Narex premium bench chisels

[matt braun]

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/narex-premium-bench-chisel-set-with-leather-tool-roll.aspx

Highland now has Narex premium bench chisels available. To those of you who have bought them; what do you think overall? do they really have a "premium" cross section (good for dovetailing)? can you post some better pictures than Highland? is the metal as tough as the normal Narex chisels?

I met the Highland owner at Roy Underhill's school and he (Chris) picked up the tab at the bar afterwards. I've been wanting to say thanks by ordering from his website for a while.

[Jerome Hanby]

I haven't seen them in the flesh (or would that be steel) and the handles sure look nice. I like the other Narex Chisels that I have and this new set has me itching to spend another $100...

Wonder if Lee Valley will be selling them?

[Matt Wilson]

I was hoping they'd be empirical to match my router plane blades, 45 blades and my mortise chisels.

[lowell holmes]

They stated that the chisels are metric. They look good. I have two Narex motise chisels that are Imperial. They are good chisels, but the finish is less than Lie Nielsen chisels, but then they didn't cost as much.

[Bruno Frontera dela Cruz]

I haven't seen them in the flesh (or would that be steel) and the handles sure look nice. I like the other Narex Chisels that I have and this new set has me itching to spend another $100...

Wonder if Lee Valley will be selling them?

Looks like they may be selling them; check the note on the bottom of this product page:
http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=49989&cat=1,41504,43500&ap=1

[Jerome Hanby]

Wonder if that means that Narex has discontinued their previous bench chisels?

[Russell Sansom]

I don't have this brand, but for me there are two gotchas: 1) is the finish of the backs and how much additional work they need before they're ready for use. At this point of my retirement money is time. 2) Don't know if the Narex's fit this category, but I don't care for the Chrome-vanadium-heavy alloys. I find them murder to sharpen and quick to dull.

[george wilson]

The premium chisel handles look like file handles more than chisel handles. If it were me,I'd buy the cheaper set,and just grind the bevels deeper,and possibly change those handles,too. The ugliest handles I have seen are those on MY Pfiel chisels,which I am going to change (when the spirit moves me). Actually,I made up several London pattern boxwood handles,but don't like the way they feel. I'm thinking about making a better handle for them,now.

Don't get the idea that Narex only makes cheap stuff. I have a universal boring head outfit for my milling machine that retails for about $2300.00. I think their cheaper chisels are a good buy for the price. They DO admit that you'll need to flatten their backs. I think that is honest of them.

[Ron Kellison]

I can't speak for the new Narex chisels but I recently picked up 1/4" and 1/2" mortice chisels from LV. I'm impressed! While they weren't as flat as a lapped Veritas blade it only took me a couple of minutes for each chisel to run them over a Norton diamond plate (600/1200) and then a quick run through my old 4000 King and my new Sigma 10,000. Both are now flat & mirror polished on the back. The bevels took just a little bit longer as there were noticeable grinding marks. I expect the total prep time for each chisel was around 10 minutes. I chopped a few deep cuts into a piece of white oak, including a few light prying cuts to get the chips out. Under 15x magnification the edges held up well so I think the quality of the steel is OK. Personally, I think Narex chisels are a great value for the money!

Regards,

Ron

Regards,

Ron

[bob blakeborough]

I have the Narex chisels from LV (both the bench and mortise) and I have to say they are really decent for the money. The backs did require a bit of flattening work compared to my BS chisels (as expected), but considering the are not even remotely in the same price bracket, the bang for the buck is hard to deny!

[Jim Matthews]

Bench chisels (http://www.garrettwade.com/cabinet-boxed-set-6-chisels/p/10T15.01/)

I doubt Narex is selling two grades of steel, but that's just doubt rather than science.
Doubling the price for more of a side bevel seems a dubious return on the investment.

That said, the set I own is okay.
They neither sharpen so well as my ancient Witherby set, nor hold an edge as long as my Japanese chisels. They must be kept oiled, or rust is a problem, particularly on the smaller ones.

I bought mine when GW had a clearance, around $40 including the box.

[Rob Lee]

I haven't seen them in the flesh (or would that be steel) and the handles sure look nice. I like the other Narex Chisels that I have and this new set has me itching to spend another $100...

Wonder if Lee Valley will be selling them?

Hi Jerome...

We'll have these in imperial sizes. Watch for an intro special on them soon - we ordered stock ages ago...

Am out of the office, so no access to our systems, but it should be in the next 4-6 weeks.

Cheers,

Rob

[Jerome Hanby]

Rob, you might as well come to my house with a gun! I'll be saving my toy money for when you have them available,


Hi Jerome...

We'll have these in imperial sizes. Watch for an intro special on them soon - we ordered stock ages ago...

Am out of the office, so no access to our systems, but it should be in the next 4-6 weeks.

Cheers,

Rob