Need chisel advice

[Matt Allan]

Meant to post this here last night, that's what I get for staying up that late and trying to use the computer. Man, first post and I screw up.. I rock.

Long time lurker, need some advice from you guys.

Finally time to get myself a good set of chisels. I know some would advice me to get a nice old set and recondition, etc. But I have some reward points from a company to spend on any website I want and have a lot to spend, so the first thing I want to get is a nice set of chisels. I know I still could get old chisels and spend the money on something else but my mind is made up!

Now having said that, I have been eyeing the Lie Nielsen set and was wondering if anyone had any opinions on those or any others I should take a look at instead.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

matt

[Rick Hoppe]

Matt,
If you can afford the LN chisels get them. Chris Schwarz in in a recent Pop. Woodworking article said they are the best western chisels he's tried. He rated them as good as or better than the Japanese chisels he's tried.

Having said that, I own a set of Matsumura white steel bench chisels and highly recommend them. Mark Duginski called them "the Ferrari of bench chisels". I got mine from Japan Woodworker. I've had excelent service from Craftsman Studio as well.

[Lloyd Robins]

I have not handled the LN's, so I cannot comment on them, but I really like my Nishiki's from Joel at www.toolsforworkingwood.com. I especially like the feel of the paring chisels.

[Pam Niedermayer]

I've come to think it doesn't really matter all that much what bench chisels you get, assuming some base quality such as Two Cherries and/or Japanese (that is, not cheap garbage). I hardly ever use them (Two Cherries set of 6 and a set of 12 Iyori from Woodcraft). However, when you talk about mortising and paring and carving and timber framing chisels, it gets very important which chisels you use. This is where I put all my money and concern when choosing what to get.

Pam

[Lloyd Robins]

Pam, you didn't say which brand of paring chisels that you use. You like Tasai don't you? What about mortising chisels? You are an experienced woodworker, and Matt might like to know.

[Pam Niedermayer]

Yes, I like Tasai a lot, as well as Funahiro and a bunch of non-famous Japanese maker chisels I've recently bought on ebay (they're expertly forged, great wrapping of the soft steel with cutting steel). I also like the Fujihiro (Imai) quite a bit.

However, if you're going to buy a set of these, it's very, very expensive. I buy them one or two at a time as needed.

And a bunch of ancient laminated western chisels by various makers are also great. I bought these on ebay, too. Brands are Witherby, Swan, Buck Bros (old ones), PS&W/Pexto, Jennings,

Take a look at the Hiraide (http://www.japanesetools.com/index.html), Hida (http://www.hidatool.com/wood.html), and Misugi (http://www.misugidesigns.com/aboutUs.html) sites. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the chisels they offer.

Carving chisels are a whole different issue. I prefer Dastra, Addis, and Pfeil.

Pam

[James Carmichael]

Hmm, I posted a reply to this thread yesterday, but it seems to be gone now.

Unless old tool collecting interests you (and it is fun) I would suggest going with a modern set like Two Cherries. Intact sets of vintage chisels are very hard to come by, in my experience, and command a very large premium when you do find one. I belive Diefenbacher(sp?), Traditional Wood worker, and Tools For Wood Working all see the TC economy set of bench chisels, which aren't finished quite as nicely but are just as good. Lee Valley sells a set of 6 Hirsch Firmers for $89, which are supposedly the same steel used in Two Cherries. Diefenbacher has a lot of good information about chisels and steels.

[Rick Hoppe]

Matt, the chisels James mentions are all considered high quality.The only problem with the Two Cherries is the blade is highly polished all over. This means it would take alot of work to flatten the back of the chisel. All reports I've read of the LN chisels is the back requires very little work.

[Gene Collison]

I've come to think it doesn't really matter all that much what bench chisels you get, assuming some base quality such as Two Cherries and/or Japanese (that is, not cheap garbage). I hardly ever use them (Two Cherries set of 6 and a set of 12 Iyori from Woodcraft). However, when you talk about mortising and paring and carving and timber framing chisels, it gets very important which chisels you use. This is where I put all my money and concern when choosing what to get.

Pam

Is Woodcraft now selling Iyoroi's? I didn't know that.

Gene

[Pam Niedermayer]

I bought them three or so years ago from a Woodcraft that was franchised at the time and the labels match; but I suppose there are no guarantees. To be honest, Woodcraft made no claims as to brand.

