New Paring Chisels at Lee Valley

[Stew Hagerty]

Any thoughts on the new Paring Chisels from Lee Valley?

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?cat=1,140,41504&p=71290

I realize they are made by Narex, but they were made specifically for LV.

[Tony Wilkins]

And here I was hoping you were going to link the PM-V11 Veritas long paring chisels Rob Lee mentioned not long ago as on the horizon. :/

[Chris Friesen]

And here I was hoping you were going to link the PM-V11 Veritas long paring chisels Rob Lee mentioned not long ago as on the horizon. :/

Me too. :) I'm on the fence about getting the Narex set or waiting and getting one or two in the PM-V11.

[Chris Griggs]

Hate to break it to you guys but I'm pretty sure there was a discussion at some point where Rob said their PMV11 parers won't be the long and thin type due to cost/availability of material and difficulty of manufacturing. I think he said they will be crank necks, that or short blade long handle like Japanese chisels. Of course, if its too expensive for him to make them in PMV11 I'd still love to see some long extra thin ones in 01.

EDIT: Here's the thread I was talking about: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?204744-Wanted-to-chew-on-my-new-PM-V11-chisels. Rob starts chiming in on page 2 (if your reading in Chronological/Linear format like I am anyway)

[Ray Bohn]

I am beginning to think lee Valley has something against me. When I was trying to decide what chisels to buy, I asked their customer service if their new chisels would ever be available in 1/8". The answer I received was "no plans"- so I bought another brand. More recently I asked if LV would be carrying the NAREX paring chisels that I had seen on an European web site. Same basic answer, "no plans at this time". Luckily, I was too poor at the time to pay the premium to be able to buy from another continent.

[Chris Vandiver]

Here's a link to some very nice and reasonably priced paring chisels that have great steel and a long reach(the reach is probably over twice the length of the chisel blade). Enlarge the photo for a better view.

http://www.toolsfromjapan.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=312_489_494_495&products_id=1387

[Marko Milisavljevic]

To try to get this thread back on track...


I was wondering what was exclusive for LV so I emailed their customer service. I was told that "The main difference between the Narex Paring Chisel and the one they have made for us is the one we are offering is ground flat to the tang. This will help in preventing any gouging of the wood." and when I asked for clarification, "The base, top and sides of the chisels are all ground flat to the tang.". Can anyone decipher what it means to grind all sides of chisel flat to the tang? It makes absolutely no sense to me and I'm embarrassed to ask again (so I'll ask in public instead :D)

[Hilton Ralphs]

"The main difference between the Narex Paring Chisel and the one they have made for us is the one we are offering is ground flat to the tang. This will help in preventing any gouging of the wood."

My understanding is that this relates to the bottom face of the chisel (non bevel). If you look at a normal bevel edged chisel, the bolstered part of the tang flares out before it enters the ferule. On these paring chisels, the bottom is perfectly flat right until the brass ferule. This will allow you to lay the chisel flat on the wood and I suspect it's designed like this as brass is less likely to mar wood than steel.

Take a look at this picture;

274980

[Hilton Ralphs]

How the Narex chisels are made.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gittWRq2Sjk

[Marko Milisavljevic]

Thanks, that would certainly make a lot of sense... I was reading "ground flat (relative or compared) to tang", when they meant "ground flat (all the way up) to tang". I wonder how much difference there is, since looking at Narex marketing materials (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--V-DNSbzHuw/UTT1paT5QPI/AAAAAAAAA0I/Cjl1hSoiN9I/s1600/Narex_Paring+Chisel.jpg) it doesn't show bottom, but it looks like their standard paring chisel is already designed to not flare out near ferrule.

[Chris Griggs]

Here's a link to some very nice and reasonably priced paring chisels that have great steel and a long reach(the reach is probably over twice the length of the chisel blade). Enlarge the photo for a better view.

http://www.toolsfromjapan.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=312_489_494_495&products_id=1387

+1

I have 2 of these and they are sublime...I plan 2 buy at least one or two more at some point.

[Stew Hagerty]

Well, I took the leap and ordered a set. I just checked and they've shipped so I guess I'll find out in a couple of days. I'll let you all know what I think.

[Chris Griggs]

Holy crap, I just ordered these somehow against my own will! How did that happen?

[Stew Hagerty]

Holy crap, I just ordered these somehow against my own will! How did that happen?

Ship(ing) Happens

[roger m lance]

I have a router plane for cleaning up the bottom of dados.....I have a shoulder plane for cleaning up tenon shoulders.....what is the compelling/distinctive job in woodworking that paring chisels do that make them a must have?? Today is a great day to order them....free shipping and $40 off....lots of psychological pressure to make that call....but what is the need here??

[David Weaver]

There is no real compelling need, whish is probably why there aren't nearly as many paring chisels floating around as there are bench/butt/firmer chisels.

[Stew Hagerty]

I have a router plane for cleaning up the bottom of dados.....I have a shoulder plane for cleaning up tenon shoulders.....what is the compelling/distinctive job in woodworking that paring chisels do that make them a must have?? Today is a great day to order them....free shipping and $40 off....lots of psychological pressure to make that call....but what is the need here??

