Traditional Woodworker chisels

[James Scheffler]

Yet another "has anyone tried..." thread. :)

I starting looking at the German made firmer and mortise chisels at Traditional Woodworker after someone posted about their wood spokeshaves. I had seen TW before, but I hadn't looked there for a long time.

The chisels look a lot like the current offerings from Hirsch and Two Cherries. They have double-hooped hornbeam handles and highly polished carbon steel blades that are claimed to be RC61. They are in imperial sizes, not metric equivalents.

The firmer chisels are several dollars less per chisel than Hirsch or Two Cherries.

The mortise chisels are pretty massive and are available at very attractive prices.

So, has anyone tried these? They look pretty nice.

Jim

[Jon Toebbe]

They look an awful lot like the MHG mortise chisels Hartville Tool (and others) used to carry, right down to the Imperial sizing. I wonder if Traditional Woodworker has worked out some sort of re-branding deal with the factory? If these are actually made in Germany, they're likely to be pretty good. From what I understand, all chisels made in Germany have to conform to a set of minimum standards. Two Cherries' chisels might be prettier, but they should both perform at the same level.

I've been very pleased with my MHG chisels. Large, sturdy, good steel. I can see the advantages of an oval handle for registering the chisel's orientation by touch. Other than that, these German-pattern mortise chisels don't have may compromises.

If you get one to try out, make sure you give it a good, strong secondary bevel. They typically have a 25 deg primary bevel, which just won't stand up to be beaten into oak. DAMHIKT. :o

[David Weaver]

I would also wonder if they were MHG and not hirsch/TC.

The MHG chisels from hartville were inconsistent. Some liked them, some didn't.

I got the mortise chisels as my first full set of mortise chisels, and I didn't like them at all. Edge durability was poor with them unless they were steepened a lot. They were basically spec'd as the same thing as hirsch and TC, and at the time I had some hirsch firmers. They were not close in durability or hardness to the hirsch chisels, which stood up very well for the short time I had them.

I would call them and find out what they are first. If they are MHG, there is a reason they are cheaper than hirsch TC. If they really are the hirsch/tc, then go ahead and get them if you like the way they look.

[Matt Sauber]

I purchased the "Set of 6 Firmer Bevel Edge Chisels" but have not got around to using them yet. These are my first chisels so I really have nothing to compare them to. They "feel" good to me and the box is nice but again these are my first and only set.

I'll post how they perform for me soon. My current project is a nightstand made from QSWO. I'll be cutting dovetails, tenons, etc. very soon.

[Bob Jones]

I have the firmer and mortise chisels and I think they are great. The firmer chisels are a bit shorter than my two cherries were, but I love the imperial sizing. The mortise chisels are massive and seem to hold an edge well. They were very quick to flatten with sandpaper on granite.
Fyi. I like both sets, but I am more impressed with the mortise chisels than thbe firmer chisels. Overall, I am happy with both.

[James Scheffler]

Thanks, guys. It sounds like these might be worth a try. I'll probably buy one of the mortise chisels first. If it stands up to the pounding ok, then I might buy the set of firmers.

Matt - I would love to hear about your experience with the chisels. A recent project with QSWO exposed the weaknesses of my Irwin blue handle chisels. (They just didn't hold an edge). That's why I'm looking now.

Thanks,
Jim