Chisels and sharpening stone and...

[Kevin Vasko]

So I believe in the cry once not every time you use it (within reason). I know chisels can be one of those things that can range from super cheap chinese crap to hundreds for basically usable art.

It will be my first set of chisels, other than the single 3/4" dewalt beat anything with chisel I have. Obviously I have to weigh the value of use and practicality of the cost of the set.

I've been doing my research on a chisel set and it seems that most people have a suggestion of a set of Narex chisels. Looking at the 8pc premium narex set for ~$100 on amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L726IO2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_cz7.ybPW7SHGC



I'm also not quite sure if the difference between this set.

Narex 6 pc set 6mm (1/4"), 10 (3/8"), 12 (1/2"), 16 (5/8"), 20 (13/16") , 26 (1 1/16") Woodworking Chisels in Wooden Presentation Box 853053 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0165WKKY2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_xckazb5GMPC9K

and this set (other than the obvious extra chisel sizes. One has dark handles and the other has light colored handles. Just a new version?


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GPCG5BA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_kD7.ybCR2R2PV

Obviously everyone says you need to sharpen the chisels to get the most out of them. What sharpening stones would come recommended?

Any other chisel sets I should consider? Should I get a smaller set but higher quality? Anything else I should be looking at for a "starter kit"?

[David Eisenhauer]

You have asked one of the "big" questions that has been discussed many, many times with many different and all good answers. Much of the answer will depend on what you intend to do with the chisels and what your budget looks like. Sharpening is another very "big" (maybe the "biggest") question and will result in many answers, most all good. At the very least, please run a search on "best sharpening stones" or "best sharpening method" to get a basic idea of the differences between using sandpaper, water stones (man made and natural), ceramic stones, diamond plates and oil stones for sharpening. There are also many useful You Tube videos on sharpening wood working blades as well. As to chisels, I will say one thing - before jumping in on one of the bazillion-chisel sets, consider buying one chisel (maybe 1/4" ?) and trying it before buying the whole set. Also, in my opinion, you may not need a bazillion chisels any time soon and they all will require sharpening now and as you work along. For furniture building, a 1/4" is very useful for mortise/groove cleaning and dovetail work, plus a 1/2" for general paring. Some will suggest buying old, quality chisels and refurbishing them. That works. Some will say that the average weekend wworker will not tell the difference between a quality chisel and a less quality tool. Could very well be. Some will say to buy good quality chisels (one at a time if $ is tight) and in the size needed as the need comes up. That works too. Your budget comes into play here. Especially in the case of the more expensive chisels, the try-one-first-method is a good idea in my opinion. There are nuances in the chisel metal makeup and handle size/shape. Sharpening is something that can burn through cash if you jump around between methods (with different stones for each method) and is something that you need to think about. You will be told by many that their particular preferred method is best (for any number of reasons) and they may be right. I believe that any one of two or three different methods will work just fine but you need to pick a method and learn to use that method fully without shortcuts or serious modification. I also believe that whichever chisels and which sharpening method you select will not be the one you end up with over a period of time. Review the info out there, make a choice and move on. Chisels should be easy to re sell and maybe even (I have no experience here) sharpening stones/plates.

[Prashun Patel]

i have the Naren four piece set for 50. Id get that and then add individuals if you need them.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

"Very" briefly:

Your best sharpening choice will depend on what you are doing. Whatever system you put together, you will want a coarse(er) and a fine(er) stone (some have a progression of half a dozen, but I think most people would say you need at least two). I use a 1000 grit waterstone followed by an 8000, followed by a strop. I have become a big believer in the strop with green compound. It is cheap and effective. You should keep in mind that oilstones are less effective with modern steels I believe (A2, PMV-11). Waterstones will sharpen them, as well as 01 and vintage carbon steel, but are messier. Sandpaper works, but is expensive.

George Wilson swears by a diamond stone I think, followed by ceramic stones and a strop. Availability of water, likelihood of your shop freezing, and the type of steel you are trying to sharpen will all influence what is best for you. If I were starting out, I would probably listen to George, but since I already had stones before reading his thoughts, I'll stick with what I have until they wear out.

As far as chisels go, lots of people speak highly of the Narex. I did not like the way they felt in my hand, so went with the Ashley Iles, which are more expensive, but which I like very much.

Lee Valley carries the Narex as well, and may be an option if you want individual chisels, or a set made up of different sizes than what you have linked to.

[Ray Bohn]

The dark handle chisels are mortise chisels, not bench chisels.

