Bevel Edge Bench Chisels

[ken hatch]

Something got me to thinking about bench chisels, not a clue what but here are some thoughts. While there are an almost unlimited number of types of chisels the one type that is used the most are bevel edge bench chisels. I would guess about 90% of my chisel use is of the beveled edge chisels. Some of the others are fishtail, pig stickers, firmer, slash mortise, crank neck, and so on. I have most of 'em and each has their use but the bevel edge chisel is the most versatile and is usually the go to chisel. I know preaching to the choir but bear with me for a sec.

Because of that versatility a good bevel edge chisel is very personal, what works for one woodworker may not work for the next. That is one of the reasons asking for chisel suggestions is a waste of time. My criteria I expect is about the same as anyone else's. It must fit my hand. How can you tell if it fits with out holding in hand and doing some chisel work. It must be "balanced". Same story, the only way to know if it is balanced is to pare and chop with it. Next is an area where I expect some push back. The blade must be made of a steel that will hold an edge at any sharpening angle from around 15 degrees to 35 degrees and is easy to sharpen on any stone. That need eliminates any chisel with a A-2 blade. Some of the other things that are good to have is a narrow land and a thin blade. I like bench chisels to be around 250mm (9"-10") long with blade and handle of near equal length. Paring chisels of course are much longer but the handles should have the same shape and cross section as the bench chisels.

Here is a photo of some of my bench chisels: The daily goto is the Ashley Iles third from the left. I expect the Pheil next to it will take over some of the daily use as well. The Japanese chisels are works of art and wonderful to use but day to day I find I reach for the AI chisels first. I love the Union Hardware chisels on the right side for their very thin blades and the Freud chisel on the end has been with me as long as I've worked wood.

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh222/VTXAZ/benchChisels170514_zpstfkbkeiq.jpg

ken

[Mike Baker 2]

Very nice.
I'm in the midst of actually acquiring chisels of good quality right now. I'm looking for vintage I can restore, just like most of my other tools and other items I use daily(straight razors, brushes, etc.).
What I am finding re handle is that it's size and shape depend on the job.
So far, I like big handles for things like cutting mortises, chopping, etc. But for things more delicate, I want a smaller handle that fits into the palm of my hand.
What will most likely happen is that I will end up with a few finely made chisels for the delicate stuff, and a lower cost set(Aldi, Stanley FatMax) for the heavy lifting.
Beautiful chisels you have there, btw.
As to fit to hand, most of the finely made chisels I see in my research have handles that, with some subtle variations, are basically the same size, and all of the mid priced stuff(Narex, Hirsch/Two Cherries, etc) are all bigger sizes, but pretty much the same as well.
So if I were to ask advice, I would specify what I wanted to do with them. Asking advice would be more to see what users of them thought of things like edge retention, ease of sharpening, etc, anyway. Those are quantifiable things.
Will a chisel fit my hand? You are correct that you can never really know till you try, but I think I could narrow it down depending on what the task was at hand.
But in the end you pays yer money and takes yer chances if you are buying online.
For me, too, there would be an element of "good enough/learn to adapt", as I do not have the disposable income to keep chasing fine detail in how a chisel( or any other tool) fits my hand. I will most likely settle on a level of quality that fits the job I'll be asking the tool to do, and just use it.

[steven c newman]

360259
The "Go-Tos"
360260
Other than that 4pc Aldi's set, the rest are vintage.

[ken hatch]

