Bought My First Narex Mortise Chisel

[Jim Koepke]

I am not an expert at cutting mortises, but it is being done more often in some of my work.

1/4" mortises are used mostly with the "white wood" available at the Borgs and most lumber yards.

A modern Buck Brothers with a plastic handle is one of my stoutest 1/4" chisels and has been doing most of this work.

With the positive feedback here toward Narex bench chisels it seemed the $14 + shipping was not too big a chance to take. Last Friday my first Narex chisel was delivered from Lee Valley via UPS.

Today was my first chance to give it a test drive.

Yes, a mortise can be cut with a bench chisel. I have done it enough times to know it isn't a pleasant task. The Narex chisel did not require a lot of set up to put to use. It looked like the tip was dipped in a clear coat of some kind. It was scraped off with a marking knife. It didn't take much more than a little work on one of my translucent Arkansas stones to prepare the tip. It could have likely worked fine as it came, but I wanted to remove the grinding marks.

Those who know me know my propensity for purchasing used tools. This is one case where I would agree that these are worth the lack of patience and waiting for a deal. This is a case where "buy them new" is good advise.

I was very pleased with the results this chisel produced.

For the specification oriented:

The cutting edge is a true 1/4". My dial caliper put it at 0.250". The top of the bevel to the back edge measured 0.365". The top of the chisel, opposite the cutting edge, measured in at 0.220". So there is a slight taper to the sides.

If their bench chisels are as good as these for the money, then they too have my recommendation.

jtk

[Frederick Skelly]

Definitely +1. Jim, I have that same mortise chisel and I like it alot. I have one of their 1/8" chisels that I use for fine work and a full set of their paring chisels. All of them are nice tools and a great value. It may sound odd, but my blue handled Marples seem to already do everything my current skills ask of them. Otherwise, I'd buy a set of Narex's bench chisels in a minute.....

Thanks for the review!
Fred

[Reinis Kanders]

Yeah those chisels can be nice. Their backs can be hit or miss. I have a set of long paring chisels, they are like mini swords and backs are reasonable. Their bench chisels are decent too, but backs were all over the place, I actually like their handles.
I have their cranked necked 1" one and that one's back has a pronounced hump about 1.5" from the edge so that on a flat surface that chisel freely spins. Pretty annoying when paring I have yet to grind it off.

[Eric Schatz]

I am about to buy a set of these. I'm looking forward to it!

[Matthew N. Masail]

I have a mortise chisel and a set of bench chisels at work plus the paring chisels. they take and hold a edge very well. It's nice steel and seems to be very consistent.

[Daniel Rode]

I bought the 1/4" Narex mortise chisel a few months ago. I've only used it a couple of times, but it worked well for me. At $14, it's a great deal. I'll eventually buy a couple more sizes.

[Jeffrey Martel]

I've got them in 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2". Quite happy with them, and the backs didn't require much flattening at all.

[Dave Cav]

I got a set of the inch mortise chisels a few years ago when Lee Valley was rolling them out. They are very nice and right on in size. I liked them so much that I got a set of the regular Narex bench chisels for rougher work or for getting whacked with mallets. Easy to sharpen and hold their edge well.

[peter Joseph]

I must have gotten a bad batch of these. The edges on mine rolled over pretty significantly in hard maple while cutting some tusked tenons. Nowadays I stick with ashley isles pigsticker's and some old witherby's.

[Matthew N. Masail]

Peter did you try grinding the edge back a 1/8+ inch or so? Sometimes that is necessary to get to the good steel.

[Frederick Skelly]

Peter did you try grinding the edge back a 1/8+ inch or so? Sometimes that is necessary to get to the good steel.

I've had to do this with plane irons - it solved the problem in my case. Worth a try Peter.

[Robert Engel]

Got both the Narex mortises and bench chisels.

Couple suggestions:

1. I assume you did the work to flatten the back, right?
2. I hollow grind mine makes honing a little easier.

Oh, and on the bench chisels, there are two lines. Get the "premium" they have a lower side bevel.

[Daniel Rode]

I made (what I consider) the mistake of hollow grinding the mortise chisel when I first got it. The problem is that it I could not lever effectively because the concave shape reached the top of the mortise before the bottom or center. I had to stay far from the edges to prevent crushing them. I reground the bevel flat and it worked much better for me. A slight convex shape actually helps as well because it put the point of contact further down allowing me to lever the waist fairly close to the edges.

I don't have a lot of mortising experience, so perhaps I've got something wrong but this is what worked for me.

[Jim Koepke]

I don't have a lot of mortising experience, so perhaps I've got something wrong but this is what worked for me.

Actually, it may be you have gotten something right. Most old mortise chisels, pig stickers, have a convex bevel formed by the people who used them in the past.

Besides if it works, there aren't many good reasons to try and fix it.

jtk

[ken hatch]

Actually, it may be you have gotten something right. Most old mortise chisels, pig stickers, have a convex bevel formed by the people who used them in the past.

Besides if it works, there aren't many good reasons to try and fix it.

jtk

Yep and that's a fact :-). Love me some pig stickers.

ken