# Chisel help



## jeffnc (Oct 17, 2013)

I'd like to get a small set of chisels. I'm a professional handyman - not fine woodworker. I don't need a full set for shop woodworking. I have a few ad hoc chisels I keep for rough work, and a couple I try to keep sharp, but I haven't paid attention to brand. Probably my most typical need would be for mortising doors, and also I do some wood restoration with Abatron's WoodEpox. I'm not sure if I'd want to maintain different chisels for these tasks. I have a grinder in my shop, but no honing stones yet.

What do you recommend for style and brand? I will not be buying $50 high end chisels.

I will learn to sharpen on my own (good web references), but one question I have right now: the first step recommended is checking for flatness. It only needs to be done once, supposedly. But if that is so, then that implies some chisels don't come flat from the manufacturer. Is this manufacturing tolerance? Can I check a chisel in the store for flatness, and select the one on the rack that is flattest? Or is that simply a measure of quality and hence brand/price?

I have a local Klinspor shop and big box stores, but don't mind ordering off the web either. Don't particularly care for the upcharge at Klingspor's unless I really need to pay for their advice.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I find very little difference in chisels. I have some Harbor Freight chisels that work as well as some high dollar German chisels. They do work so much better if you get a set of sharpening stones and hone them. I sharpen the chisels for carpentry use the same way I sharpen my carving chisels.


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## Keith Mathewson (Sep 23, 2010)

If your most common task is hand mortising doors I would suggest a butt mortise plane and maybe two cheap chisels.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I use these around the shop and kitchen*

I like these so much I must have 4 or 5, some not used yet. They do a great job for the price. I don't know about "totally flat" but you can tell by the sheen on the backside if it's making a difference. I sharpen my kitchen, pocket and hunting knives, Stanley knives as well as chisels and plane blades ...by hand/eye, no jigs. I do fine with that method and they are sharp enough for my needs.
http://www.harborfreight.com/4-sided-diamond-hone-block-92867.html


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

I have a set of craftsman chisels from sears. They're USA made and have a great edge. I've had them for a few years now and would highly recommend them.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

Keith Mathewson said:


> If your most common task is hand mortising doors I would suggest a butt mortise plane and maybe two cheap chisels.


Keith, I love the chisels you sent me. Congratulations on being retired now.


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## jeffnc (Oct 17, 2013)

Keith Mathewson said:


> If your most common task is hand mortising doors I would suggest a butt mortise plane and maybe two cheap chisels.


Well to be honest, I've never even heard of a butt mortise plane, but having looked up the Lie Nielsen video, it looks like a tool I could really love. However, I'd really have a hard time justifying the $110 price tag for this when I already have a router and chisels (or about to have new chisels).

When I've had to replace a bunch of doors with new slabs (leaving the jambs as-is), and needed to mortise all the door hinges, I like my trim router with templates.

But last week I had a job to install ball latches on a bunch of closet doors, so I needed to mortise the tops of the doors, and also the top of the door jamb for the strike plates. I have more of these to do. Also, the top of the door is MDF, and while the router works perfectly in MDF, I question how a mortise plane would do. But then I suppose I wouldn't be using chisels in MDF anyway.

Considering how many times per year I'd do this, I might have to continue without the butt mortise plane.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I use a router and shopbuilt template*

I use a trim or handheld router with a 1/4" template made to accommodate the guide bushing and a 3/4" straight bit set to the depth of then hinge thickness. I have 3 templates so far for different size hinges. I takes a few tries to get the template perfect...
For round corner hinges with a 3/4" radius it's sweet. For square corners, I use a corner chisel and remove the waste. I use the same setup to do door lock plates.


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## jeffnc (Oct 17, 2013)

That's what I do on doors as well, but on jambs (side jambs for hinges and strike plates, and top jambs for ball latches), there doesn't seem to be an easy way to use the router because of the door stop.


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## Keith Mathewson (Sep 23, 2010)

BigJim said:


> Keith, I love the chisels you sent me. Congratulations on being retired now.


Thanks Jim (I think), I retired about 10 years early mostly because the kind of work I was running across wasn't very interesting. 

Keith


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## asevereid (Apr 15, 2012)

I'm still a novice woodworker, but I frequently use chisels in my profession (renovations and interior trim)...but I haven't spent quality money on quality chisels.
For woodwork I bought this set : 
http://www.stanleytools.com/default...+FatMax&#174;+Thru-Tang&#153;+Wood+Chisel+Set
and have been quite happy with it so far (though I'm certain that I am required to sharpen them more often than a higher quality tool)
And at work I have 3 of these :
http://www.stanleytools.com/default...TNUMBER=FMHT16145&SDesc=1&#34;+Folding+Chisel

These do hold an edge for a decent amount of time as well and I use one of them primarily for finer work (not fine woodworking, but things like door mortises, fitting strike plates, working with trim), and the other two have been delegated to "other" tasks...like using them for framing.

Neither of these selections broke the bank for me and I am quite satisfied with their performance.


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