Hello All,
Time to upgrade my bench chisels... wondering what folks think of the Lie Nielsen chisels as compared to the Veritas/Lee Valley bench chisels...
Thanks for the advice,
Israel Charo
[OP]
Member
Hello All,
Time to upgrade my bench chisels... wondering what folks think of the Lie Nielsen chisels as compared to the Veritas/Lee Valley bench chisels...
Thanks for the advice,
Israel Charo
Member
Personally I think you need to try out both. For chisels, it's all about how they feel in your hand.
Contributor
In addition to how they feel, the type of steel is important. I personally am not a big fan of A2. I find it difficult to get a keen edge with the sharpening medium I use. On the other hand it seems to hold an edge well once honed.
Contributor
They talk about bench chisels quite a bit in the Neanderthal forum here. You might try moving this post over there for more replies, good luck.
You might try Derek Cohen's site http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReviews/index.html. Derek offers testing, particularly of Veritas tools. He did an interesting comparison of chisel steels. You may also find information on handles for chisels.
If you plan to spend the amount of money these two vendors charge you might also consider Japanese chisels, which are very popular with many on this forum. You can get very nice Japanese chisels for similar costs. You will find a much greater wealth of chisel sizes, shapes, weights...in Japan. You might search for posts by Stanley Covington on these pages. Stanley lives in Japan and has written a good deal about Japanese tools here. Japanese chisels are often struck with a gennou, special Japanese hammer.
You will also find there are quite a few posters here who swear by the older chisels they find at auctions and flea markets. There are also a good many fans of the new Stanley chisels or Nerex chisels which will save you some money on new chisels.
Last edited by Mike Holbrook; 11-25-2016 at 9:54 AM.
Member
And then there are those of us who bought the only set of cheap Stanleys hanging in the store and still use them 20 years later...
Contributor
the best I can do is compare photos ...Originally Posted by Izzy Charo
I have only reviewed the O1 version of the Veritas chisels: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolRev...selReview.html
This should give you an idea of the ergonomics. I do own the PM-V11 versions, and the steel is excellent - a lot better than A2, which is what the LN chisels have. However, there is more to a chisel than the steel. You need to hold them hold in your hand.
Comparing chisel steel: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolRev...sCompared.html
Regards from Perth
Derek
Moderator
I have a few ln chisels and the handle is a little on the small side. Not good or bad just something to beware of.
Member
I agree with Kurt, buy one of each and you will know which you prefer.
I have Lie Nielsen chisels and love them. Lee Valley did not offer their chisels at that time.
Contributor
Howdy Izzy and welcome to the Cave by the Creek.
For me time to upgrade a chisel usually means making a new handle or a sharpening and shine.
If you are in the Pacific Northwest you would be welcome to come by and give my chisels a try. Though none of them are of the Veritas or Lie-Nielsen variety. Most of mine are Buck Brothers and Witherby's with a few other odd balls tossed in.
As stated above if you can handle the chisels before purchase, the feel of the tool in hand makes a lot of difference in the user experience. That is my main reason for having mostly socket chisels. It is easy to fit them with new/custom handles.
This is a general shape which feels comfortable for me:
New Handles.jpg
The ball shape at the top is good for pushing with the palm. The ring around the bottom also helps since for pushing. The ring also fits between a couple of fingers for times when a bit of light mallet assistance is desired. These are not for use with heavy mallet blows.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Member
I use mostly Veritas chisels, in PM-V11.
One thing to consider is handle customization. The L-Ns are conventional 750-style socket chisels, which means you can easily remove and replace the handles if you want something different. The Veritas chisels have a fairly unique socket+tang setup that's much less conducive to customization. On the plus side the Veritas handles don't come off as easily (or at all) in use.
w.r.t. steel I really don't like A2 for chisels. It requires fairly high edge angles to avoid chipping, and IMO that's basically the opposite of what you want from a bench chisel's steel. Veritas apparently agrees, as they offer all of their plane irons in A2, but the only chisels they offer in A2 are the new mortise chisels (which always use a high edge angle anyway).
Last edited by Patrick Chase; 11-25-2016 at 11:59 AM.
Contributor
I found the LN chisel handles to be too small. Also, the LV steel is better (PM-V11). But a lot depends on how they fit your hand. I made new handles for my LN chisels.
Older plain carbon steel chisels are good but may require more frequent sharpening.
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
In Memoriam
In UK we have a good traditional chisel by Ashley Iles, about £ 20-25.
L-N very nice at close to £50.
Veritas around £85.
David
Member
Here in the states the AIs are about $30, the L-Ns are about $70, and the Veritas are about $80.
A quick look reveals that the Veritas PM-V11 chisels are more like 60-70 ukp ex vat though, so that's roughly in line with US pricing and also fairly close to the L-Ns.
Last edited by Patrick Chase; 11-25-2016 at 2:09 PM.
Member
Need to add the IBC chisels, even though they are A2 , have no issues getting them as sharp as my favorite old Greenlee classic thin chisels or my Sawns....
Really like the screw apart handles, just finished turning some new ones, not hard but have to pay attention to the original specifications.
Believe David did a write up on these when they first came out, never paid much attention to them until I did the hand tool class with Rob, and have been using them every day since....
They are worth considering, along with the others that have been mentioned.
Regards,
Andy
-- mos maiorum
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