Very nice.
I'm in the midst of actually acquiring chisels of good quality right now. I'm looking for vintage I can restore, just like most of my other tools and other items I use daily(straight razors, brushes, etc.).
What I am finding re handle is that it's size and shape depend on the job.
So far, I like big handles for things like cutting mortises, chopping, etc. But for things more delicate, I want a smaller handle that fits into the palm of my hand.
What will most likely happen is that I will end up with a few finely made chisels for the delicate stuff, and a lower cost set(Aldi, Stanley FatMax) for the heavy lifting.
Beautiful chisels you have there, btw.
As to fit to hand, most of the finely made chisels I see in my research have handles that, with some subtle variations, are basically the same size, and all of the mid priced stuff(Narex, Hirsch/Two Cherries, etc) are all bigger sizes, but pretty much the same as well.
So if I were to ask advice, I would specify what I wanted to do with them. Asking advice would be more to see what users of them thought of things like edge retention, ease of sharpening, etc, anyway. Those are quantifiable things.
Will a chisel fit my hand? You are correct that you can never really know till you try, but I think I could narrow it down depending on what the task was at hand.
But in the end you pays yer money and takes yer chances if you are buying online.
For me, too, there would be an element of "good enough/learn to adapt", as I do not have the disposable income to keep chasing fine detail in how a chisel( or any other tool) fits my hand. I will most likely settle on a level of quality that fits the job I'll be asking the tool to do, and just use it.

Mike,

Buying vintage has its pitfalls especially buying from eBay. Even when you know what you are looking at and for eBay has a high 'burn rate'. By the time you pay for shipping a eBay chisel will usually cost over $20 USD and sometimes much more and then there is the 'burn rate' to deal with even if the seller will accept returns it costs to return ship. Trunk sales, flea market and used tool stores are another matter because you can hold and inspect the chisel. Once a used chisel gets into the $20 USD range, unless it is a specialty chisel, new becomes a better option because there are some very good chisels available in the mid $30 to mid $40 USD per chisel. A couple of examples are the Ashley Iles, and Pheil chisels. I think the new Stanley 750s are in the mid $30s USD as well. All are good chisels with easy to sharpen iron and will hold a good edge.

There is nothing magic about having a matched set, I say that and I have many full sets of chisels (most of the chisels in the photo are examples from full sets) but if you are buying on a budget a good plan is to buy one you are interested in in a useable size such as a 1/2" or 3/4" and try it on for size. If you like buy more , if not, you still have a useable chisel but for the next size move on to a different maker. It is in the long run a better option than trying to piece together used chisels, unless you just enjoy the chase. I'd rather work wood than look for rust of course YMMV.

ken

[James Pallas]

Good write up Ken. My two most used chisels are an 8mm Pfeil older style with the round handle and a 1/2" Buck Bros. with the red plastic handle. The Pfeil is sweet after I carved some flats to keep it from rolling. The Buck Bros. is a little on the heavy side. It does hold an edge and is an old friend of 30 years. It is a mater of choice and everyone has an opinion. I have several brands in the rack. I may try the new Pfeil type. I have many of their carving chisels and if the steel is the same they should be good. I tried some Lie Nielsen A2's a few years back and gave them to a relative, poor guy.
Jim

[ken hatch]

Good write up Ken. My two most used chisels are an 8mm Pfeil older style with the round handle and a 1/2" Buck Bros. with the red plastic handle. The Pfeil is sweet after I carved some flats to keep it from rolling. The Buck Bros. is a little on the heavy side. It does hold an edge and is an old friend of 30 years. It is a mater of choice and everyone has an opinion. I have several brands in the rack. I may try the new Pfeil type. I have many of their carving chisels and if the steel is the same they should be good. I tried some Lie Nielsen A2's a few years back and gave them to a relative, poor guy.
Jim

Jim,

That was good for a chuckle :). I guess I could live with needing diamond or water for sharpening A-2 steel but needing greater than 30 degree bevels is a deal killer for chisels. It is a shame because Lie Nielsen makes good tools but on this they screwed up. BTW, I have some of their, Lie Nielsen's, slash mortice chisels I will use to clean out mortises cut with the pig stickers and they work well for that job.

ken

[Jim Koepke]

Hi, my name is Jim and I am a chiseloholic...

This is from 6 years ago. More have since been bought than sold:

360267

That imaged doesn't show my beaters at the time:

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They have also grown in number.

jtk

[lowell holmes]

I gloat every time I use my Lie Nielsen bevel edge chisels. :)

I did have to spray hairspray on the ends to keep them from falling out of the sockets.

