Hardness of MHG Chisels?

[richard poitras]

Has anyone ever heard of this brand or have used them? Hartville tool has them on sale for$59.00.. didn’t seem like a bad deal, is a (Rc) 61 ontheRockwell hardness scale a good number I don’t know much about the (Rc) number, I do know the harder they are the better they keep their edges so you don’t have to sharpen them as much and insight on these would be help full ..Thanks here is the description from the add….

MHG Imperial Bench Chisels - 6 Pc. box set

Hardly any tool is as essential to a woodworker's tool collection as a high quality set of bench chisels. The mirror polished blades of these chisels are made with the best available German Chrome Vanadium steel and are hardened to Rockwell hardness (Rc) of 61. This level of hardness means they will retain their keen edge much longer than ordinary chisels. Though quite sharp right out of the box we do recommend honing first for best performance. The comfortable handles are made of tough European hornbeam and have steel reinforcement hoops at both top and bottom. Deluxe 6 Pc. Set includes a 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 5/8", 3/4", & 1" chisel, all in a professional fitted wooden box. Professional 11 Pc. Set contains all the same sizes as the 6 Pc. Set, plus the 1/8", 3/16", 7/8", 1-1/4", and 1-1/2". Individual sizes available in light colored handles only. Germany[/font]

We are pleased to introduce this excellent new line of chisels, manufactured by MHG Messerschmidt of Germany. A relatively young company, MHG have quickly established themselves as one of the top chisel manufacturers in the world. These impressive chisels are the equal or better of any European made chisel on the market. Like their competing German made counterparts, MHG chisels are forged, hardened, and machined to demanding German DIN manufacturing standards. Though their cost is not low, the price is not at all unreasonable. We are confident that you will find the quality, performance, and durability of MHG chisels to be well worth the investment.

While many European made chisels have fractional sizes printed on the blade, a large percentage of them are actually made to the roughly equivalent metric size. Quite uniquely, MHG is making chisels for the American market in true imperial (fractional) sizes. So, rather than having to take the time normally consumed by compensating for the difference between fractions and millimeters, you can proceed with your work with less fuss. To our knowledge these are the only German made chisels offered this way.

http://www.hartvilletool.com/shared/images/products//large/44012_clp.JPEG

[Gary Kvasnicka]

Richard,

I have had them for about a year, and I have been happy with them. I am not a hand tool expert. They are much better than blue plastic handled ones I had before. I have always had great service from Harville Tool, check their return policy I'm pretty sure they will take them back it you are not happy.
When I bought mine I saved $20 on so on the 11pcs set without a box.

Gary

[Tom Esh]

They're hard alright - maybe too hard. I bought one to try and had a heck of a time lapping the back. In my case the hollow was in the worst possible place - a thumbprint sized area right at the tip. Practically wore me and a 300 grit waterstone out before I got fed up and threw it in a drawer. Subsequently I picked up a DMT diamond plate and gave it another go. That finally did the trick, but sheesh! it was still a lot of work. IMO that level of hardness is just marketing hyperbole unless the thing is reasonably flat to begin with.

[Tristan Raymond]

I bought the 6 pcs metric box set for $59 a few weeks ago. I haven't used them yet, but I have lapped the backs. I didn't find it too difficult, but I have a 3' x 1' piece of plate glass I bought to lap the sole of a #7 plane. Now it is covered with different bits and grits of sandpaper. For the larger chisels I started at 180 grit and it was really quite quick to flatten the backs. I've worked my way up to 600 so far and will finish on a waterstone. I'm impatient with lapping/sanding in general, so I start as course as I need to to get the job done before frustration sets in. I believe that a 300 grit waterstone should correspond to 150 sandpaper, so I'm guessing that my particular chisels must have been flatter to start with than some others.

As a side note I had planned to save up and wait for my birthday and get the LN set later in the year, but at these prices I figured I really couldn't go too wrong. Plus, if I ever get good enough at this hobby and build from my own designs I'm going metric. Fractional measuring is very silly when you thing about it.