Pam

[Bob Smalser]

I recommend you get a set of Marples from Amazon to start with. 40 bucks or so.

250 bucks for a beginner set of chisels doesn't pass the common sense test when you've a bunch of tools to acquire to make a shop. Moreover, A2 steel is harder to sharpen and you'll be better served by carbon steel to begin with until your sharpening skills improve.

The only real difference 'tween excellent and mediocre chisels is finish and edge holding ability.

It'll take you slightly longer to flatten the backs of the Marples and you'll have to sharpen them slightly more often.

And that's great news...because by the time you wear these out, you'll be real good at it and will no longer need jigs or 600-dollar fancy grinders or expensive indexing plates and diamond paste to do it well.

I'm not fooling....by all means buy a middlin grade and use them up. I used a handmedown, garden-variety set of Footprints for a long, long time...like 40 years...before I switched to something better.

Once you have a baseline set of chisels, you can gradually replace them with rehabbed cast steel beauties off of Ebay for pennies...2-10 dollars each. I still prefer the old cast steel Witherby, Gillespie, Buck, Chas Buck, Greenlee, PS&W, Swan and many others to modern A2 ans M2 steel....easy to sharpen is important for me in a bench chisel or gouge, where the stones sit out on the bench for quick touchups.

Rehabbing Old Chisels:

http://www.cianperez.com/Wood/WoodDocs/Wood_How_To/Smalser_on_Chisels.htm

More Chisels:

http://media5.hypernet.com/cgi-bin/UBB/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=010117&p=



Seek advice on new purchases, but ignore all this, "my prestige thingy is better than your prestige thingy"...

...and just continue to work wood.

Tis the wood you leave, eh? Not the wood you remove or how you remove it.

[Rick Hoppe]

Thanks for those links, Bob.
The articles are great!

[Sean Evoy]

Matt,
I have a mixed set of Two Cherries (which is high carbon steel) and a set of L-N chisels. With all due respect to Bob, I don't find it any more difficult to sharpen the A2 of the L-Ns compared to the Two Cherries. Your time is your own of course, and only you can evaluate whether or not you want to spend it rehabbing older chisels. I know that my experience with eBay to date is that "brand name" older chisels, with handles, that I could reasonably hope to use when they arrive, do not cost pennies.

My take is that if you can afford one set of good chisels, the L-N will last your life time, won't need to be upgraded because their limitations frustrate you, and probably will be handed on to the next generation. If someone else is footing some or all of the bill for them, even better.

[James Carmichael]

I recommend you get a set of Marples from Amazon to start with. 40 bucks or so.

250 bucks for a beginner set of chisels doesn't pass the common sense test when you've a bunch of tools to acquire to make a shop. Moreover, A2 steel is harder to sharpen and you'll be better served by carbon steel to begin with until your sharpening skills improve.

The only real difference 'tween excellent and mediocre chisels is finish and edge holding ability.

It'll take you slightly longer to flatten the backs of the Marples and you'll have to sharpen them slightly more often.

And that's great news...because by the time you wear these out, you'll be real good at it and will no longer need jigs or 600-dollar fancy grinders or expensive indexing plates and diamond paste to do it well.

I'm not fooling....by all means buy a middlin grade and use them up. I used a handmedown, garden-variety set of Footprints for a long, long time...like 40 years...before I switched to something better.

Once you have a baseline set of chisels, you can gradually replace them with rehabbed cast steel beauties off of Ebay for pennies...2-10 dollars each. I still prefer the old cast steel Witherby, Gillespie, Buck, Chas Buck, Greenlee, PS&W, Swan and many others to modern A2 ans M2 steel....easy to sharpen is important for me in a bench chisel or gouge, where the stones sit out on the bench for quick touchups.

Rehabbing Old Chisels:

http://www.cianperez.com/Wood/WoodDocs/Wood_How_To/Smalser_on_Chisels.htm

More Chisels:

http://media5.hypernet.com/cgi-bin/UBB/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=010117&p=



Seek advice on new purchases, but ignore all this, "my prestige thingy is better than your prestige thingy"...

...and just continue to work wood.

