Greenlee Bench Chisels

I bought a set of Greenlee bevel edge bench chisels in 1980, 1/8" to 1 1/4". They were made in Sheffield, England. I'm just curious as to who made them. I'm pretty sure it wasn't the Greenlee folks.They look a lot like older Marples but with beech handles and logo burned into them. One of my kids lost the 1/2" size. I picked up an older Marples to fill in until I can find one that matches. The Greenlee's are a little above average quality. Mine are grubbier now than the ones in the small photo.
Deane

Deane,

They sure look like the Marples chisels. Are they marked on the blade, too?

I have a couple of Greenlee's that were made in Rockford. IL. Those are among my favorite chisels: the steel is very tough and holds an edge really well. A couple of other Greenlee items I have drawknife and auger bits are all above average.

I've read in a number of places that Marples steel quality used to be very good but then at some point declined.

Alfred

Yes,

They were made by Marples. Someone was selling these for $28/set of 7 chisels as a closeout and I purchased several sets to resell. Decent steel and durable handles.

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Originally Posted by Jim Holman

Yes,

I purchased several sets to resell. Decent steel and durable handles.

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You wouldn't happen to still have a 1/2" one laying around?
Deane

My 1960's Marples are about as good as any chisels that are made from 01,which is what I think these are made from. I still use them a lot.

Could they have been Footprints?

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Originally Posted by Deane Allinson

I bought a set of Greenlee bevel edge bench chisels in 1980, 1/8" to 1 1/4". They were made in Sheffield, England. I'm just curious as to who made them. I'm pretty sure it wasn't the Greenlee folks.They look a lot like older Marples but with beech handles and logo burned into them. One of my kids lost the 1/2" size. I picked up an older Marples to fill in until I can find one that matches. The Greenlee's are a little above average quality. Mine are grubbier now than the ones in the small photo.
Deane

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I own a few Greenlee chisels that appear nearly identical to the original Marples blue handled chisels - the steel, shape of the blade, and handle material/shape are - to my eye - the same.
Attachment 302313Attachment 302314Attachment 302315Attachment 302316

Sorry for the crappy pictures.....

I like Greenlee chisels overall (a fairly broad statement as Greenlee manufactured/badged several different "types" of chisels over the years). Most of my old Craftsman chisels were made by Greenlee as well.....

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Originally Posted by Todd Davidson

I own a few Greenlee chisels that appear nearly identical to the original Marples blue handled chisels - the steel, shape of the blade, and handle material/shape are - to my eye - the same.
Attachment 302313Attachment 302314Attachment 302315Attachment 302316

Sorry for the crappy pictures.....

I like Greenlee chisels overall (a fairly broad statement as Greenlee manufactured/badged several different "types" of chisels over the years). Most of my old Craftsman chisels were made by Greenlee as well.....

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I have a set of the same green handled-Greenlees. Picked them up a year or two for $14 or $15 for a set of 4. Only one looked like it had any wear/sharpening. I agree they are nearly identical to the Marples, except for the color, and they take & hold a edge very well.

The older Greenlee chisels from Rockford, Illinois, are made with excellent quality steel. I have, over the past 10 years or so, put together one fine set of them. I have most of the sizes, including some oddball ones like 5/8" and 7/8". I also, recently found some Greenlee framing chisels and gouges that are practically unused, except by oxygen and water to make surface rust. I'm doing timberframing work on a new project, and needed some larger sizes. I found a 1.5", 2" and 3" for $15 apiece, as well as 2 larger gouges for the same. I was so elated I did an Irish jig when I got them home.

My only knock, which really isn't a knock at all, on the older style Greenlee's is that their original fit, finish and grind wasn't all that great from the factory. Read this to say that they take a little more than usual work to get them flat, and I almost always have to regrind the bevel......even on a full set of 5 Greenlee Butt chisels that were in the box, new old stock, sitting on a shelf for 40 plus years in the basement of an old, old hardware store near me. Once flattened, and the bevels reground straight and true, they are made from outstanding quality steel. They stay sharper longer than my (former) set of LN chisels, which I gladly sold and got all my money back from the bay....

These chisels discussed in this thread are not the same tools. If you can find the older ones from Rockford, I'd highly recommend them.

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Originally Posted by Jeff Heath

…a full set of 5 Greenlee Butt chisels that were in the box, new old stock, sitting on a shelf for 40 plus years in the basement of an old, old hardware store near me. Once flattened, and the bevels reground straight and true, they are made from outstanding quality steel. They stay sharper longer than my (former) set of LN chisels, which I gladly sold and got all my money back from the bay....

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That's a stealth gloat if I ever heard one. :p
Well done!

You suck, dude.

I hope your Grandkids open
paint cans with these.

Some people have all the luck,
and the good Hockey teams.

Bob Lang's chisels that appear in every photo shoot appear to be the green handled Greenlee's. Works nicely for him.

Jeff,
You make another good point about buying good vintage chisel - Greenlees among them- they range of sizes and shapes is much larger than what is available now. I only have a handful of chisel but they include a long 1/8 inch and a shot 2 inch. For some of the long and some wider chisels sizes the choices among new chisels are sparse at best.
About Greenlees: they seem to be more abundant in the Midwest because most were probably sold here originally.
I also have a feeling that some hardware chains with their own line of chisels, e.g. Pritzlaff, were made by Greenlee. I have a few Prtizlaffs that came with a strangely conical handle but the blade looks like and is as good as my Greenlees even though it has a Ptitzlaff star stamp on the socket.

Alfred

Short correction to my previous post:
I had some trouble with the small keyboard on my tablet. One of the typos needs to be corrected: the line in which a 'shot 2 inch chisel' is mentioned should have read 'short 2 inch chisel'.

Apologies


Alfred

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Originally Posted by Jim Matthews

You suck, dude.

I hope your Grandkids open
paint cans with these.

Some people have all the luck,
and the good Hockey teams.

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Uh, excuse me, sir. You mean, the BEST hockey team. Go Blackhawks!!

A huge Hawks fan and former player for 40 years....