My "lifelong" two cherries chisel - broken

[Brian Kent]

I made one of those "lifelong" investments of six Two Cherries bench chisels. The 1/4" chisel broke at the neck last night.

I was chiseling out oak between two slightly underspaced saw cuts, so that is where the pressure came from. I was giving medium strokes with a wooden mallet in a tight space, but was not trying to use it as a mortise chisel (Ashley Iles helps me when I need help that direction).

I wrote to the vendor to find out if 11 month old tools are replaceable.

My question for y'all… Is it normal for a 1/4" bench chisel to break under these conditions? Should I replace the Two Cherries 1/4"?

My second question for y'all… I will spend a few hours at the Ontario, CA woodworking show tomorrow. I might use the opportunity to buy another brand of 1/4" chisel. Any recommendations?

Thanks, everybody.

[Steve Wargo]

I broke one of my 6mm chisels too. I purchased mine from Deter Schid in Europe, and sent him an e-mail. he sent me a new one with no further questions. I only chipped the end of mine off, but pretty badly. I ended up grinding it into a skew. Too bad about the chisel, but I imagine it's not that uncommon. I have two other 6mm Two cherries chisels, and have not had any issues with them.

[Brian Kent]

Many thanks for the fine customer service at Crafsman Studio. They talked to the Robert Larson Company (USA Distributor for Two Cherries)and they are sending replacements.

I am doubly glad because I went to the Ontario, California woodworking show today. I held the hirsch chisels, Lie Lielson, some minor brands, and a Japanese chisel. The Two Cherries fit best in my hand. I do think I'll buy a Japanese chisel to test someday, because it felt second best to the Two Cherries.

The Lie Nielsons were beautiful, but did not feel right for me. I was also unnerved a little when I picked each one up and each chisel fell of the handle. They had gone from the wetter East Coast to the drier West Coast and the wood had shrunk. No doubt that is not an issue for actual use.