Not sure what is different between the 2 "Professional" sets except appearance -type of wood in handles and the ferrules on one set are either brass or brass plated. Someone will have the answer.

Edit- Upon a closer look, it appears as if the the higher priced set (bench chisels) has a better profile for getting into tighter areas in dovetails. The image is not that good, but it looks that way.

[Dave Zellers]

David E: "I also believe that whichever chisels and which sharpening method you select will not be the one you end up with over a period of time."

So true. The Narex chisels are good. Stick your toes in the water, experiment, learn and keep asking questions. A year from now you'll still be asking questions, just on a higher level.
You're in the right place.

[Richard Line]

Several of the chisel sets on Amazon are metric sizes that are close to inch sizes, but not exact. I'm not sure if some are made to actual inch sizes. The Narex chisels the Lee Valley sells are inch sizes. Generally, for most of the work I do metric sizes would be just fine. Where I've found a problem with not having exact inch sizes is if I've roughed out a mortise by drilling and then want to clean it up to match the drilled size.

I do like my Narex chisels, bench and the 2 mortise chisels.

[Jim Koepke]

Hi Kevin and welcome to the cave by the Creek.

Everyone has a different approach to their chisel acquisitions.

You mention this is your first set instead of saying you want to acquire a set. This makes me think you see this as a 'starter set.' In which case it would likely be a very good set to have while you go through the learning curve of sharpening and using one of the most versatile tools in anyone's shop, the chisel.

Lee Valley has the set in inch sizes at comparable prices:

http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=67707&cat=1,41504

The metric sizes on the amazon chisels do not convert exactly to the inch sizes. The 8,16 & 32mm do convert close enough to go unnoticed. The 20mm is closer to 13/16" than 11/16" as shown. (19mm converts to 3/4")

The differences between the sets in your links are the ones with the dark handles are mortise chisels. The light handled ones are bench chisels or paring chisels, they are longer than the premium chisels. The premium chisels are good all around chisels, especially if they need to be carried to job sites. They are a little lighter and take a little less room in a tool box.

As time goes by you will likely find each type will excel at a particular job. If you are of a minimalist persuasion, my suggestion would be to get the bench chisels. They can cut mortises, pare various joinery and be used to make hing gains (hinge mortises).

My preference is for a mortise chisel for cutting a mortise, but a mortise chisel isn't well suited for paring waste on dovetails.

The shorter premium set can cut mortises, pare dovetails and a lot of joinery but would come up short when paring a dado across a wide panel.

My shop is unheated. During the winter if woodworking is to be done, the sharpening is going to be done on oilstones. During the summer my water stones get their share of the sharpening duties.

My first chisel set was to be acquired one size at a time. One of the local hardware chains carried Sandvik chisels for less than $10 each. The first one seemed to be a nice chisel so a second and then a third was purchased. When it was time to buy the next one, the branding and handle design changed. After that my chisels were pretty much a mixed batch though mostly Buck Bros. and Witherby bought from the auction site, estate sales and where ever rust goes to be sniffed out by rust hunters.

jtk

[Kees Heiden]

Chisel sets are usually poor value. It's better to think beforehand what sizes you really need. I like something very narrow, something a little wider, the standard 3/4" and something really wide. So I got myself a "set" of 3 mm, 6mm, 19mm and 32mm. Add one or two in between sizes, just because, and you are set for life (untill you start to accumulate vintage chisels, of course). You never see a set like that advertised. The sales people who think up the standard sets usually have no idea about woodworking.

Regarding sharpening. Everybody knows that oils stones rule! They just don't acknowledge that, yet.

[Noah Magnuson]

I will reiterate something that has already been mentioned about just getting a few to start. The Narex set gets a lot of good feedback as bang-for-buck, but if you are ultimately looking at getting a "premium" set, I wouldn't hesitate to buy two or three from LV/LN etc. and then pick up more if/when you need them. Even though there might be an apparent "deal" on getting a set, you may find that you only use about half of them. I typically use about 4 chisels and have a bunch that collect dust or get used on rare occasions. My normal usage is about 3 sizes of LV/PM-V11 (though I have the set), a nice long Sorby 1/2" paring chisel, and a 1/2" pig sticker that I use when I need serious leverage.

[Kevin Vasko]

Hi Kevin and welcome to the cave by the Creek.

Everyone has a different approach to their chisel acquisitions.

You mention this is your first set instead of saying you want to acquire a set. This makes me think you see this as a 'starter set.' In which case it would likely be a very good set to have while you go through the learning curve of sharpening and using one of the most versatile tools in anyone's shop, the chisel.

