James Carmichael
01-09-2012, 7:32 AM
After all the good reviews, especially about edge retention, I ordered the basic set of 4 from Highland thinking I might start replacing all my Sheffield-made Marples (most are boxwood handled.)
When they arrived, I was amazed at how light they were. The blades looked about 20% thinner than my Marples. So my initial thought was "OMG, these are toys." After using them a bit, though, I found out they werent. The backs were very flat and the edges sharp right out of the box. I used the 1" (I find wider chisels what I reach for most often, I like mass for control) to clean up mortises in SYP, no easy task since the wood is so soft. It handled this job easily as well as paring the tennons for it, reminding me my old chisels needed to be sharpened.
I seem to be in the minority in that my most-reached for chisels are 1/8, 3/8, 1, and 1 1/2. I'd use a 1 1/4 and 2" if I had them.
My initial thought was to replace my Marples with these, but now I think I'll use the Narexs for lighter work and the Marples for heavier malleting, while the Blue Chips will go in the tool tote. So the chisel drawer just got more cluttered:-)
I have no experience with higher-end bench chisels, but at $7 apiece, these would be tough to beat. My next order will be to fill in the 1/8 sizes not in this set and the sizes above 1".
When they arrived, I was amazed at how light they were. The blades looked about 20% thinner than my Marples. So my initial thought was "OMG, these are toys." After using them a bit, though, I found out they werent. The backs were very flat and the edges sharp right out of the box. I used the 1" (I find wider chisels what I reach for most often, I like mass for control) to clean up mortises in SYP, no easy task since the wood is so soft. It handled this job easily as well as paring the tennons for it, reminding me my old chisels needed to be sharpened.
I seem to be in the minority in that my most-reached for chisels are 1/8, 3/8, 1, and 1 1/2. I'd use a 1 1/4 and 2" if I had them.
My initial thought was to replace my Marples with these, but now I think I'll use the Narexs for lighter work and the Marples for heavier malleting, while the Blue Chips will go in the tool tote. So the chisel drawer just got more cluttered:-)
I have no experience with higher-end bench chisels, but at $7 apiece, these would be tough to beat. My next order will be to fill in the 1/8 sizes not in this set and the sizes above 1".