Your favorite current production chisels

[John C Cox]

Hey guys

I would appreciate your opinions on your favorite current production chisels.

Primary use will be paring and general bench work.. My main wood hobby is acoustic guitars - so the edges can't roll when I work exotics like rosewood.. But they need to be able to take a keen edge for paring spruce - which tends to be very fiberous and not nearly as easy to work cleanly as you would think.

I am not looking for mortise chisels. Just good bench chisels.

I am looking for what you guys think of the chisels you use...
What has worked out well
what was mostly a bust.

The reason I ask about new, current production is that my experience with old rust is more miss than hit if you catch my drift.

Here are some I have been looking at...
LN
LV PM-V11
LV O1
Stanley sweetheart (new, not old)
Stubai
MHG
Pfeil
Ashley Iles
Two Cherries/Hirsch

Thanks

[Prashun Patel]

I am happy with both my LN's (1/4" and 3/8" fishtail) and LV PMV11's (3/8", 3/4"). I find the LN's to be a little dainty - even for my smaller hands. But I prefer that for the smaller chisels (personal preference).

Personally, I tend to resharpen fairly frequently when using bench chisels for detail work, so I don't notice the reported edge-retention benefits of my PM-V11's vs the LN's A2. I find both just as easy to sharpen, both to be well made, and both to take a fine edge that has not let me down yet.

If I were making a choice between the two, (FOR ME) it would honestly be about ergonomics.

[Terry Beadle]

Hello,

What about Narex....great value and very good performance.

[Mike Henderson]

I have the LV PM-V11 and the LN A2 chisels and use both. Both are good. LN probably holds an edge a bit longer but not enough to make a big difference.

Mike

[William Fretwell]

I only have one set of production chisels with no other sets to compare it to. All my favourites are not production chisels so it's hard to get excited about any production chisels, sharpen, whack and use.

[lowell holmes]

My favorite is the Lie Nielsen followed by antique Stanley 720's and 740's.
I have Narex mortise chisels as well as bents. I would not be afraid of them.
They are quite good.

[Pat Barry]

I recently bought a set of Narex bench chisels. I have found them to be very good. What I like about them is the grip is a bit on the large size and is more oblong / faceted than round so I get a very good grip. The handle is also a bit longer than my other chisels so they feel better for heavy paring work where you more or less lean into them. They came very sharp and I used most of them before I sharpened just because I wanted to see how they would do.

[Mike Brady]

How about shortening the list? I would remove the Stanleys and the above suggested Narex, Two Cherries, Ashley Iles. I had prior negative experiences with these and would not recommend them for your application. Of the remaining choices, I would recommend the LN and either of the LV's. The European brands are outside of my experience. I use Lie-Nielsen, A-2 and O-1 versions.

[steven c newman]

Still have that 4pc set from Aldis..( sold at Aldis every Fathers' Day) and I am getting tired of getting cut fingers, and not even feeling it. Until I see a little DNA on the wood, I have no idea I had been cut. Mirror polished right now, I strop the chisel merely to keep it sharp, haven't needed anything else for quite a while now. ~$7 a set....
.finger trimming.JPG

[Nicholas Lawrence]

How about shortening the list? I would remove the Stanleys and the above suggested Narex, Two Cherries, Ashley Iles. I had prior negative experiences with these and would not recommend them for your application. Of the remaining choices, I would recommend the LN and either of the LV's. The European brands are outside of my experience. I use Lie-Nielsen, A-2 and O-1 versions.

I recently bought and did a brief review of the Ashley Iles bench chisels. At the time I posted the review I had not used them extensively. Since then I have used them quite a lot, and I am beyond pleased. I would recommend them to anybody. Both U.S. Distributors (Tools for Working Wood, and The Best Things) seem to be stand-up folks with solid return policies.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I have the full set of Lie-Nielsens and I have the Veritas butt chisels. I love them both. Certainly the PM-V11 is good stuff, but the A2 LN steel has similar qualities- holds an edge very well, and has excellent grain structure. Lie-Nielsen cryogenically quenches their steel and it is of the highest quality.

The one thing in your post that caught my eye is paring. A big plus for the Lie-Nielsen chisels is you can swap between the striking handles and the paring handles. I love that, but at the same time I also hate when a handle comes loose unexpectedly. This is easily fixed with hairspray, which adds just a wee bit of friction. Since learning that trick, I have never had a handle come loose.

[Brian Holcombe]

I have two sets of chisels for such purposes.0

[Jim Koepke]

Looking at one point of the OP:

Primary use will be paring and general bench work.. My main wood hobby is acoustic guitars - so the edges can't roll when I work exotics like rosewood.. But they need to be able to take a keen edge for paring spruce - which tends to be very fiberous and not nearly as easy to work cleanly as you would think.

This is one of the reasons there are multiple sets in my chisel arsenal. For paring a low angle is preferred. Some of my Buck Bros chisels are as low as 15º. These can pare end grain like nobody's business. Such a low angle will not stand up to many mallet blows.

Derek Cohen did some tests on chisels both chopping and paring:

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolRev...g-5Steels.html

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolRev...selParing.html

Most likely the best way to determine the best product for your needs would be to buy a few different chisels to test under your conditions.

Maybe if another member lives near you they might have one or more of the brands you list and let you come over for a test drive.

jtk

[Stephen Rosenthal]

I know it's not on your list, but if you can afford it consider Blue Spruce paring chisels. I have a set of 5 LN bench chisels that I like a lot, but got a 2 for 1 deal on 1/2" & 1" BS paring chisels from a friend that I couldn't pass up. These supposedly excel for instrument making. I use them only for precise delicate work and prefer them over the LNs for that purpose, but acknowledge that they are expensive and would not have put out the cash for them had I not got the above-mentioned deal.

[John C Cox]

I have 2 blue spruce paring chisels. I love the handles and they are beautiful... but the edges don't hold up real well for me. In most tests I have seen online - they seem to shake out mid-pack when it comes to edge retention related stuff - and that's also my experience.