Lee Valley has the set in inch sizes at comparable prices:

http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=67707&cat=1,41504

The metric sizes on the amazon chisels do not convert exactly to the inch sizes. The 8,16 & 32mm do convert close enough to go unnoticed. The 20mm is closer to 13/16" than 11/16" as shown. (19mm converts to 3/4")

The differences between the sets in your links are the ones with the dark handles are mortise chisels. The light handled ones are bench chisels or paring chisels, they are longer than the premium chisels. The premium chisels are good all around chisels, especially if they need to be carried to job sites. They are a little lighter and take a little less room in a tool box.

As time goes by you will likely find each type will excel at a particular job. If you are of a minimalist persuasion, my suggestion would be to get the bench chisels. They can cut mortises, pare various joinery and be used to make hing gains (hinge mortises).

My preference is for a mortise chisel for cutting a mortise, but a mortise chisel isn't well suited for paring waste on dovetails.

The shorter premium set can cut mortises, pare dovetails and a lot of joinery but would come up short when paring a dado across a wide panel.

My shop is unheated. During the winter if woodworking is to be done, the sharpening is going to be done on oilstones. During the summer my water stones get their share of the sharpening duties.

My first chisel set was to be acquired one size at a time. One of the local hardware chains carried Sandvik chisels for less than $10 each. The first one seemed to be a nice chisel so a second and then a third was purchased. When it was time to buy the next one, the branding and handle design changed. After that my chisels were pretty much a mixed batch though mostly Buck Bros. and Witherby bought from the auction site, estate sales and where ever rust goes to be sniffed out by rust hunters.

jtk

Thank you very much for the long and detailed responses (to everyone). I've been doing a lot of research for the past few days on this to figure out a good start. It seems that the narex set is a good starter brand but from what I gather, only should be getting 4 chisels or so and no need for a set of 12+.

I feel that I just need to get my feet wet as someone point out. I'll look into buying from lee valley since they aren't metric sized.


Narex 6 pc set 6mm (1/4"), 10 (3/8"), 12 (1/2"), 16 (5/8"), 20 (13/16") , 26 (1 1/16") Woodworking Chisels in Wooden Presentation Box 853053 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0165WKKY2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_xckazb5GMPC9K

This was the set I was talking about with dark handles. Compared to https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GPCG5BA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_kD7.ybCR2R2PV

If I was going to buy individual chisels which sizes should I get? Also I don't see that LV has the "premium" version of the Narex chisels. From my understanding they are better due to the smaller size. Any other place to buy individual chisels?

[Pat Barry]

The dark handle chisels are mortise chisels, not bench chisels.

Not sure what is different between the 2 "Professional" sets except appearance -type of wood in handles and the ferrules on one set are either brass or brass plated. Someone will have the answer.

Edit- Upon a closer look, it appears as if the the higher priced set (bench chisels) has a better profile for getting into tighter areas in dovetails. The image is not that good, but it looks that way.

My Narex 7 piece set has dark handles and are bench chisels not mortise chisels. I got mine from LV http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=67707&cat=1,41504

[Kevin Vasko]

My Narex 7 piece set has dark handles and are bench chisels not mortise chisels. I got mine from LV http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=67707&cat=1,41504

Wjat are the differences in yours and these? Narex (Made in Czech Republic) Premium 8 pc set 6 (1/4"), 8 (5/16"), 10 (3/8") 12 (1/2"), 16 (5/8") 20 (11/16") , 26 (1" 1/16"), 32 (1 1/4") mm Chisels w/ Hornbeam Handles https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L726IO2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_AKkazbCPJH80D

[Robert Engel]

Kevin,

If you're going Narex, I strongly recommend the premium set. View that here (https://www.amazon.com/Republic-Premium-Chisels-Hornbeam-Handles/dp/B00L726IO2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493218371&sr=8-1&keywords=narex+premium+chisel).

They only difference I know is a lower side bevel height and this is well worth the price diff. It will be very important to you when chopping out tails. My only knock on Narex is edge retention. I would say "fair" at best. Also, be prepared to spend some time flattening the backs.

For stones, that's like what truck to buy. I use diamond stones in the coarser grits + water stones. You will need an extra coarse stone for flattening backs (300 grit) then something like 600. For waterstones a good combo is 1200, 4000, 8000. Norton sells a 4K/8K combo stone that is a good value.

I would NOT use the coarse diamond stone to flatten water stones. I think it wears it out prematurely. To flatten I use a flattening stone (which, BTW I had to flatten before use!!)