Tis the wood you leave, eh? Not the wood you remove or how you remove it.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks $250 for a set of chisels is, uh, a bit overboard, especially for a beginner. I'm not knocking anyone who buys them, I'm sure they're quality all the way and if you enjoy them and can afford it, by all means, go ahead. You can buy a set of 4 marples blue chips at Lowes for $20. I'm sure I'm nowhere as advanced in WW as some of the folks who own the LNs, but the blue chips do everything I need. I keep a phenolic plate loaded with 1000, 1500, and 2000 grit SC sandpaper handy and usually touch up before using. I learned to sharpen knives freehand on an oilstone at a very early age, so sharpening doesn't phase me in the least. When making a lot of cuts in softwoods (like the cedar pergola I just completed), I touch up regularly since the softwood fibers want to bend rather than sever.

I'm also not sure what the knock is on Two Cherries being "hard to flatten" due to the polished steel. I own a TC mortising chisel and the blade is mirror bright. When I got it and went to flatten the back, about 4 passes on 150-grit sandpaper on a 1/4" glass plate showed even abrasion all the way across, indicating the back was already very flat.

[Sean Evoy]

James,
I'm not trying to be argumentative (well, maybe just a bit), but why are we assuming that Matt is a beginner woodworker? I agree that if someone is just trying out WWing to see if they like it, then $250 for a set of chisels might be a bit steep. But for a person who knows that they like the activity and understands that quality tools cost money, maybe the case could be made that they should buy one good set of quality tools and get back to the activity they love.

Oh, and I agree with you that one of the the strengths of the TC chisels that I have is how easy it was to flatten the backs. Maybe the poster who had that experience got a bad batch, or maybe he was commenting on the laquer that they slather all over them and has to be removed before flattening.

[Rick Hoppe]

I have inspected the Two Cherries chisels in stores and WW shows. My observation is that the polishing process dubs over the two long edges along the back of the chisel and it would take a long time lapping the back to remove enough steel to render the edges sharp. Having those edges sharp can be a very valuable asset when using a chisel, especially if it is a mortice chisel. I have to admit that I have no personal experience with using Two Cherries chisels so my opinion may be so much hot air.

I do have experience with the new Marples chisels. They were my first set and the backs of most of them were very out of flat. It took me hour after painful hour to flatten them by hand. The lesson I learned was, as soon as the chisels arrive check them for flatness and return those whose backs are substantially convex.

[James Carmichael]

Well, maybe I've just been extremely lucky with Marples chisels, it's never taken long to flatten the backs. I have, on the other hand, spent hours on Anant plane irons, both a 2" from a new #4 smoother I bought and 2 3/8" replacement irons for a Stanley jointer ($8.99 for a box of 4 from WWS). The backs on both were concave and a total pain to flatten, it took considerable work to get even a 1/8"-wide flat across the backs. The sole of the #4 was also a bear to flatten. Now there it would have paid to have spent some extra bucks on LN or Hock irons.

[Bob Smalser]

Your basic 21" belt sander with 150 grit lubed with WD-40 flattens lousy chisel backs very nicely....even the worst ones.

Just make sure to clean out all sawdust and remove the dustbag first....fire hazard.

http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/3302197/40506079.jpg

[Ellen Benkin]

I agree with the posts that advise getting a good but not great set as your first chisels. Tune them up, use them, and see if "chiseling" is for you. Two Cherries is a good way to start. You may find that this is all you need.

I have seen and held the Lie Nielsens and advise anyone to actually touch them before buying. The handles are a little smaller than most, which I find comfortable but you may not. Also, LN is 6 months behind demand for the chisles and is trying to catch up for the holiday season so you may be able to order them now but not get them for some time. Also remember that the $250 for the LN chisels includes the leather carrying case (that should make up for the cost)!

[Keith Christopher]

Matsumura white steel bench chisels Best I've ever used. I don't own a "complete" set.

[Jim Becker]

Well, I just bought a set of six Ashley Iles chisels from Tools for Working Wood and used them all day today. I'm extremely pleased and for a buck and a quarter for the set, I think they were reasonably priced for the quality. I tried out the Two Cherrys chisels at the same time I played with the AI, and just liked the feel of the latter better in my hand...the larger diameter handles fit my hand better. They were also sharp right from the manufacturer...I only polished them a little with the 8000 side of my water stone. And in my novice hands, they cut very nicely today in my very first "serious" attempt at at hand-cut through dovetails in some casework. (I'm a committed electron burner...)

[Ellen Benkin]

Hi Jim -- there is nothing like a set of hand cut dovetails to make you feel like a real woodworker. I can assure you that you will get better with practice, so keep at it. And it is important to make sure the chisels feel good in your hands.

