Several years ago, I was given the opportunity to buy a few things from the estate of an old-timer who was quite a good woodworker. Among the things his widow was just sure I would want was a box of 9 pristine Sorby 167 bench chisels (the ones with the London pattern boxwood handles and the ornamental brass hoops that always fall off until a fix is employed) - at a very nice price. I wasn't in need of chisels and I hesitated, partly because of poor marks given by some. Then again, there have been a few people that really like them (https://paulsellers.com/2012/12/robe...with-the-best/). Since she was so generous with the other things I wanted and needed the money, I decided to take on the Sorby things as well.
It turned out they appeared "factory fresh" in a faded red box and it appeared that none of the chisels had ever been removed from the cardboard insert in the box. When I got them out, I confirmed they were indeed unused, with factory grind intact on back and bevel. At the time, I didn't have a 1/8" chisel, so I was glad to get that. But first thing, I prepped the 1/2" and gave it a try. It was a fine tool, took a very sharp edge that lasted a pretty good while chopping waste and trimming dovetails for a couple of boxes. I was pleasantly surprised, given the negative reviews. So I tried the 1/4" and the 1/8" and then the 3/4", all with very good results. Over time, I worked up the entire set and they have become my primary workers for fine work. (I passed my old primaries on to my son, who then had them stolen, along with a number of other things a couple of years later. Of course!) For rough work, I have a set of old Bucks that do pretty well and several old, beat up Stanleys as beaters and loaners.
I've never found out when my Sorbys were made and I have no substantive information to offer on why mine seem to be better than the experience others have had. I can say that they aren't the hardest edge tools I have, or the longest lasting edge sharpness, but they are enough to get me through a pretty full day of dovetailing with no more than a 10 pass touch-up on my ultrafine Spyderco stone and a half dozen wipes over my strop (0.5 micron paste on mdf) at lunch time. I don't use them for mortising; I have mortise chisels for that. I do use them for paring, and they can shave end grain better than most.
Was my set just a lucky fluke? Was there a time when Sorby hardening and tempering changed for the worse? Is there something else in play? At one time, Sorby published that they hardened to Rc 60-62; currently their web site (http://www.robert-sorby.co.uk/) is entirely silent on any quantification of hardness as far as I can see. What they do say about hardness is, "Every tool has a small indentation, our ‘hallmark’ and your guarantee, that each chisel has been diamond hardness tested before it leaves the factory." I'd be interested in learning more, but the information available from Sorby seems rather scant. I have noticed that a lot of retailers carry Sorby turning tools but only a few carry their bench chisels.
If anyone has any more information, it would be good to know.
Fair winds and following seas,
Jim Waldron