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Thread: Marples Chisel Box Set

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
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    Warwick, RI
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    804

    Marples Chisel Box Set

    I got these from a yard sale a few years ago. They came in a poorly designed but impressive looking box. When you close the box the chisels on top fall onto the bottom chisels so the box has to be closed carefully. I'll eventually put them on the wall and store the box til I'm dead.

    I haven't been able to find any information on them and I'm curious about there ranking as good or poor chisels. I think they're fine but I also thought my old plastic handled Stanley's were good also.

    MarplesChisels.jpg

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
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    twomiles from the "peak of Ohio
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    12,120
    Could always build a new box for them?
    Chisel box stained, inside done.JPG
    This way, they don't fall out of the "lid"...
    Chisel box PIP, 8 chisels.JPG
    This one holds 8...

  3. #3
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    Dec 2006
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    Warwick, RI
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    That's the way it should have been built in the first place. I can't imagine some engineers agreeing that this was a good idea. No I probably won't be building a new box. A drawer might be nice but I have those dog holes.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
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    Lake Gaston, Henrico, NC
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    8,973
    I've never seen that particular box. I have two sets of them. One I bought new in the early '70's, and the others are newer, but I'm not sure when they were made. Yours look like my newer ones. The steel is not one of the harder types, but you can get them Really sharp. I use mine all the time. I have a picture of one in the gallery here rolling up ridges on a tenon offcut from a fine toothed backsaw.

    The micrometer is on the larger shaving in that picture.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Richard Hutchings View Post
    I got these from a yard sale a few years ago. They came in a poorly designed but impressive looking box. When you close the box the chisels on top fall onto the bottom chisels so the box has to be closed carefully. I'll eventually put them on the wall and store the box til I'm dead.

    I haven't been able to find any information on them and I'm curious about there ranking as good or poor chisels. I think they're fine but I also thought my old plastic handled Stanley's were good also.

    MarplesChisels.jpg
    Richard,

    The chisels are post WWII chisels. As to the quality of the chisels it kinda depends on how post WWII the chisels are. Older Marple chisels can be top quality as they progress in the years and different companies they have lost value. I do not know enough about post WWII Marples to make a guess.

    Wish I could tell you more,

    ken

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Location
    South West Ontario
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    1,502
    The short brass ferrule and the white plastic washer point to 1995 or a little before apparently. The logo printing is far from simple and the attachment of the brass ferrule with triangular punches through reeks of rather modern.
    ​You can do a lot with very little! You can do a little more with a lot!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    South Coastal Massachusetts
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    6,824
    Good steel in these.

    Easy to sharpen by hand, tolerate moderate bashing, nearly ideal handle shape. I keep mine in a poplar box with a shredded T-shirt at the business end.

    If your not carrying them to a jobsite, you needn't baby them.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2019
    Location
    Pittsburgh, PA
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    827
    It's kind of hard to tell, but the handles seem to be made of Ash, is that correct? If they were boxwood, that would make them visually attractive from my perspective. I won't speculate about their quality, ease of sharpening means not super duper hard steel, which is not always bad.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Rafael Herrera View Post
    It's kind of hard to tell, but the handles seem to be made of Ash, is that correct? If they were boxwood, that would make them visually attractive from my perspective. I won't speculate about their quality, ease of sharpening means not super duper hard steel, which is not always bad.
    Rafael,

    I doubt the handles are Ash. Most likely Boxwood but again I know little about post WWII Marple chisels.

    ken

  10. #10
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    I'll post a better picture tonight.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Aug 2019
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    Pittsburgh, PA
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    Quote Originally Posted by ken hatch View Post
    I doubt the handles are Ash. Most likely Boxwood but again I know little about post WWII Marple chisels.
    I like boxwood more than Ash. I don't quite like the appearance of Ash, it feels coarse, the pores are too visible.

    At some point they used a special designation, "Shamrock" to indicate the product was their highest quality version. Towards the end, they and other manufacturers that used this kind of branding reduced the descriptions to just using a single label, like "Marples", and reduced the quality as well.

    Perhaps this page has some useful information: https://williammarplesandsons.com/ch...ouges/chisels/
    Last edited by Rafael Herrera; 10-29-2020 at 12:46 PM.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
    Location
    Winchester Virginia
    Posts
    25
    I had a complete set of these chisels, purchased from Woodcraft in the 1970's they were good quality but then i bought dome of Tom Lie Neilsen's chisels. There is no comparison between the two brands in my opinion. I sold the Marples.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Rafael Herrera View Post
    I like boxwood more than Ash. I don't quite like the appearance of Ash, it feels coarse, the pores are too visible.

    At some point they used a special designation, "Shamrock" to indicate the product was their highest quality version. Towards the end, they and other manufacturers that used this kind of branding reduced the descriptions to just using a single label, like "Marples", and reduced the quality as well.

    Perhaps this page has some useful information: https://williammarplesandsons.com/ch...ouges/chisels/
    Rafael,

    Pictured are some Marple Chisels: Starting at the bottom and working up is a Pre-WWII firmer chisel with a Carver pattern Box Wood handle. Next up is a Pre-WWII firmer chisel with a London pattern Ash handle. The next is a Post WWII firmer chisel with a London pattern Ash handle. The size difference is apparent and the two chisels have a totally different feel with the Pre-WWII chisel being light and balanced, the Post-WWII chisel not so much. The next two chisels are both Post-WWII the top one is a later chisel.

    marpleChisels.jpg

    Most of my Marple chisels are Pre-WWII with only a few Post-WWII. The Post-WWII chisels live mostly in tool rolls storied in the "tool room". The Pre-WWII chisels live in my chisel racks and are daily users.

    ken

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew Prandoni View Post
    I had a complete set of these chisels, purchased from Woodcraft in the 1970's they were good quality but then i bought dome of Tom Lie Neilsen's chisels. There is no comparison between the two brands in my opinion. I sold the Marples.
    Andrew,

    Shows how different folks are, I've a few LN A2 Chisels that are seldom used and mostly gather dust. On the other hand my Pre-WWII Marple chisels along with the Japanese chisels are daily users. Good high carbon steel with a "tanged" handle is hard to beat.

    ken

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
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