First time chisel buyer

[Tim Compton]

I have been looking at getting a set of chisels. I am looking at Narex, Two Cherrys, Ashley Iles, and Hirsch Firmer. These will be used for general purpose uses. I am tired of my Stanleys from Lowes. I know that the Veritas's are the best, but they are not in the budget.

[Paul Sidener]

What is best, is a matter of opinion. I prefer chisels with socket handles. Depending on the work that you do, you don't really need a full set of chisels. If it is Veritas that you like, than buy them. Buy them one or two at a time. Start with the sizes you use the most, then fill in with the rest when you can. Yes it will take time, but you won't be sorry later.

I don't have a full set. I have 1", 3/4", 1/2", 3/8", 1/4", eventually I will get a 1/8". Only because there was two times it would have nice to have it. Out of the ones I have, I use the 1/2" the most.

[John T Barker]

When it comes down to it a tool is a tool. A chisel is a chisel. What you do with it in your hands is the important thing I've picked up some nice tools at flea markets and cleaned them up and they do well for me. I've also bought some from catalogs and they do well too. Check the steel through magazine write ups when you choose your tools but I personally would never buy a $70 chisel. Even craigslist has some good tools.

[peter Joseph]

I have several full sets of chisels but reach for my Lie Nielsens and old Stanley 750's the most. Best value I have come across however is the new Stanley 750's. Watch them on Walmart's site for a month. When they're between 110-130 (for the full set and tool roll), grab em.

[Bruce Haugen]

I have had a set of Hirsch firmers (I don't think they're really firmers, more like robust bench chisels) for about 7-8 years. I've been very pleased with their performance. They take a very good edge and hold it a long time. For the last month they have been relegated to carpentry work, building a deck - mostly chopping, and they have held up very well. I haven't sharpened them st all and they're still hanging in there. I didn't like the handles they came with, so I replaced them all with ones similar to the ones found on Berg chisels.

[lowell holmes]

I agree with peter. I favor wooden handle chisels. IMO, the old classic chisels are more pleasant to hold.

[Mark Gibney]

Lot of good advice here, and I think Paul is right when he suggests to buy the chisels one or two at a time, if they are expensive.

For me the aesthetics of a tool are important, and I just don't like the super glossy look of Two Cherries, and the rounded over lands. The Narex handles look ugly to me. I'm not familiar with the others you mention so I can't denigrate them!

[Patrick Chase]

I have been looking at getting a set of chisels. I am looking at Narex, Two Cherrys, Ashley Iles, and Hirsch Firmer. These will be used for general purpose uses. I am tired of my Stanleys from Lowes. I know that the Veritas's are the best, but they are not in the budget.

You're probably going to need to be more specific about your application than "general purpose" as that means different things to different people. Also, are you comfortable modifying your chisels?

Here's an example of why I ask: If you plan to do a lot of dovetails or something else that involves working into acute corners, and you aren't comfortable modifying your chisels, then you might want to consider a couple Veritas or L-Ns. Those two brands have very small side lands, meaning that the bevel goes almost all the way to the side edges. Narex is in the middle in that respect, while Hirsch and Stanley 750s both have fairly high flat sides (as do your Stanley's IIRC). If you're willing to extend your bevels on a grinder (belt and wheel both work) then this is a "don't care" concern though. There are a lot of tradeoffs like that in chisel selection.

Somebody else mentioned that the new Stanley 750s are a great value when on sale, and I agree. I have two pairs of "new 750s" that I've converted to skew chisels and I love them. I ground the sides to add a ~15-deg "secondary side bevels" extending to the edges (15 deg is more than enough for stuff like dovetailing). Compared to my Veritas bench and butt chisels they took more work to set up, don't handle as nicely, and don't hold an edge as well, but they're a lot cheaper. Compared to my Narex bench chisels they're more expensive but better-handling IMO and somewhat easier to set up and maintain (Narex chisels come with a fair amount of warp, and their steel has some "mild annoyance"-level quirks that may complicate honing depending on how obsessive you are).

[Prashun Patel]

I bought a set of Narex Bench Chisels and they are fine for general use. I advise getting the basic 4 piece set and using it for a while. Then buy "better" chisels one at a time as/if you need them. These are great ones to learn on and will serve you well and long.

Veritas get good reviews, but there are plenty of other 'best' makers.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Step 1: Work to understand what feels good in your hand for your use.

Where are you located? Perhaps someone nearby has one that you can hold in your hand to see how they feel.

[James Pallas]

Tom All of the names you mentioned in your post are decent chisels. There are others. Pick the one you think will be comfortable for you to use, handle, blade length etc. Don't get ones that you are afraid to use because they could be damaged. They are chisels and made to be pounded into wood with a mallet, unless you've are buying paring chisels. I don't believe in buying tools to look at or display.
Jim

[Tim Compton]

I am mainly a power tool guy. But there are times that a chisel is the right tool. I was looking at six piece sets. I live in NW Indiana, wood working no man's land. I would be using these to clean up mortise, shave tenons and etc.

[Jim Koepke]

I am mainly a power tool guy. But there are times that a chisel is the right tool. I was looking at six piece sets. I live in NW Indiana, wood working no man's land. I would be using these to clean up mortise, shave tenons and etc.

The difficulty in recommending a particular brand of chisels to another user is how much personal preference is involved with a persons satisfaction with their tools.

Secondary to this is what a person may or may not have for edge tool maintenance.

I am looking at Narex, Two Cherrys, Ashley Iles, and Hirsch Firmer.

Of these brands, only one of my chisels is of recent manufacture, a Narex mortise chisel. It hasn't been used a whole lot so my opinion hasn't been fully formed. Of the other two brands owned, they are gouges from used tool purchases.

Having not heard many unfavorable reports about any of these, my suggestion would be to purchase the ones with the most comfortable handles. The comfort factor of a tool, especially chisels is very important. So much so for me that my chisels are almost exclusively socket chisels with most of them having handles made by me.

I have put together a fairly full set of Buck Brothers chisels. I am not sure if the contemporary specimens are on par:

http://www.craftsmanstudio.com/Buck-...07301-base.htm

The main difference I can see in most of the write up on these is the Narex and Buck are hardened to Rc59 and the Hirsch is Rc61 and the Two Cherries is Rc62. (I may have that mixed a bit)

You may also find if you like what a chisel can do for you, like many others woodworkers you may want to have a few sets so they can be set up for specific tasks. Low angle for paring, higher angle for chopping and so on.

As a last thought, if you will be paring tenons or other large joint elements, you may want to consider having at least one chisel in the 1-1/4 to 2" range. My 1-1/4" and my 1-1/2" chisel get used a lot for this. Not so much my 2".

jtk

[glenn bradley]

My first set was some Marples and they are still my general use chisels despite Japanese and PM-V11 and all that at my fingertips. I do not know how they are after the Irwin buy out and all that. Certainly the Narex get good reviews. I have a couple of Narex paring chisels and I did have to return one for an arch in the blade that I was not willing to flatten out. Since the Marples set I have bought mine one or two at a time based on need.

[Rich Riddle]

Tim,

I have several sets of chisels and recommend the Narex ones if you don't like the Stanley. I have some Japanese chisels but they're a little on the expensive side. The truth is I reach for vintage Stanley 60 series chisels when not doing fine woodworking. You're right about the cost of Lee Valley chisels. Those Veritas ones there are expensive.