but hitting the non-chisel end instead of the back to make a geet big mortise?

 

[AJBaker]

Ooooh - that's a Thing! Does one use it like a froe but hitting the non-chisel end instead of the back to make a geet big mortise?

I'm not an expert on carpentry, but I think it's just used as a great big chisel with a grip that lets you put your weight into the cut.

Here's a video where they do some old fashioned carpentry, you can see it in use from about 40:30 on the video. He uses it to trim a timber frame tenon on an oak beam:

 

[MikeB1972]

Hi,
I’m looking to get a decent set of bench chisels (I want them to last a long time and be quality) and been going round in circles!

I’m torn between the Sorby bevel edge with London pattern handles (which I find most comfortable handle compared to straight handles, but old reviews here say the steel quality isn’t great but they were 20 years ago posts and I’ve not seen more recent reviews).

Ashley isles MK II which I’ve heard fantastic things about on here recently, but have the less comfortable handle for me

or workshop heaven Victorian chisels https://workshopheaven.com/workshop-heaven-victorian-cabinetmakers-chisels-beech/ but I’ve not heard much about them.

Ive got a few vintage sheffield chisels so was thinking of filing in the gaps with a few missing sizes out from the above, but since becoming a dad don’t really have the time to restore any more old chisels as I want my workshop time to be spent making something rather than cleaning rust.

Can anyone help me on this? I don’t fancy buying twice / dealing with poor quality tools. Thanks.

Ok, my take on this, for the tuppence it's worth.

Restoring a vintage chisel doesn't take that long for the lifetime use you'll get out of it, so time isn't really a factor - not wanting to restore a chisel is a fair point though, so onto the off the shelf new ones.

Narex are pretty good at not too expensive but good chisels, they keep an edge well and are easy to sharpen.
So, not a poor quality tool, you'll have to sharpen them more than some of the more exotic modern steels but they are easier to sharpen so it breaks out even enough by my reckoning (although we are on to geeky sharpening stuff here, so someone will be along to tell me I'm wrong in a bit).
The steel shouldn't be the big decision factor, the handle is - sharpening more often is much less of a problem than not liking the feel of a handle.

So, onto the off the shelf chisels, I'm just going to go off ones I own.

The Workshop Heaven Victorian cabinet makers chisels.
To be honest, if I could have got unhandled Narex chisels I'd have done my own, but I couldn't get them so I went for the rosewood ones Beech would have been fine, but these are so very pretty and mirror finished everywhere.
They are nice chisels, take an edge well, the handles need the edges smoothed out a little, but if you like a London pattern handle, they are a good choice.

Normal Narex chisels, the handles are a little chunkier than I'd prefer, but they are really good chisels for general use.

Footprint firmer chisels (OK, you can't buy them new anymore, but easy enough to get a good condition set off ebay or similar).
These are my go-to chisels for everything except dovetails, nice steel, easy to sharpen and the registered pattern means they don't wander in mortises. I'd recommend these as a first chisel set over any of the modern cheap big box store chisels.

Pig stickers and framing chisels, because you just need to go big every so often

And if you absolutely have to hit a chisel with a metal hammer, get some with a steel strike plate on the back of the handle.
These are the chisels I use when someone asks to borrow a chisel.

B