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Thread: Opinions on the NEW Stanley 750 chisels

  1. #1
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    Opinions on the NEW Stanley 750 chisels

    I have a credit that I can use with Amazon and I've been considering spending it on a set of the new Stanley "sweetheart" 750 socket chisels. I realize that these are not the same quality as LN. I've been happily using Maprles blue chips for some time. If money were no object, I'd buy the LN. As a hobby woodworker, I doubt I will see any practical difference. But in this case, I'd be buying a set just because I'd enjoy the look and feel.

    The credit is specific to Amazon and so I'm limited to their offerings, so AI chisels or 1/2 set of LN is not an option. It's probably the 750s or nothing.

    I like the handle shape. Without actually using one I think the shape of the handles would fit my hand well. Being slightly more bulbous than the LN, I think they may be a better fit. I can't really gauge the weight an balance. They are lighter and slight thinner that the LN but I'm not sure how that compares to chisels I've actually used.

    From what I could dig up, the common report is that they come reasonably flat often with a slight concave face. So setup will be more than LN but probably far less than I'm accustomed to.

    I'll be using them as standard bench chisels to chop dovetails, pare shoulders and even chop mortises, etc; a general purpose workhorse set.

    I'd be really interested to hear from anyone who's used these.
    -- Dan Rode

    "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle

  2. #2
    Dan,

    I have the new 750's and use them often. There are many different makes of chisels, mostly O-1 or Japanese, in my racks. When I need to do a rough job like chopping waste they are my go to chisel. If I'm showing someone how to use a chisel same story. The 750s have a good feel and are near indestructible. Not often I can say this about new Stanley tools but the chisels are a good value.

    ken

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    Quote Originally Posted by Daniel Rode View Post
    I have a credit that I can use with Amazon and I've been considering spending it on a set of the new Stanley "sweetheart" 750 socket chisels. I realize that these are not the same quality as LN. I've been happily using Maprles blue chips for some time. If money were no object, I'd buy the LN. As a hobby woodworker, I doubt I will see any practical difference. But in this case, I'd be buying a set just because I'd enjoy the look and feel.

    The credit is specific to Amazon and so I'm limited to their offerings, so AI chisels or 1/2 set of LN is not an option. It's probably the 750s or nothing.

    I like the handle shape. Without actually using one I think the shape of the handles would fit my hand well. Being slightly more bulbous than the LN, I think they may be a better fit. I can't really gauge the weight an balance. They are lighter and slight thinner that the LN but I'm not sure how that compares to chisels I've actually used.

    From what I could dig up, the common report is that they come reasonably flat often with a slight concave face. So setup will be more than LN but probably far less than I'm accustomed to.

    I'll be using them as standard bench chisels to chop dovetails, pare shoulders and even chop mortises, etc; a general purpose workhorse set.

    I'd be really interested to hear from anyone who's used these.
    My primary chisels for the longest time was a set of Footprints that, aside from having red handles, look nearly identical to the blue Marples. I picked up a 1/2" new 750 to compare, and I do like the 750. It is a fair bit lighter and daintier in hand than the Footprint.
    It came to pass...
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  4. #4
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    I have a few of the new Stanley chisels and I like them. I am able to put a nice edge on them and the edges seem to last as long as the LN A2 chisels I also have (not sure what the steel is in the Stanley). IMO, for the wood I work (cherry, walnut, poplar, white oak) the chisels do fine. If you're putzing around with something exotic or harder, then you may want to try another make.

    I have to add that I have a very large number of chisels-antique, vintage and modern. For a modern chisel, at the price of the Stanley, I feel they're well worth the price.
    If the thunder don't get you, the lightning will.

  5. I have been satisfied with mine, but they required a lot of work to get the backs flat. Two out of the five chisels I purchased had convex backs, overall the entire set took about six hours to get into shape. If you value your time the Lie Nielsen is worth the extra cost. That said, they feel good in the hand, keep a good edge and have held up very well to hard mallet blows.

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    It's good to hear from people that I know actually use their chisels The experiences so far mirror what I've read elsewhere. Solid worker chisels but not the same OOB quality level as LN. LN sets the bar high but the cost of the Stanleys make them attractive.