Hope this helps.

[David Eisenhauer]

I have no experience with the Narex brand, so no information for you on the difference between regular and premium chisels. I would be tempted to say just try a few of the regular ones from Lee Valley if you are looking for non-metric. It looks like the amazon ones are metric and include, perhaps, a few more than needed. Not sure what type of projects you will be working on, but using lots of 3/4" and thinner material for furniture, cabinetry, drawers, etc I would generally use these sizes most (in order): 1/4" (3/4" thick material works well with 1/4" mortises and 1/4" grooves are another common size task) - 1/2" (general paring work such as on blind dovetails or other flushing activity, chopping dovetails to the base line) - a wider chisel for general work could be 3/4" (to match any 3/4" wide dados or rabbets) or even 1" if you want something wide. Remember, a wider chisel is harder to push and control when cutting. - 3/8" (if you work thicker than 3/4" material and use mortise and tenon joinery) - 1/8" for cleaning out tight corners in dovetails, etc. Those sizes are what works for me, others may use different sizes, but I would say those sizes are fairly commonly used by many. I again say to think about the chisels before jumping into multi chisel sets because a perfectly good chisel touted by many others just may not "feel" right in your hand and lots of folks just don't use all of the in between sizes any where near as much as they thought they would before actually acquiring some experience. Large, multi-chisel sets also encourage the new user to just put a dull chisel down and grab another rather than sharpening the dull one. New users sometimes avoid stopping to sharpen and that technique will hold you back along the path toward improvement. As to stones, I use the Sigma set sold by Stu at Tools From Japan and have as much money tied up in them as some good chisels. Other folks use other type stones and have good results.

[Jim Koepke]

Wjat are the differences in yours and these? Narex (Made in Czech Republic) Premium 8 pc set 6 (1/4"), 8 (5/16"), 10 (3/8") 12 (1/2"), 16 (5/8") 20 (11/16") , 26 (1" 1/16"), 32 (1 1/4") mm Chisels w/ Hornbeam Handles https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L726IO2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_AKkazbCPJH80D

The chisels from Lee Valley are in true inch sizes.


If I was going to buy individual chisels which sizes should I get? Also I don't see that LV has the "premium" version of the Narex chisels. From my understanding they are better due to the smaller size. Any other place to buy individual chisels?

Smaller doesn't make them better chisels. They may be better in some situations.

As to which sizes it depends on your work. For most work a 4 chisel set, 1/4", 1/2", 3/4" & 1" would fulfill most needs. Add a 3/8" and not many jobs will be left undone.

Of course with a lot of different work comes a lot of different needs. Larger joinery is easier with larger chisels. Making garden furniture is different than making drawers and cabinets for the kitchen.

jtk

[andy bessette]

I'd look at the Japanese chisel sets from the Japan Woodworker. Same with water stones. Here are some of the chisels I regularly use.

http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i414/yo-andrew/chisels-plus-1_zpsmn4sop4u.jpg

[John C Cox]

One thing to think about here.

The Dewalt chisel is made by Stanley and is actually pretty good steel. They are typically EN31 which is the British version of 52100... A good steel with right at 1% carbon. You may be disappointed when your fancy chisels dont really hold an edge any better... Nothing like the miscellaneous mush Harbor Freight uses...

The advantage of "better" chisels is longer blades, thinner blades, better handles, and no heavy steel bar running inside. You will probably have to pay upwards of $25/chisel to get better steel.

After rolling down rat holes like this... Start with sharpening gear. I would personally either go with sand paper/scary sharp or diamond stones. Make sure you can get your Dewalt chisel super sharp and use it.... Then consider making the move up to "better" chisels like Ashley Iles, Veritas, Stanley Sweetheart, Lie Nielsen, Pfeil, and Two Cherries... But buy individual chisels in the sizes you need instead of a full set.

[Rick Malakoff]

I've never done business with this firm but they do seem to have a lot of info on the Narex chisels. I presently have and use a set of Freud chisels and a set of Marples Blue chips from the mid 80s that have served me well over the years.
Recently I purchased 2 sets (4 ea.) of blue chips at the swap meet for 15$ (only the 1'' was used) and the 20$ set were never used.
Rick
Sorry i forgot to post the link!!!
https://www.infinitytools.com/hand-tools/hand-tools-chisels

[Ray Bohn]

My Narex 7 piece set has dark handles and are bench chisels not mortise chisels. I got mine from LV http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=67707&cat=1,41504
Something weird has happened to one of the OP's links. It took me to mortise chisels yesterday, but somewhere else today. Sorry about the confusion.