[Michael Campbell]

Interestingly enough, I just finished Frank Klausz' 2 day handcut dovetail class at Highland Hardware. (gloat)

Frank said pretty explicitly that the blue handled Marples that Bob mentions are perfectly good chisels and if he were not making a living doing only woodworking, that's what he'd be using. He also mentioned is that pretty much the only advantage money buys you with chisels is the lenght of edge-holding.

So, "what Bob said".

[Pam Niedermayer]

I was taking a class at Homestead Heritage a year or so ago when I broke my 3/8" chisel cutting a mortise (this was Japanese, but not a mortising chisel, I didn't have this particular size mortiser at the time); so I had to use their Marples blue handle. Not only did it work fine, but it held its edge for the whole project without further sharpening. However, it did take somewhat longer to chop the mortises.

Pam

[Paul Comi]

Bob has sound advise here and though your ego may get in the way I agree with him. I recently took a lesson from another woodworker who does beautiful dovetail work and he had me using a sharp set of Marples that he bought for $20 plus the 1/8" extra one he bought online. Sharpened properly they are razor sharp and I had no complaints. Being a beginner at hand tool woodworking and also being in the same boat I spent my $40 total on a 5 pc set of Irwin Marples rather than buying the Grizzly japanese set I was eyeballing.

[Tom LaRussa]

Now having said that, I have been eyeing the Lie Nielsen set and was wondering if anyone had any opinions on those or any others I should take a look at instead.
Everybody will probably get a good laugh from this, but I bought my set of four chisels, brand spanking new, for $4.49 at a Harbor Freight 50% off sale. (They normally go for the king's ransome of $8.99!)

Last night I finally got around to putting an edge on them, using a five-step version of Scary Sharp with 3M abrasives from Tools For Working Wood.

I started with the 3/8"er. Cruddy steel or no, by level three I could shave hair off my arm with it. By level 5 the "micro bevel" was mirror bright. After about 20 minutes of intense labor -- on the couch, in front of the TV set with my doggie snuggled up next to me :eek: -- I took it out into the gar... er ... "shop" to try it out.

I just bought six woodies, (planes), from a fellow in England, and one of them had a messed up mouth -- it had chipped rather badly and thus opened up in front of the blade. (Pics below, but you can't really see the damage.) So, borrowing an idea from Krenov, I pinched the little bugger between two scraps of wood in my ($28, Harbor Freight) bench vise and proceeded to chop out the affected area, using a combination of very light taps with a hammer and paring.

After maybe fifteen minutes I had taken out a nice little squared off piece. I did mess up a bit, in that I inadvertently cut into the cheek, so I pared them even with the level of the piece I had chopped from in front of the mouth.

Then I used the bandsaw to cut a piece of scrap "thin wood" to fit the space, smeared on some Titebond III, clamped it, and left it there for the evening. As replacement wood I used some 10-year old "thin wood" that I think is some sort of rose wood. In any case, it's harder than the wood that comprises the body of the plane, so I think I'm okay there. Today I'll try to find time to grind the replacement piece down with my Harbor Freight 4"/6" bench belt/disc sander, then sharpen the blade in front of the TV tonight.

Yes, I do have a point -- and I'll get to it eventually, I hope. :o

Those LN chisels are beautiful, and I have no doubt that they are extremely high quality, and will hold an edge far, far longer than my ugly, plastic handled, semi-mild steel junkers from China.

But consider this: My chisels cost less than $5. The six woodie planes I referred to earlier cost a total of about $55 (shipping included). The abrasives for Scary Sharp set me back about $11 (shipping included). My bench sander cost about another $60. That's $131 total. Subtract that from the $250 LN wants for their chisels, and I'm still ahead by $119, and I've got six hand-made, 100+ year old planes (four convex, for Krenov inspired coopered doors I'm thinking about, and two beading), plus a bench sander, plus a set of chisels, plus plenty of abrasive left to sharpen all of the above.

Now, I don't really expect you to run out and buy a set of chisels from Harbor Freight. I really just bought them so that I could practice sharpening without worrying that I'd harm something valuable. Like many others, I think the Marples are a good bet. But, given that you are essentially playing with "found money," why not splurge on a nice, seven-piece, boxed set of Veritas beveled chisels for $108? http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?page=30028&category=1,41504,43500&abspage=1&ccurrency=1&SID=

Then you could spend the rest on some ebay mortising chisels, (or even some woodies), a bench sander, (assuming you don't have one), some abrasives, and the like. That way you can have your cake and eat it too.