    The convex faces are bad. They are much more difficult to flatten and take much longer. I've done more than my share. That said, @ $20/chisel, I can afford to get the coarse stone I've had on my list for a while and still be less than half the cost of LN.
    -- Dan Rode

    "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle

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    Quote Originally Posted by John Sanford View Post
    My primary chisels for the longest time was a set of Footprints that, aside from having red handles, look nearly identical to the blue Marples. I picked up a 1/2" new 750 to compare, and I do like the 750. It is a fair bit lighter and daintier in hand than the Footprint.
    I am surprised to hear that they feel "light and dainty" compared to the footprints/bluechips. This is what I hoped but it's hard to tell from pictures.
    -- Dan Rode

    "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle

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    Quote Originally Posted by Daniel Rode View Post
    It's good to hear from people that I know actually use their chisels The experiences so far mirror what I've read elsewhere. Solid worker chisels but not the same OOB quality level as LN. LN sets the bar high but the cost of the Stanleys make them attractive.

    The convex faces are bad. They are much more difficult to flatten and take much longer. I've done more than my share. That said, @ $20/chisel, I can afford to get the coarse stone I've had on my list for a while and still be less than half the cost of LN.
    Daniel,

    My experience with removing a convex face is abrasive paper works better than a coarse stone. With the paper it is possible to cut a narrow strip to work just the high area. With a stone, there is a tendency for the blade to not always be perfectly flat. This can remove material from unwanted areas.

    Constant checking is important. A few strokes on the abrasive then measure until you get a feel for how much material is being removed.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

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    Backs of mine were not bad at all-worse part was the original pretty coarse grind on one of them. But as Jim said, sandpaper, not stones, does a good job with them.
    If the thunder don't get you, the lightning will.

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    Thanks Jim. I've used abrasive paper on glass to flatten chisel faces and have not liked the results. Perhaps it's something with my technique but I end up creating a convex bevel and a small low spot at the edge. I remove it using my diamond stones but it makes more work. For whatever reason, I can keep everything nice and flat on the diamond stones but not the sandpaper on glass.
    -- Dan Rode

    "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle

  11. #11
    The new Stanleys are a rather light-weight tool. The two that I have are average in edge retention. To me they represent the bottom of the acceptable range in chisels that can be purchased today. I would put them there along with Narex and the chisels from the Aldi grocery chain which were available for a short time recently in the States. Vintage chisels would be next higher on that scale. Vintage is a great way to go if you have access to them and some skills to reburbish steel and turn handles. At the top of the ladder are the LN's, Blue Spruce, and the PMV-11 chisels from Lee Valley. To me, the Stanley 750's are a bit pricey for the quality they represent. All just my opinion, of course.

  12. #12
    Dan, I've no comment on the Stanley chisels since I've never used themhj. For flattening and to help give you a reference of how you're doing darken the back of the chisel with either Dykem (machinist's ink) or a magic marker. It will graphically tell you exactly where you are removing steel. Reapply as necessary.
    Dave Anderson

    Chester, NH

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    Thanks for a great tip, Dave. Someone gave me the same advice a few years ago and it's a big help. I prefer blue or red Sharpie, but I imagine any magic marker will do the trick.

    I bought the 8 piece Stanley 750 set yesterday, so I'll need it
    -- Dan Rode

    "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle

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    Mike,

    I understand what you're saying, but I'm not sure I agree. I paid $164 for the set of 8. That's about $20.50 per chisel. It's more than a Narex set, but not by much and 1/3 the cost of LN. The light-weight aspect is, for me, a positive. As for edge retention, I've heard reports from average to very good. I can live with that. I re-hone often anyway.
    -- Dan Rode

    "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle

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    I get dubbing at the edges with sandpaper/granite. It's fine, but that means the initial leap to a stone is going to a good deal of work, but still less work than doing all of it on the stone.

    My progression now is 150 and 220 on granite, then 400 on diamonds, then move to whetstones.

    Before proceeding with rough grit, sometimes it's wise polish it slightly on a finer grit (1000) just to see where the blade is out. If something will cleanup on a 1000 grit stone with ease, I dont start at 150.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

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