A surprise from the wife

These last few weeks have been tough both at work and family wise, but my wife decided to surprise me last night.

Attachment 468653

The box says made in England with global materials. Fit is good, finish is on the rougher side. There are tooling marks but might help prevent slipping. I haven't flattened any but there are no obvious warps of defects.They are comfortable in hand. The leather tool roll they come in is a nice touch.The lands are definitely a thicker than the lie Nielsen, but smaller than my marples.

I'm happy with them and they should make a nice addition to the shop. Will update once I get them sharpened and tested.

She sounds like a keeper.

jtk

Very nice. Those have been taunting me for a while. They only reason I haven't hit "Checkout" is I really can't justify having fourth (or maybe it is fifth?) full set of chisels. At least not yet:)

Those are good chisels. I have the exact same set.

I prefer the thicker sides on my bench chisels because I also use them to cut mortises. I can't imagine cutting mortises with a chisel that has essentially no flat on the sides. That turned me off from Lie Nielson's bench chisels, and other high end brands. Of course, I guess you're supposed to also buy specialized mortise chisels too? I haven't the room for that many chisels...

But then, I find even firmer chisels perfectly fine if you just angle them ever so slightly when cutting dovetails... Maybe I'll just work with firmers one day in protest of this over specialization of modern bench chisels!

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Originally Posted by Luke Dupont

Those are good chisels. I have the exact same set.

I prefer the thicker sides on my bench chisels because I also use them to cut mortises. I can't imagine cutting mortises with a chisel that has essentially no flat on the sides. That turned me off from Lie Nielson's bench chisels, and other high end brands. Of course, I guess you're supposed to also buy specialized mortise chisels too? I haven't the room for that many chisels...

But then, I find even firmer chisels perfectly fine if you just angle them ever so slightly when cutting dovetails... Maybe I'll just work with firmers one day in protest of this over specialization of modern bench chisels!

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Luke, have a look at this method for easily converting firmer chisels into dovetail-cutting chisels ..

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMad...eOireNomi.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Derek Cohen

Luke, have a look at this method for easily converting firmer chisels into dovetail-cutting chisels ..

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMad...eOireNomi.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

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Wow. Impressive.

I dare say you've just pioneered the next great leap in chisel evolution!

I am happy to report that all 8 chisels we're hollow when flattening that backs so there were no bellies to grind down. They also took a very nice edge. After a few test cuts the edges are still sharp, although that's not a true test if durability. I can't speak of consistency in quality control from Stanley, but I am very happy with this set

The Stanley Sweetheart set of chisels set has all the intermediate sizes. I have other sets but not as complete. The edge holds up well enough for my usage that tends more toward paring than chopping. James Wright’s testing showed them to be good value compared to premium Lie Nielsen and Veritas. A discerning choice by your wife.

You have a good wife.....Better renew your agreement. :)

She's a sweetheart, too.

I've had my set for about 4 years now and I've been pretty happy with them. My experience with the backs was similar to yours - no belly on any of them, though a couple were significantly hollow and took a while to flatten. I find them to be pleasant to sharpen and hold an edge well. My only real complaint is the huge lands. Some day I may get around to grinding them like Derek but I've been able to live with them so far.

Hollow is not a bad thing, if it's not at the edge.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Derek Cohen

Luke, have a look at this method for easily converting firmer chisels into dovetail-cutting chisels ..

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMad...eOireNomi.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

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Sorry, I wanted to come back to this and ask a quesiton!

So, with the sides ground at a shallow angle to the edge, do you have any problems chopping mortises straight?

I still like flats on the side at 90 degrees, because they register flat against the walls of a mortise as you're chopping. It seems to me that such narrow, sharp corners, even if yours are less pronounced an angle than on many high end chisels, will still grab and cause the chisel to twist left or right in the mortise as you're chopping. Does that not happen? Or do you not use these for chopping mortises?

Luke

I use dedicated mortice chisels for mortices. The side grind here is for a bench chisel, which is much shallower than a mortice chisel. Apples and oranges. The bench chisel modification is for dovetails. You can use a bench chisel for mortices, but it is not my recommendation (Paul Sellers does this as he is cheap, and then uses a guide for the side of the chisel).

Skilled use of a chisel will enable one to do anything - the skill lies in the hands, not the tool. I have little doubt I could chop mortices with a Japanese bench chisel, but I would rather use a proper mortice chisel.

Regards from Perth

Derek