For those out there that remember Flip Wilson...

The devil made me do it!!

[george wilson]

The cool factor makes for great pressure!!

The guys in the millwork shop in the museum would take a 24" used up planer blade and grind a tang on it. They seemed to take pride in whose chisel was the longest!!

[Judson Green]

Well, I took the leap and ordered a set. I just checked and they've shipped so I guess I'll find out in a couple of days. I'll let you all know what I think.


Holy crap, I just ordered these somehow against my own will! How did that happen?

In depth review please! How bendy are they?

And don't forget to take lots of pictures slicing pine end grain.

[Stew Hagerty]

In depth review please! How bendy are they?

And lots of pictures slicing pine end grain.

I'lll let you know when they get here.

[David Weaver]

The cool factor makes for great pressure!!

The guys in the millwork shop in the museum would take a 24" used up planer blade and grind a tang on it. They seemed to take pride in whose chisel was the longest!!

Various versions of that story have been going on with man since the beginning of time. :)

[Mel Fulks]

Yeah,David. There's one where they took a 36" knife and stirred up Tang .

[David Weaver]

When my current set of planer knives gives up the ghost, I'm going to put a handle on the blades, which are two sided, so I can just cut a bevel on the front... It's only a lunch box planer and it's got little holes down the length of the blades for the screws that hold it in place so it should flex an extra large amount. I'm going to make a chisel and boast that I can bend mine the easiest with the least effort.

unfortunately, I don't use a power planer much, so it might be several years before I get those blades so dull that I can't refresh their edges with a diamond hone.

[george wilson]

you might make bench knives with 1 1/2" blades. Those planer blades are about .062" thick(or thereabouts).

[bridger berdel]

I've had the same idea ( and the same set of delays) for a while. my planer is the early version of the delta 12", which has 2 blades in a set, about 3/4" wide x 12" long. sounds like a long flexy paring chisel and a pair of thin skews, at the least. I have a spare set waiting, and the set in the planer is on it's final run so it might not be too long now. within the next couple of years, I bet.



When my current set of planer knives gives up the ghost, I'm going to put a handle on the blades, which are two sided, so I can just cut a bevel on the front... It's only a lunch box planer and it's got little holes down the length of the blades for the screws that hold it in place so it should flex an extra large amount. I'm going to make a chisel and boast that I can bend mine the easiest with the least effort.

unfortunately, I don't use a power planer much, so it might be several years before I get those blades so dull that I can't refresh their edges with a diamond hone.

[Tom Millington]

Mine just arrived. There is no flex to the blades, they are pretty beefy. The lands are a little on the high side - 3/32" on the three larger chisels and 1/16" on the two smaller ones. These are true imperial units measuring spot on for each size. All are slathered in the thick anti rust coating Narex uses (lacquer?). There is no makers mark on the blades, just the name printed on the handle. The handles feel quite comfortable to my hands. Nicely ergonomic and much better than the Narex bench chisels. Overall they look and feel like good quality low price tools. I don't have time to do anything with them tonight but thought i'd post first impressions for you fence sitters before free shipping ends.

[Chris Griggs]

Thanks for posting Tom! Great info. I actually don't mind that they are beefy. I wonder if they behave more like the long vintage socket firmers...I like that style of chisel a lot for things like hogging out the waste in dados and sliding dovetails. I'm thinking these will be good for heavier paring work, and then I'll reserve my japanese parers for true light paring tasks. I was hoping the lands would be a little thinner, but that's a not really a big deal.

[Chris Friesen]

I went and looked at them in the store today. The display ones may have been seconds, but there was one that had a slightly convex back. Also, several of them had tips that were not full-width (the sides curved in towards the tip) so if you wanted to be able to get right into corners you'd need to grind them back 1/8" to 3/16".

Still, they looked like decent tools and good value.

[Hilton Ralphs]

The display ones may have been seconds, but there was one that had a slightly convex back. Also, several of them had tips that were not full-width (the sides curved in towards the tip)


Two words, Cyber Monday.

[george wilson]

My post has vanished it seems. I yielded to pare pressure and ordered a set late yesterday before 5:00.

[Chris Griggs]

My post has vanished it seems. I yielded to pare pressure and ordered a set late yesterday before 5:00.

Hasn't vanished....its in the other "Paring Chisels" thread. "Pare pressure"....I like that. We are all a bunch of pigs!

[Hilton Ralphs]

We are all a bunch of pigs!

Best you don't buy your current wife a mortising chisel for Christmas then.

[Chris Griggs]

Best you don't buy your current wife a mortising chisel for Christmas then.

Yeah, last year I bought her a bronze LN No. 4 with my name engraved on it....That was a mistake, I see that now...;)

[Hilton Ralphs]

I know it's early for you and late for me this boring Friday (yawn) but did you get the part about her sticking you with the mortise chisel (aka pig sticker)?

[Chris Griggs]

I know it's early for you and late for me this boring Friday (yawn) but did you get the part about her sticking you with the mortise chisel (aka pig sticker)?

Nope, went totally over my head. Haha...even funnier now :)