Help with chisels

With Christmas coming up and all, I came to the idea that I need a good set of chisels. They can't be super expensive (~$100), and I'd prefer American made or English made. A set of 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, 1, 1-1/4 and 1-1/2 of bevel edge chisels would work for me(doing dovetails in walnut, soft maple and the like). I've been watching ebay, but when sets of chisels come up, they go high. Any suggestions? I've seen Stubai Chisels on diefenbacher's site, and they don't look bad, but I'd like some input. I also see Stanley #60's on ebay cheap, how good are they? Thanks

Well, I don't know half as much about chisels as the majority of people on here, but I've been trying to do my research. There is a special set of Two Cherries chisels on sale at craftsmanstudio.com right now. It's four chisels for $55 plus shipping. You can get the six chisel set for like $120, but that's quite a bit extra. You can probably buy the four to get you by for now and pick up the larger sizes later. Everyone says the hirsch chisels from Lee Valley are good or to go with the Marples blue chips if you want cheaper. I've also noticed that the good chisels don't really sell too cheap on ebay.

Similar in price to the Two Cherries Scott mentions are the Ashley Iles chisels available from Tools for Working Wood. I bough the 6-piece set recently for about $120 and I'm very pleased with them...night and day over the things that I "called" chisels before!!

Forgot too mention. If I remember right, the Two Cherries come in 1/4, 3/8, 5/8, and 1. They are German if that makes a difference to you. I bought a Stanley 60 1/2 off ebay and seems in good condition, but I haven't really used planes before. I'm pretty new to this deal. I'm currently learning to sharpen and looking for projects. My grandfather in-law to be is also a gun maker. He makes old muzzel loaders that are pretty cool. He's going to show me some stuff and help me make a gun. Search for Toad Hall Rifle Shop if anyone is interested.

Thanks,
Scott

I second the Ashley Iles. I have a couple, and they are very good chisels.

If you plan to do any dovetails (by hand) I think you'll find a 1/8 very helpful as well.

I have a set of 4 Marples Blue Chip chisels that I picked up at Lowes for $20. It's hard to beat the Blue Chips for bang for the buck. My only issue is they don't a edge very long. I probably need to sharpen them at a steeper angle. I bought one Hirsch chisel for Lee Valley and an American pattern Ashley Isles chisel from www.toolsforworkingwood.com. My buddy down the street has the larger pattern Ashley Isles chisels. Out of these three, I like the feel of the Hirsch chisel the best, not too top heavy for dovetail work but long enough for decent paring also. The American pattern AI is a close second, a great size for dovetails or detailed work but too short for paring IMHO. I don't like the larger AI chisels at all. The handles are to big and the balance is all wrong for my tastes. Just be aware that the Hirsch and Two Cherries chisels are really metric sizes. As you can tell, everybody has their own prefences when it comes to chisels. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the brands mentioned. It really comes down to "what feels good in your hands?". Good luck.

Wendell

I just recieved my set of "promotional" two cherries from Craftsman studios. They are the exact same set of four sold for about $90 by Tools for Working Wood (Craftsman studio identifies the price as a sale price, so they too might bump it up at some point.) I haven't yet put them to wood, but was very happy with the appearance as well as how relatively little set up work they needed. Tops of 5 minutes of lapping the backs on each - though I did start with a somewhat agressive 320 grit sandpaper. Shipping was another 10.50, so tools in hand comes to around $66, but even at that, these chisels definately SEEM worth 16.50 a piece, when compared to other quality sets. I'm hopeful that I'll have as good an experience with them as others have said they have had when I finally get around to chopping some wood.

Of course, rehabbing old chisels would have been much cheaper I suspect - but these look real nice

They may run a tad over your price but I really like the Ashley Iles American Pattern Beveled Edge. These chisels are shorter and I find it much less tiring when cutting DTs because the center of gravity is lower, providing much finer control. If you have especially large hands, you may not appreciate them, but most of my male wwing buddies who have tried mine covet them.

Just a small FYI...


The Hirsch and 2 cherries are made in the same factory. From those who have compared the Hirsch tothe 2 cherries, they are essentially the same quality of steel. Last I knew Lee Valley was selling a set of Hirsch chisels for about $80 or so. I have used these chisels and can attest to their high quality and ability to hold an edge under abuse.

HTH

Brad

Agree that you can't go wrong with the 2C's. I have a set and they have been great. That said, I would still love to see a set of the L-N's on my bench. Martin Shupe brought a set to the Dallas picnic, and the were SWEEEET! A bit out of my price range right now, but maybe one day.

One correction to Scott's post above...the 2C's are German, and thus metric sizing. So they will be close to, but not exactly, the imperial measurements he noted.

Tom

I got a 6-chisel set of TC's a couple of years ago from Dieter Schmidt ($65 including shipping from Germany when the dollar was stronger). I love them. Aside from a few very old bench chisels, they're the only non-Japanese chisels I use. Carving chisels are another whole issue.

Also, the exact dimension of a chisel seldom matters. Usually you take measurements directly from the chisel for mortising; so whatever it is is just fine.

Pam

You might want to consider either the LV bevel edge chisels. Set of 7 in a box for $75 or the narex chisels a set of 8 for $53.

I have the Marples blue chips and they are ok chisels, but I also have an assortment of other chisels from random sources. I use all of them equally.

The blue chips are a bit soft but that is a benefit when it comes sharpening time.

Hello,

I would suggest a trip to:
http://www.stubaidirect.com/stubaidirecthome.htm. This is the importer of Stubai tools from Austria into the USA. It is operated by the Whillock family, and you will never find a finer group of people to do business with. Stubai tools are of the highest possible quality.

Good Luck.

Thanks,
Dan Heine

i`m a two cherries fan, good german steel......02 tod