# Chisels



## JCMeyersIV (Mar 8, 2012)

Hey guys! Me again! Time isn't something I have a lot of these days, but the plus side is I have money! One of the guys I work with is a true master and he suggested I get a good set of chisels. I love the Stanley bailey but for a few bucks less I could get the Irwin blue chips. Which would you all recommend?

Also thinking of getting some decent hand planes, but I have them picked out


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## Billy De (Jul 19, 2009)

JC I still believe in old steel but if I was starting of new I would seriously look at these two tool makers. 

http://www.bluesprucetoolworks.com/

http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/...en=CTGY&Store_Code=toolshop&Category_Code=CIL


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## JCMeyersIV (Mar 8, 2012)

Nice find. But waaaay out of my price range :/


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## ACP (Jan 24, 2009)

I have the Narex chisels and they are ok. I want to get a set of the new Stanley 750's when money allows. You say you have a lot of money but the Blue Spruce is out of your range. No suprise really, who CAN afford those? What is your price range, that may help us help you with some brands. What does your friend, the true master, recommend to you? What media do you have for sharpening them?


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

This thread has some chisel info:
http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f2/good-set-chisels-5422/









 







.


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## Mribar (Apr 29, 2012)

I have a mixture of chisels, Irwin's, LN's and of Stanley#750's, some purchased and some passed down from my Dad. Budget is and will always be the biggest hurdle for me and here are my thoughts. If you have the funds buy the chisels you really want since it is most like a one time purchase. If funds are an issue, Irwin chisels work just fine. The reality is, it is all about the edge. As long as you can sharpen your chisels correctly maintain the edge while in use you will be completely satisfied with the end result.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I'm a woodcarver and for straight chisels I just use common Stanley carpenters chisels. They will sharpen and keep an edge just as long as any chisel I have. The handles are very comfortable to me and even the master woodcarver I took classes from commented on how good the chisels were.


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## JCMeyersIV (Mar 8, 2012)

Thanks for the info guys. 

My price range up to 100 or so. I'd spend more but I need some decent hand planes. Jim suggested Stanley. He has a bunch of older ones. The ones suggested before aren't THAT far out, and they're very appealing, but as I said I need some good hand planes too (i have two $15 Great Necks that just chatter and are impossible to set up). I'm a novice, this is the truth, but my father and Jim (guy from work) think I have a real "knack" for it so they both think I should treat myself to some decent tools. That's why bailey appeal to me. They're not the best but they're not cheap weekenders tools. 

As for sharpening I have a oil stone and the rolling bevel guide. Looking to get a better set up for that as well. 

I lean towards stanley because I've had some basic Stanley tools my whole life goofing around building (mostly awful lol) birdhouses and stuff as a kid and they have held up for 15 years. My dad has a lot of old Stanley stuff too. But the reason I mentioned Irwin is I'm a huge fan of their products as well. I stick to Freud but if I can't afford the Freud version of something I go Irwin. I am open to other companies but I'm a huge stickler for quality. I'd rather pend a little more now and have it last than spend $20 and sharpen every 5 minutes. The planes I'm looking at are the Stanley bailey. I would get sweethearts but they are pricey. 

A good chunk of this money I have now is taxes. I was going to buy a surface planer but I decided I'd use it so rarely that I could use someone else's if I really needed one. I'm going to purchase a jointer however before the end of the summer. I just figured I'd get good hand tools because the more I get into this, the more I like working by hand. There's just so much more control and more opportunities for detail I feel. 

I like Two Cherries and FlexCut as well..


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## JCMeyersIV (Mar 8, 2012)

Well guys. Sadly yesterday I lost my job. Picked the wrong day to get stuck in traffic and got the boot :/ so now it's gonna have to be best bang for my buck.


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## MTL (Jan 21, 2012)

JCMeyersIV said:


> Well guys. Sadly yesterday I lost my job. Picked the wrong day to get stuck in traffic and got the boot :/ so now it's gonna have to be best bang for my buck.


That blows!  tough economy, best of luck to you.


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## joe bailey (Dec 15, 2011)

JC - sad to hear of your job situation - been there.
If you're still looking for chisels though, you should absolutely investigate the Narex chisels at Lee Valley.
Seriously good and incredibly inexpensive.


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## JCMeyersIV (Mar 8, 2012)

Ok cool. I'm still looking for tools. Woodworking might be a way for me to get by for a while. I've got a few ideas for things I could do/make that no one around here does. My family and lady are all behind me on the idea (no one ever is with my crazy ideas lol) but entrepreneurship is a terrifying endeavor. I'm only 24. But best to start young when I'm hungry and have nothing to lose!

So yes, anything of good quality that isn't going to be expensive I'll gladly look into.


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## joe bailey (Dec 15, 2011)

You go man! - the time to take chances is when you're young. Best of luck in your endeavors.