[ken hatch]

Hi, my name is Jim and I am a chiseloholic...

This is from 6 years ago. More have since been bought than sold:

360267

That imaged doesn't show my beaters at the time:

360268

They have also grown in number.

jtk

Jim,

I notice from your photo, many if not most of your chisels have been re-handled with a very distinctive handle shape. Chisels are so personal, good on you for finding a shape that works.

ken

[Graham Haydon]

Ken, your taste in chisels is first rate.

[Kees Heiden]

My bevel edge chisels are mostly E.A. Berg and some English ones. I think there is also one Nooitgedagt in that set. Nothing special, but I like how thin they are. Sometimes you need to get into a narrow slot and then a thin chisel is what you need.

Otherwise I like all my firmer style chisel too. Nothing like mortising a plane body with a big sturdy lump of steel!

[Mike Baker 2]

Ken, I don't do ebay, all of mine will be found local, especially a vintage. If I can't hold it in my hand and look at it, I'll buy new instead.
But I have a 6mm and 12mm vintage, and I'd be willing to bet those two sizes will serve most of my "delicate" work. So I'm just waiting for my local Aldi's to stock up for Father's Day(I hope). That should be all I need for a long time.
I need to focus on actually working wood, but I can live vicariously through you guys. :D

[ken hatch]

Ken, I don't do ebay, all of mine will be found local, especially a vintage. If I can't hold it in my hand and look at it, I'll buy new instead.
But I have a 6mm and 12mm vintage, and I'd be willing to bet those two sizes will serve most of my "delicate" work. So I'm just waiting for my local Aldi's to stock up for Father's Day(I hope). That should be all I need for a long time.
I need to focus on actually working wood, but I can live vicariously through you guys. :D

Mike,

Good plan. I have a little tool jones, living in the desert allows me to get away with it. If I lived anywhere else I'd only own a 10th of the tools I have. Too many just get in the way of doing work if you have to maintain them.

ken

[ken hatch]

Ken, your taste in chisels is first rate.

Thanks Graham, I wouldn't go that far but I will say I've kissed enough frogs to know when it's a frog.

ken

[Joe Williams]

Jim,

That was good for a chuckle :). I guess I could live with needing diamond or water for sharpening A-2 steel but needing greater than 30 degree bevels is a deal killer for chisels. It is a shame because Lie Nielsen makes good tools but on this they screwed up. BTW, I have some of their, Lie Nielsen's, slash mortice chisels I will use to clean out mortises cut with the pig stickers and they work well for that job.

ken

I had never heard this before. Ken, I am no where near experienced but I have been using these chisels a few years and never thought the angle was that bad. Am I missing out on a serious improvement? I started out on these chisels so I really never noticed it was wrong if it is.

Thanks
Joe

[ken hatch]

I had never heard this before. Ken, I am no where near experienced but I have been using these chisels a few years and never thought the angle was that bad. Am I missing out on a serious improvement? I started out on these chisels so I really never noticed it was wrong if it is.

Thanks
Joe

Joe,

If they work for you they are not wrong and I doubt you are missing anything, that part is pretty simple.

There are several factors involved in my rejection of A-2 steel for chisels. The biggest is needing special sharpening media and slow to sharpen and next is weakness of the edge at more acute bevels. Sometimes for paring I like bevels of less than 25 degrees, A-2 edges tend to be weaker below 30 degrees than high carbon edges.

I'm in the sharpen as you work school. My sharpening bench is a couple of steps to the left of the main bench and I freehand sharpen so edge retention is lower on my wish list than ease of sharpening and I dislike the mess and fiddliness of water stones. At one time LN offered O-1 and A-2 steel in both their chisels and plane irons, I think they made a mistake when they dropped O-1. Of course as with all things wood YMMV.

ken

[Stewie Simpson]

I agree with Ken. LNs decision to stop offering 01 was a woeful marketing move.

[michael langman]

I couldn't agree more. To me O-1 is the ultimate all around steel for chisels and plane irons.