chisel brand/model

[Günter VögelBerg]

A while ago I bought a couple of the Narex chisels to have as utility chisels (My regular chisels are veritas, Lie-Nielsen and Blue Spruce) and they were all terribly out of flat. I got them there eventually, but it took a belt sander and lots of quelching.

[George Yetka]

Lee valley is at that show and usually have in addition to the veritas chisels the Narex stuff so you can get your hands on those. Outside of them from what I can remember the woodhut has 2 cherries I think. Ill be there Saturday I think

[Derek Cohen]

Nothing but good things to say about Narex. Also, Lee Valley has a couple of "Veritas" branded chisels that are not too expensive, relatively speaking. No idea if they are better or worse than the Woodriver chisels, but Lee Valley has a good reputation for their tools.

I began posting on this forum relatively recently. While I am a blended woodworker and use machines, most of the articles I have written have been about hand tools. For those unfamiliar with my website, there are many reviews of hand tools (along with shop made tools, and hand tool-orientated furniture builds).

One of the reviews I completed in 2013 was comparing four different steels in chisels: Veritas PM-V11, Blue Spruce A2, Koyamaichi laminated White Steel, and vintage Stanley O1.

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolRev...sCompared.html

The Koyamaichi beat out Veritas PM-V11, and these left the other two steels for dust.

I am not sure where one purchases Koyamaichi these days, but Veritas PM-V11 must rank among the absolute best steels for both plane and chisel blades.

I am also at pains to emphasise that a chisel is more than a blade. It has a handle and balance, and it must be comfortable to use. Every chisel is a different design, and one cannot make a decision simply on specifications. You must try them out. For example, when it comes to making dovetails, one of my favourite chisels is the Blue Spruce. In spite of their lower edge holding ability (compared to PM-V11), they take a very good edge. They are light and nimble with delicate thin blades , and are just wonderful to wield.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Pete Staehling]

Like I mentioned, I'm pleasantly surprised at how much I like their little butt chisels. They handles are nice and match my bench chisels in color (admittedly a petty thing, but important when one is, um...a little anal) and didn't need much "out of the box" to do the final sharpening or to keep them acceptably sharp for what I use them for. I'm not a hand-tool user, per se, but I use hand-tools for when they make sense.

I'll just add that my Wood River bench chisel set arrived. They are very pretty. The finish and feel seems very nice. The handles and balance seem nice at first glance. Obviously since I have not yet even used them time will tell more, but my first impression of them is very good. They do very much need to be sharpened, but I can't wait to get in the shop, touch them up on a water stone, and work with them.

[Jim Becker]

Pete, I suspect you'll like them after you get the edges honed out nice and sharp. They are certainly not a "high end" chisel (nor do they cost like one), but I think that Woodcraft did put a little thought into them.

[Justin Rapp]

George,

Thanks - I will be there Saturday also (at least that is my plan). I am worried that once I get my hands on the better quality tools at the show, I won't be able to settle for less.

[Justin Rapp]

I began posting on this forum relatively recently. While I am a blended woodworker and use machines, most of the articles I have written have been about hand tools. For those unfamiliar with my website, there are many reviews of hand tools (along with shop made tools, and hand tool-orientated furniture builds).

One of the reviews I completed in 2013 was comparing four different steels in chisels: Veritas PM-V11, Blue Spruce A2, Koyamaichi laminated White Steel, and vintage Stanley O1.

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolRev...sCompared.html

The Koyamaichi beat out Veritas PM-V11, and these left the other two steels for dust.

I am not sure where one purchases Koyamaichi these days, but Veritas PM-V11 must rank among the absolute best steels for both plane and chisel blades.

I am also at pains to emphasise that a chisel is more than a blade. It has a handle and balance, and it must be comfortable to use. Every chisel is a different design, and one cannot make a decision simply on specifications. You must try them out. For example, when it comes to making dovetails, one of my favourite chisels is the Blue Spruce. In spite of their lower edge holding ability (compared to PM-V11), they take a very good edge. They are light and nimble with delicate thin blades , and are just wonderful to wield.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Derek,

Great article - thanks for the write-up. I am more of a machine worker than hand tools, maybe because my machines are better than my hand tools. The dovetails on the chest you were building are amazing.

[George Yetka]

I have the pmv-11 chisels and do like them a lot. but before them I only had a bucks brother set from HD I bought for doing a door hinge. I bought them one at a time over 6 months 1 every time I ordered from Lee Valley. If you do end up with them I think they have a a 5 and 7 piece set. the 5 piece set is close to the price of buying 4) 1/4 increment chisels. That being said if you think they are going to be for occasional use they may be overkill, I can say mine definitely are but I like tools

[Jim Becker]

Justin, you should get to fondle some nice stuff in the Lee Valley booth if they are there. Show buys still get shipped to you by most vendors, however.