:D

Tom

[Pam Niedermayer]

Yes, well, I tend to buy the best tools I can afford, mainly because I've found they tend to offer superior performance. However, the other reasons are that if I make a mistake, I can easily sell the top of the line tool and often get my money back, and then some sometimes (Noticed the people on ebay paying more than retail for older LN planes?). So while you say you're ahead, I say you're in the hole. That money, admitedly a small amount in this case, is gone, regardless (note that I don't recommend the LN chisels at this point, haven't used them).

There are clearly exceptions to this approach, especially if I find a bargain on ebay for whatever reason; but a bargain is defined as a quality tool for a cheap price.

Pam

[Tom LaRussa]

Pam,

You have me a bit puzzled.



So while you say you're ahead, I say you're in the hole. That money, admitedly a small amount in this case, is gone, regardless
Are you referring to the $4.49 I spent on the Harbor Freight chisels? I think I mentioned that I purchased those to practice on, i.e., so that if I messed up a tool while learning to sharpen it would not be an expensive one? I don't call that being in the hole, I call it really cheap insurance.

Perhaps it is my el cheapo bench sander and/or bench vise that offend you? Well, I'm a woodworker, not a machinist. I have no need for expensive tools for rough metal work, because I do precious little of that work. Spending more than absolutely necessary for such items would be, IMHO, a waste of money.



There are clearly exceptions to this approach, especially if I find a bargain on ebay for whatever reason; but a bargain is defined as a quality tool for a cheap price.
I couldn't agree more.

That's why I'm so happy with the six woodies that I bought for a song. They are quality tools, and I acquired them for a cheap price. They were made by the fine old firm of James Howarth & Sons in Jolly Old England more than 100 years ago, yet they are still ready to do high quality work! The convex planes are fairly rare -- I can't find anyone who makes them today, and I had a bugger of a time finding them on ebay. As to the beading planes, I need them for a specific project, and could have bought them (old and used, just like the ones I did buy) from Garrett-Wade for $36 each (plus shipping) http://www.garrettwade.com/jump.jsp?lGen=detail&itemID=100166&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=10000&iSubCat=10008&iProductID=100166 but I think paying 1/4 of that is much nicer.

Quality tools at a cheap price also goes for my Stanley #4 ($18), my Stanley #5 ($22), Stanley #80 (just under $16), Record spoke shave (~$13), and Stanley #7 (purchased just a few minutes ago for just under $28). (All prices include shipping by the way.)

At some point I may equip some or all of my planes with Hock blades -- assuming the blades they already have do not perform well -- but I'm going to have a go at making my own first. In the meantime, I sleep like a baby at night knowing that I could sell any or all of them on ebay for at least what I paid for them, if not more. (I might lose a tad because I paid for shipping when I purchased them, but I'm a pretty good ebay scalper, so I think that issue is a wash.)

In short, I have outfitted a goodly portion of the hand-work side of my shop, with quality tools, for less than the price of a single Lie-Nielson jointer plane -- i.e., $400. http://www.lie-nielsen.com/tool.html?id=7

I call that good money management.

[Dennis McDonaugh]

I look at tools the way I look at everything else in my life. I don't live in the cheapest home I could find to meet my needs. I don't drive the cheapest truck on the lot to get to work. I don't wear the cheapest clothes I can find in the discount store. I don't eat the cheapest food I can find in the supermarket. Why in the world would I want to do that when I indulge myself in my hobby?

Don't get me wrong, I like rescuing fine old tools from the trash heap and delight on finding a bargain in the closeout bin. But, I also like the feel of a fine new tool in my hand and get a great deal of satisfaction from using a beautiful tool that performs well. Sometimes that comes with a premium price.

[Robert Tarr]

Hello,

If you get the LN chisels you will be very pleased. I have a set and love them (a present from my wife.) That said, if you are not sure about hand tool use and want to burn some of somebody else's money, I think there might be a few other things to think about. If you are an experienced user, and are just asking for opinions on the LN's then disregard. If not, you may want to think about the set that Jim mentioned. They are amazing chisels (at an amazing price, if you ask me) that come ready to use out of the package, from a great company, through a great retailer (Joel). This will leave you with $125 difference in price from the LN's that can still be used on Joel's site (or others) to purchase a GREAT sharpening set up. Please make no mistake, sharpening is the key to this whole mess. Once you can sharpen, great things can be produced. I have a set of AI as well and love them. I have big hands and went with the larger handled chisels (they have two flavors of handles.) I think you would be well served by a set of Two Cherries chisels as well, but don't have much experience with them.