[lowell holmes]

I started by buying antique Stanley chisels. You might want to shop on line and see if you can pick up some old 750's. They will spoil you.

I have some Narex mortise chisels. They are OK, but not inspiring.

My favorite chisels are Lie Nielsen chisels.

[george wilson]

Be sure to also get the mallet made by "Hide and Drink: Malerio". Looks like a promising set!!!:):):)

[bridger berdel]

I'd like to speak up in defense of the usefulness of having at least one wide chisel, as wide as you can find. When truing up a shoulder, paring off a peg flush with a surface, adjusting a fitting surface- that sort of thing- having the chisel wider than the workpiece helps me maintain registration.

Plus they look really cool in the chisel drawer....

[Owen Stefaniak]

I use the Narex chisels. I got a few of them from the Lee Valley website a few months back. They are decent overall for the price. I will say however, that they were an absolute nightmare to flatten. It took me way more effort than I was expecting to get them into a state that I was happy with. Some of them were better than others, but all required a healthy dose of elbow grease to get the backs flat.

[Kevin Vasko]

One thing to think about here.

The Dewalt chisel is made by Stanley and is actually pretty good steel. They are typically EN31 which is the British version of 52100... A good steel with right at 1% carbon. You may be disappointed when your fancy chisels dont really hold an edge any better... Nothing like the miscellaneous mush Harbor Freight uses...

The advantage of "better" chisels is longer blades, thinner blades, better handles, and no heavy steel bar running inside. You will probably have to pay upwards of $25/chisel to get better steel.

After rolling down rat holes like this... Start with sharpening gear. I would personally either go with sand paper/scary sharp or diamond stones. Make sure you can get your Dewalt chisel super sharp and use it.... Then consider making the move up to "better" chisels like Ashley Iles, Veritas, Stanley Sweetheart, Lie Nielsen, Pfeil, and Two Cherries... But buy individual chisels in the sizes you need instead of a full set.


Thanks for the info.

I feel I'm treading water here flip flopping back and forth.

So this is what I have come up with.

Sharpening:

https://www.amazon.com/DMT-D6EF-Dia-Sharp-Double-Sided-Extra-Fine/dp/B000GD3V3E
and
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000PVXRJ0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_ZkHazb3N619JN

Chisels:

Stanley 16-791 Sweetheart 750 Series Socket Chisel Set, Brown, 4 - Piece https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004TK0IG8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_MlHazbXRPYNVR

Included the 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and 1", add the 3/8" in separate.


That or the Narex set of 4 and the 5/8 from LV.

For some reason the Narex set looks more "robust" as the hornbeam handle on the sweetheart seems fragile...but after looking around more everyone says the sweetheart chisels are better than the narex. They seem to be identical to the ones on LV as on amazon for 30% less.

[Jim Koepke]

For some reason the Narex set looks more "robust" as the hornbeam handle on the sweetheart seems fragile...but after looking around more everyone says the sweetheart chisels are better than the narex. They seem to be identical to the ones on LV as on amazon for 30% less.

Both the LN and the current Stanley chisels are modeled on the Stanley 750 chisels from the past. That is why they look alike.

jtk

[Kevin Vasko]

Both the LN and the current Stanley chisels are modeled on the Stanley 750 chisels from the past. That is why they look alike.

jtk


So I guess these are better chisels than the Narex and would be the better option given the slight price increase?

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Thanks for the info.

I feel I'm treading water here flip flopping back and forth.

So this is what I have come up with.



As far as sharpening goes, I don't own any diamond stones, so others who do may correct me, but my impression is that the "fine/extrafine" descriptions in diamonds are really in a different category (i.e. Coarser) than the similar description in waterstones, oilstones, or ceramics. I think you may end up finding they really don't get you where you want to be in terms of a finished edge. Again, I am sure others will weigh in who own those stones. I may be incorrect.

As far as the chisels go, I recently bought a set of new chisels. I looked at the Stanleys you have linked and almost bought them. However, for another $10 per chisel you can get the Ashley Iles Mark II chisels, which is what I ended up going with. I have been extremely pleased with them.

[Jim Koepke]

So I guess these are better chisels than the Narex and would be the better option given the slight price increase?

Without having used them my qualification to pass judgement is nil.

As far as other things are concerned, my preference is for socket chisels since it is easier to replace a handle if the original isn't to my liking. To me, the Stanley handles do look more comfortable than the Narex.