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## vinnypatternmaker (Mar 27, 2011)

*Chisels and getting a bad cut*

Hi!
Very sorry to hear you got "cut" from your gig. Bad times indeed :icon_cry:.
But, you're young, smart and are already making plans for your comeback :thumbsup:! Been there, done that!
As for your ex-boss, they say that living well is the best revenge :laughing::furious:!
Forum will provide you with plenty of options (chisels and otherwise)! This we know to be true !
Best of luck to you and rest of forum, who are now, or may find themselves in a similar situation down the unknown road we simply call life :yes:!
Follow your dreams,
Marena and Vinny


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## JCMeyersIV (Mar 8, 2012)

Thank you so much for your kind words vin!

And joe, the narex chisels will be in my arsenal! They seem like a good quality product and at a price of 119 for 10 it's a steal!


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## JCMeyersIV (Mar 8, 2012)

Not saying I'll get the 10pc kit, maybe just the 7, but still a deal.


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## jdfisher2009 (Dec 28, 2011)

Just food for thought, I started woodworking about 3 yrs ago, so I consider myself a beginner/learner. One of my first purchases was a set of Irwin chisels and a new Stanley sweetheart #4 plane. I recently got an older Bailey #7 at a decent price and I highly recommend older Bailey planes. I would save up or just go ahead and buy a hock blade for the planes. I would also recommend investing in a Japanese waterstone set. What I did to cut back on cost is bought a pane of glass that's about 14x14 for like $4 and some 660 grit waterproof sandpaper. Adhere the sandpaper to the glass and get it wet. Watch a few vids of how to hold the blades at the proper angle and start with the sandpaper. I bought the king brand combo waterstone at rockler for about $30. it's an 800/4000 combo. Then just work your way up to the 4000. I will say even new blades will need honed. Once you do that it will make it all worth while. All in all I bet I spent around $400 on it all over 3 yrs, well at least on hand tools  hope that helps...good luck


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## Tools (May 30, 2012)

Some of it depends on if you just want chisels as implements to cut wood, or if you're after that strange emotional relationship that some people have with tools where things like brand lore and 'matching handles' is important to them. If you're one of those guys who ties his self-worth to 'pride of ownership' and exclusive brands, then just save up and buy the priciest set out there, since that's the only thing that will make those guys happy. 

If you just want to work wood, the game is different. 

I've been using the same vintage Stanley 60's forever and can shave with them. Whenever I see decent chisels at yard sales, I always buy 'em which means I've wound up with a 5 gallon bucket of various brands. 

If money is an object (which it is if you're out of work) you can put together a mashup set that will not fall sort of your skill level as a woodworker and won't cost much. Matter of fact if you're really pinched, let me know and I could probably dig out 5 or 6 different sizes of random makes just to get you going. 

Otherwise, just get a cheap import set and use those to tide you over until money is better and you can get a better set. People talk a lot of blah-blah about brands and the inherent superiority of certain makes- and some of it is true- but a lot of it is flat out BS. 

Like anything else, woodworking is 90% skill, 10% tools but on internet forums, the emphasis and discussion tends to invert that.


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## jdfisher2009 (Dec 28, 2011)

I agree with the previous post to a certain extent. Absolutely buy what you can afford just to get started. But there is a quality difference between a set of cheap imports and quality steel, you'll find that out when a blade dulls quickly and you spend more time sharpening than actually working/learning. Would I say go buy an $800 set of chisels made in japan, hell no. I got my irwins for around a $100 and they will last years. Guess all I'm saying is get the best you can practically afford and if not then by all means look for some vintage tools. I have several vintage tool that I use and in most cases they are better than some new stuff.


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## Tools (May 30, 2012)

Amen on vintage :thumbsup:

The economics are hugely favorable. You wind up getting premier levels of quality for extremely little cost. We're talking levels of quality that in contemporary tools is only available in boutique brands demanding stupid- perhaps even irrational- prices. There are also some imports that come in for little cost but exhibit very high quality, even though some people don't like to admit that. 

Still, there comes a point where the returns on 'premier brands' diminish to the point of insanity, given what normal human beings can expect a particular tool to accomplish.

If someone said that you could buy an adequate hamburger for $1, a decent hamburger for $1.50, a good hamburger for $2.00, a tremendous hamburger for $6.00 or the perfect hamburger for $75, most sane people would snicker at the $75 burger and content themselves with the tremendous version at six bucks, or the good one for $2, but apparently, the same logic we apply to everything else doesn't apply to guys buying 'gear' for their hobbies where profligate expenses are justified for returns that are theoretical at best.

There will always be the people with big egos and an 'exclusivity fetish' who love to delude themselves that their incredibly refined capacity to 'discriminate' makes such absurd purchases worthwhile, but that narrative is almost always based on some terribly fragile rationalizing. 

If all this guy can afford is a Harbor Freight chisel set to tide him over until times aren't so lean, I say get that inexpensive set and get to working wood. Don't get so preoccupied with endless 'brand theorizing' that goes on in internet forums. It's pointless, counterproductive and usually, the commentary is based on utter bull****. Also, don't worry about the ego cases who tie their self worth to "brands". Working wood is about what you can accomplish in the way of skill, not what tools you own. There are plenty of brilliant woodworkers who own premier brand tools, but there are plenty of brilliant woodworkers who do not, just as there are plenty of mediocre (or even poor) woodworkers who own boutique tools that don't offer any kind of 'advantage' relative to their skill level.


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