I have a BUNCH of chisels, including the HF set (my first set in orange handles) and good set of Marples Blue Chips, that hold the edge for a good while and a herd of old chisels which I also love. All in all, it comes down to how much fettling you want to do to a set of chisels. Typically, a higher priced set are better out of the box (in the sense of requiring less work to get to wood work.)

Sorry for the rambling post, but the real message being, buy quality steel and a great sharping method.

Robert

P.S. I have seen some incredible carvings done with nothing more than concrete nails sharpened on the sidewalk....

[Pam Niedermayer]

Tom, I don't know what I've said that makes you think I'd be offended by a tool you use. So let's get over that.

I was merely pointing out that when you spend money on cheap tools, that money is gone. Seems pretty straightforward to me.

That said, I'd really like to hear how you like the HF chisels after a bit more use, on say a piece of furniture.


Pam

[Rich Konopka]

Now, I don't really expect you to run out and buy a set of chisels from Harbor Freight. I really just bought them so that I could practice sharpening without worrying that I'd harm something valuable. Like many others, I think the Marples are a good bet. But, given that you are essentially playing with "found money," why not splurge on a nice, seven-piece, boxed set of Veritas beveled chisels for $108? http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?page=30028&category=1,41504,43500&abspage=1&ccurrency=1&SID=


Tom:

The price you have listed is in Canadian Dolllars.

American Dollars = $74
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?page=30028&category=1,41504,43500&abspage=1&ccurrency=2&SID=

I haved the Hirches chisels and they are made in the same factory as the Cherries. The only difference between them are the handles. For a set of 6 at $89, it is a good bargain.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?page=46403&category=1,41504&ccurrency=2&SID=


Decisions -- Decisions

[Tom LaRussa]

Tom:
The price you have listed is in Canadian Dolllars.
Decisions -- Decisions:eek: :eek: :eek: DOH!:o :o :o

Thanks for pointing that out, Rich. I was tearing my hair out trying to figure out why the online prices are so much higher than in my catalog. I mean, I know that the price of steel is way up, but not that much.

[James Carmichael]

Tom:

The price you have listed is in Canadian Dolllars.

American Dollars = $74
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?page=30028&category=1,41504,43500&abspage=1&ccurrency=2&SID=

I haved the Hirches chisels and they are made in the same factory as the Cherries. The only difference between them are the handles. For a set of 6 at $89, it is a good bargain.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?page=46403&category=1,41504&ccurrency=2&SID=


Decisions -- Decisions


I also noticed in my latest LV catalog that they are now carrying the Narex brand of chisels, which I belive are made in Eastern Europe. I would presume if LV is carrying them they're at least pretty good, and the price is about the same as for Marples Blue Chips.

[Rich Konopka]

I also noticed in my latest LV catalog that they are now carrying the Narex brand of chisels, which I belive are made in Eastern Europe. I would presume if LV is carrying them they're at least pretty good, and the price is about the same as for Marples Blue Chips.
I would have to agree with that presumption. I do not think Robin Lee would risk his reputation on junk. They stand behind their products for a reason.

[Roger Nixon]

First off, Pam threw me for a loop by saying she liked some old western style chisels :) so I'll say something a bit out of character for me: I don't think spending $250 for a set of LN chisels is out of line. :eek:
Most of my chisels are vintage and antique and I love 'em but if I was starting out fresh, I wouldn't go that way. It takes time to acquire a bunch of old chisels, even if you buy them off eBay and I haven't seen exceptional bargains on really good chisels there anyway. I've spent very little money on my chisels but I have spent a lot of time acquiring them, fettling them, and making new handles when necessary. I've really enjoyed the hunting and rehabbing but I wouldn't want to do that again.
The chore I hate worst is flattening chisel backs so if LN guantees the backs to be flat from the factory, that is worth a lot to me.

[Dan Gill]

I recommend you get a set of Marples from Amazon to start with. 40 bucks or so.

Bob, I find your thoughts intriguing and they make good sense to me. I found a 4-chisel Marples set at Lowes for $19.99. That's even better than the price for the same set at Amazon. Although Lowes didn't have a 5-piece or a 6-piece set.