Looking for decent set of shorter chisels.

[Joe Unni]

Hey all,

I've a set of blue Marples that have served me well over the years. Especially since I learned how to sharpen them well. However, the other day I was using an old Stanley (HD special) as a scraper inside a routed relief and discovered that it felt much more comfortable in my smallish hands. It is about 7 1/2" as opposed to my ~9" Marples. As I've been looking around for a new set of chisels anyways, I was wondering if there are shorter chisels out there that can be used for paring as well as chopping. Any ideas?

I look forward to your responses.

Thanks in advance,
-joe

[Jim Becker]

The Ashley Iles chisels I own come in a shorter handle version...check them out at http://Toolsforworkingwood.com .

[Chris Barton]

Crown has a set sold by Woodcraft that has been very highly rated in hands-on testing for a very reasonable price.

[Steve Wargo]

I purchased the Crown butt chisels for my son. I think they're a decent tool. They one of those tools that I would consider a bargain. They work better than the cheap price, but not as well as some of the better quality chisels. I think that they would be way to short for pairing and typical bench work though.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Folks tend to use either what they have or what they find comfortable and that is fine. In the strictest sense of the word though, a paring chisel is one with a long blade that is thin enough to have a slight flexibility to it. The rationale behind this design was that the added length gave better control when trying to make minor adjustments to the angle of attack. This is not to say that short chisels can't be used for paring. I suspect that almost everyone here uses regular bench chisels for paring at least some of the time. I would go so far to say that if we took a poll, less than a third of us even own paring chisels. I know I only have a couple.

[tod evans]

joe, i have a full set of paring chisels as well as a set of bench chisels and a set of "beaters" the "beaters" are plastic handled bucks but the stanleys are the same. i use them quite a bit, any time i need to scrape glue or strike with a metal hammer. i think it`s a good idea to have a set you`re not afraid to beat the heck out of as well as your "good" ones....02 tod

[Bob Johnson2]

LV has a 3 piece set of 7" butt chisels.

[Derek Cohen]

Joe

Have a look at the Japanese chisels. They fit your bill. Many, including myself, like them for the very reason that they are so well balanced. Even the cheap ones hold a decent edge.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Charlie Mastro]

I second Derek's suggestion. I don't think you can do any better and yes the cheap ones even hold a decent edge. Further more you can strike them with a metal hammer (which they were made for) therefore getting more power to the chisel than with a mallet which has a pension for bouncing.

Just my .02's worth.
Charlie

[Bob Smalser]

I sure liked these, although I prefer longer chisels for bench use:

http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/4029780/49867301.jpg

http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/prodimg/il/big/IL-100-20XX_big.gif

[Jim Becker]

Yes, Bob...those are sweet. Although I bought the longer versions, the short AI chisels are really nice tools.

[Joe Unni]

Thanks everyone!

The Ashley Iles do look VERY nice, however it would seem that all three sets (the 6 narrow, 6 standard, and 11) are out of stock. Go figure.

I also was looking at the Crowns. But if the Japanese chisels are a pretty good bang for the buck, I may just go in that direction.

Thanks again,
-joe

[Bob Smalser]

For a big step up from the Marples without the expense of known Japanese chisels or risking what you might get with a generic Japanese chisel, try these from Lee Valley.

http://www.leevalley.com/images/item/woodworking/chisels/44s0102g1.jpg

I have a number of boatbuilders on another forum delighted with them.

[Roy Wall]

Joe,

I've have the Blue Marples too........not a bad chisel at all. I was able to "test drive" the AI Butt chisels at Joel's place in Manhattan - and decided to go with the longer bench version. They hold an edge well, although I wish the handles were a bit slimmer and shorter.

[Jim Becker]

The Ashley Iles do look VERY nice, however it would seem that all three sets (the 6 narrow, 6 standard, and 11) are out of stock. Go figure.

Joe, talk to Joel. Maybe they can help you by shipping what they have and filling in when new stock arrives. I know my "set" was pulled from individual chisels when I was in the store...at least at that point.

[Matt Meiser]

For a big step up from the Marples without the expense of known Japanese chisels or risking what you might get with a generic Japanese chisel, try these from Lee Valley.


Bob, how would you compare those to the older chisels? I've been looking and looking at antique stores and flea markets for old peices to fill in a set, but so far I only have some larger sizes of Stanley 750's. The Ebay prices are just too high--might as well buy new high end chisels and save the work and risk of buying sight unseen.

[Bob Smalser]

Unless you use them all day, every day....I don't think you'll notice a difference at all between a top brand like AI and the prewar. I won't go quite that far with L/V's because I haven't personally used them, I just recommended them to some boatbuilders on the strength of Rob Lee's comments. But even used just on nights and weekends, it's not worth getting poor value, and any time you're competing in a hot collectors market as a serious user, you are usually making bad deals because you're not just gonna set 'em on the shelf to admire.

Besides, the 750 may be the darling of Stanley collectors, but is hardly anything special as a user. Buy older Greenlee for good value...they are just as common, usually thinner and better finished than Stanley, and take and hold an edge just as well...for a fraction of the price.

[tod evans]

Unless you use them all day, every day....I don't think you'll notice a difference at all. Even then, it's not worth getting poor value, and any time you're competing in a hot collectors market as a serious user, you are usually making bad deals because you're not just gonna set 'em on the shelf to admire.

Besides, the 750 may be the darling of Stanley collectors, but is hardly anything special as a user. Buy older Greenlee for good value...they are just as common, usually thinner and better finished than Stanley, and take and hold an edge just as well...for a fraction of the price.

ps&w is also a good`n.....02 tod

[Bob Smalser]

ps&w is also a good`n.....02 tod

Lotsa really good ones.

Greenlee just seems to go cheap, probably because like Buck, they made some awful chisels when they switched from drop forging to investment casting in the 1960's, and the bad name stuck. But most Greenlee and Buck socket chisels out there precede the 1960's and are top quality.

[Matt Meiser]

Its pretty hard to find any useable chisels around here. Anything on Ebay seems to go high too. That's why I'm thinking about some better new ones. Heck I can probably sell the 4 750's I have and pay for a full new set.

[Roy Wall]

Its pretty hard to find any useable chisels around here. Anything on Ebay seems to go high too. That's why I'm thinking about some better new ones. Heck I can probably sell the 4 750's I have and pay for a full new set.

You know - that may be a pretty smart move.:) See what the market will bear.....

[Alan DuBoff]

Its pretty hard to find any useable chisels around here. Anything on Ebay seems to go high too. That's why I'm thinking about some better new ones. Heck I can probably sell the 4 750's I have and pay for a full new set.This is true to some extent, but there are decent chisels for fair prices, you just have to follow it like anything else. I just got 4 Pextos for $36 off ebay. Yeah, not as cheap as they were once upon a time, but still not bad for a set of 4 chisels.

I have several Stanleys (750s mostly but one 740) which I've not paid over $15 for, and recentely bought a nice 1/4" and 3/4" 750 for $35, but that was from a private tool dealer, not off ebay. I don't have a full set of 750s though, and missing the 3/8", 5/8", and 7/8" sizes.

The Ashley Iles chisels are quite a deal when you compare price, considering you can get a full set of 11 chisels for less than $300, that's not much more than Marples sell for.;-) Less hassle, less cost, and saves one a lot of time in putting a set together of vintage chisels.

[Matt Meiser]

You know - that may be a pretty smart move.:) See what the market will bear.....

I'm going to try it. Posted them tonight.

[Joe Unni]

Thanks again everyone!

Bob, it looks like the yellow Lee Valley's are in order. Thanks for you insight.

-joe