Some of my chisels do have handles similar to the Stanley/Lie-Nielsen handles without me feeling a need of them being replaced.

jtk

[David Eisenhauer]

Without commenting on the steel in either the Narex or the Stanleys, I know the Stanley handle would be much more comfortable and easier to use than the Narex FOR MY HAND. The Stanley handles may look more fragile to you, but these tools are not used like tire irons. As per sharpening stones, if money is tight, I have heard it said that your bigger bang for the buck is to spend the money on the finer stones because you spend more time using those and you can always use sandpaper for the coarser grinds needed. I am not going to try to send you to any particular brand of anything because I don't know what your budget is and I don't know what your level of commitment may be down the road. FOR MY PURPOSES, it seems to work better for me to buy better quality, a little at a time if the money needs to be accounted for, rather than a bigger load of lesser quality stuff. If you were able to go to some body's shop nearby and actually handle a chisel or two and see someone sharpening a chisel or plane iron on their preferred stones (and maybe the ones they used to use before swapping to the current favorite), it would be well worth the effort. Where are you located?

[Adam Cruea]

I have the Stanley Sweethearts, and my father gifted me his LN chisels.

The difference is the LNs are heavy, yet balanced. The Stanleys are light, and decently balanced. I went with the 8 piece Stanley for my starter set, and if I had to do it again I'd probably get their 5 pc (or is it 4?) and an individual 1/8th chisel.

As for sharpening stones, that's a fight everyone has a dog in. After much time here and some nasty knock-down-drag-out fights, I've seen many gravitate toward Shaptons, Sigmas, or Arkansas as a general rule and they will get you very good sharpening. That said, if money is tight, you can even get a decent edge with something like Nortons.

Like David E said, I buy quality when I can (which, thanks to the career in IT is often) instead of buying cheap. Cheap will get you frustrated quickly in this hobby; moderate pricing will get you happy and engrossed. High end will make you forget your significant other, children, and job, so be careful there. :-P

Whatever you get, make sure there's a good, lifetime warranty on the tool. I'm not sure of Narex, but I can tell you the Sweethearts have a lifetime limited warranty (basically, don't use it for a pry bar and you'll get it replaced), and anything Lie-Neilsen has a lifetime warranty that short of melting down the metal LN will uphold.

And FYI, if you think this is flip flopping, wait until you get further into the hobby. There's a reason most of us have more tools than most hardware stores. :)

You might also want to check out Lee Valley's offerings. They're a spot-on company that stands behind their product as well.

[lowell holmes]

I'd like to speak up in defense of the usefulness of having at least one wide chisel, as wide as you can find. When truing up a shoulder, paring off a peg flush with a surface, adjusting a fitting surface- that sort of thing- having the chisel wider than the workpiece helps me maintain registration.

Plus they look really cool in the chisel drawer....

I agree, I have one that is a full 2" wide. I don't use it often, but when I need it is razor sharp.

[lowell holmes]

I use the Narex chisels. I got a few of them from the Lee Valley website a few months back. They are decent overall for the price. I will say however, that they were an absolute nightmare to flatten. It took me way more effort than I was expecting to get them into a state that I was happy with. Some of them were better than others, but all required a healthy dose of elbow grease to get the backs flat.

I have some Narex mortise chisels that are good chisels. I also have some LN mortise chisels. The two sets give me all the sizes I need.

[Stew Denton]

Kevin,

No comment on chisels, as the guys above are more expert than I am, as my chisels are almost all Stanley chisels from the 1960s and 1970s and I use them. Most of my chisel work has been carpentry related, and I use them for firmer chisel work, but I do use some for paring work by sharpening them at a lower angle, and if sharp they work fine for that, but I am slowly adding a few true paring chisels. The old Stanley 60s work fine with a claw hammer, and were designed for that. Carpenters always have a hammer with you on the job, and the Stanley 60s were designed for carpentry use with steel headed hammers, and they can take a beating.

I do have a few vintage socket chisels of various makers, and one Stanley Sweeheart simply because I had trouble finding a vintage 1/8th" socket chisel in the needed size. The vintage ones I have I bought for paring, and they have a longer and thinner blade than the Stanley 60s, which are butt firmer chisels.

My main comment is to go with what George mentioned, at least I think that was his intent, which is get a wooden mallet if you go with wooden handled chisels. Do not use a hammer with a steel head on a chisel with a wooden handle chisel if you want the handle to last. That is if you use those chisels for firmer chisel work.

Stew