Ryan, your location isn't listed in your profile.
There are many members who like Andrew would welcome you to their shop for a test drive of their chisels.
jtk
Contributor
Ryan, your location isn't listed in your profile.
There are many members who like Andrew would welcome you to their shop for a test drive of their chisels.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Guest
Here's a very fine craftsman building a Newport blockfront chest and using the same chisels you have:Originally Posted by Ryan W Taylor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRbIq-kxIgQ
Blunt the chisels on your grinder, straight on. A one-second touch will do it. Then, put the hollow back in taking out almost all of the bluntness to just behind what will be the cutting edge. Don't go all the way to the edge. Keep the tool cool in water. When you get close, then work out the remaining scintilla of bluntness on your honing stones, i.e. hone as usual until you have a nice edge. Problem solved. All you're doing is shortening the chisel a very little bit, but you're doing it without dilly-dallying around.
Good luck.
Last edited by Charles Guest; 02-17-2021 at 4:08 PM.
Contributor
My first set was from my Father and they are probably 50 years old now (thats it, i am old if these Chisels are 50 years old, oh my).
I purchased two more sets at different times when I would find them dirt cheap so now I have the original set, a newer sharpened set, and one set still in package unopened. When my neighbor wanted to borrow a chisel and I knew he would beat it up, he got these. He did beat it up and I did not care at all. Easy to fix.
My intention was to let my daughter learn to sharpen on one of the sets, it just never happened.
I have probably given away at least one set of these to someone who had none but would rarely use them. Here, I paid $5 for this set. Enjoy!
Contributor
The old, blue handled Marples, and Record chisels are my daily users. If they weren't capable, I'd be using something else. I have no experience with them since Irwin bought the company.
Contributor
Just for reality check, I just chopped some mortises in Doug Fir, 5 of them. These are bowtie or dovetail plugs in a fairly hefty piece of wood that will soon be my face vise. The plugs, also Doug Fir. Eight inches long, 2" wide at the neck, three inches wide at the ends (1:8 slope). I chopped them all 3/4 " deep.
I could have sharpened more often than I did. What I was doing was getting most of the waste out, sharpen, then go around taking the last eighth off the wall of the mortise. Of the five mortises I chopped, I had to start with the bench grinder once, for the other four I started with my coarsest stone to get the chips out then all the way up the stone collection.
Chisel is A2, with a 35 degree secondary bevel. It was not an inexpensive chisel. Doug Fir may have a high silica content (I bet Jim Koepke knows without having to look at his phone), but I know Doug Fir is brutal to chop mortises in and have always figured it is because the early wood is so stringy. Of the chisels I have used mortising Doug Fir I agree my Barr Quarton chisel stands up to Doug Fir "the best", but it still needs routine sharpening.
My advice is keep the chisels you got, keep them sharp, try other chisels when you have a chance and pick your next chisels for something other than edge retention. Balance, hand feel, thrown to you by a watery tart, whatever. There is a ton of good chisels out there, but they will all need routine attention. Wait for something that feels right and good and true in your hands, among the may good ones to pick from.
Also, ASAP set up a sharpening station somewhere other than your workbench top. I am sorry I put it off as long as I did, in the past I had to clear my benchtop to setup for sharpening, usually at the end of the day. Now I can leave the project piece(s) on the benchtop, turn to my left, sharpen, turn back to my right and continue.
Contributor
Can't look at my cell phone, don't have one. Doug fir is about average in silica except in the bark. The bark is loaded with silica.Doug Fir may have a high silica content (I bet Jim Koepke knows without having to look at his phone), but I know Doug Fir is brutal to chop mortises in and have always figured it is because the early wood is so stringy.
Besides being stringy, the dark rings can be quite hard.
Chopping mortises in these was a lot of work:
Tail End Legs.jpg
The wood does plane well.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Contributor
Lot of of good relevant info here. "1/4 inch chisel". Narrow chisels chip easier because they are usually used just like all
the other chisels. So the edge is taking a "bigger hit. "Make it a habit to be gentle with the mallet"
Last edited by Mel Fulks; 02-18-2021 at 5:09 PM. Reason: punctuation
Contributor
I just got a new Narex chisel (2"), not the fancy Richter since they do not offer it in 2", but...
- It took a lot of time to flatten the back compared to a higher end chisel. I mean hours rather than a few minutes. I should have just started with a coarse grit.
- Lots of chipping after first abuse (I was chipping into some Oak), but this is common.
On the other hand, this softer chisel is very easy to sharpen, and I expect to wear past the soft brittle tip just as you can probably do with your existing chisels. So, use them more and see if the problem persists. If you have time, just grind in a few mm and see if it goes away. I have not had time to do it with my new Narex chisel yet, and it is not even close to holding an edge like my PM-V11 chisels (did not expect it to), but I have also not yet gotten past the initial soft section.
Do like the chisel, I have to say.
Member
Thank you, Andrew. I wasted a lot of chisels thx to my wrong sharpening
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