Harbor freight chisel prep

[John C Cox]

Hey guys,

A heads up if you decide to try out the Harbor Freight Windsor Design wood chisel set...

Be prepared to grind off the decarburized mush layer to get to actual hard steel... On the bevel, back, and sides..

Straight out of the package after flattening the backs a bit - they will take a razor edge but it rolls immediately... Soft gummy mush.

Grind through that stuff to the decent steel and at least they have a shot at being useful.

I was using some of mine to pull a cracked back off a guitar last night. (Didn't want to mess up better chisels prying and chopping through glue and finish). At first - the edge kept rolling. I had to grind the edge a couple times.... After a couple rounds I finally saw sparks.. And the chisel finally started holding an edge. Same deal with the back... I probably had to grind down 1/32" or more to finally find hard steel...

If you use a machine - I wouldn't be too gentle on these at first. Grind off the mush till you see decent looking sparks.

If you only sharpen by hand - this could take a really long time on the stones.... Perhaps start off with a good file to remove the mush... And then move to the grind stones once you feel the file working harder on the better steel.

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks John. I wondered about those. For me, the HFs sound more time consuming than they are worth.

I bought a couple Buck Brothers at the Borg for rough use and a set of Aldi for $8, around fathers day last time.

Fred

[Jim Koepke]

The Windsor chisels at Harbor Freight didn't pass my visual inspection. They just didn't look like there was a thought toward quality.

They are cheap enough, but I have way too many cheap chisels.

Maybe it is time to see how many can fit in a small flat rate box and list them on ebay. The starting price could be the cost of shipping. At least it would clean out a little space in the shop.

jtk

[bridger berdel]

The Windsor chisels at Harbor Freight didn't pass my visual inspection. They just didn't look like there was a thought toward quality.

They are cheap enough, but I have way too many cheap chisels.

Maybe it is time to see how many can fit in a small flat rate box and list them on ebay. The starting price could be the cost of shipping. At least it would clean out a little space in the shop.

jtk

been there, done that. they are a source of blades for miscellaneous toolmaking, but be prepared to do some work on them.

they end up being, what, about $2 each? for that kind of money I can find unhandled cast steel socket chisels at junk shops that need less work on the stones. the wider sizes are a bit more scarce, and there is the matter of making handles, but the HF handles leave a lot to be desired anyway. in the end, it's hard to see the draw of such bottom end chisels for anything but loaning to complete idiots.

[Rob Luter]

I'll pass, but thanks for the tip.

[lowell holmes]

The borg Stanleys have pretty good steel. I sharpened some of my son's beaters today and they are good.

Translucent end grain paring is the result. I have shoe boxes full of chisels that have all been sharpened.

I do it just because I can.

[steven c newman]

I might have a couple older H-F chisels....
loaded up bottom drawer...JPG
Maybe 2-3? All of them I had since the early 90s.....

Make good loaners.....

[John C Cox]

A brief update.

I seem to have gotten to "hard" enough steel. The steel isn't scratched by other hardware store chisels....

But for some reason - it doesn't cut right. It's like the steel feels sharp - but it acts dull in use.... Perhaps not enough carbon content.

These chisels may be destined to be dubbed and backed with sticky back sandpaper for use as "sanding sticks". I have too many other good ideas to continue down this road trying to get something useful out of these.

[steven c newman]

Never had any issues with the H-F chisels I've had since the 1990s.....easy to flatten the backs, easy to get an mirror like bevel and a sharp edge. I do not really care IF a chisel can be scratched by another piece of steel, I try to protect my tools a little better than that. Might take me...1/2 hour to flatten, sharpen and then USE the chisels. usually I use a 25 degree bevel, without any added bevels added in. I have been cut by a few of my chisels, but, the only way I would have known I was cut, was when the "DNA" appeared on the wood. I leave the chisels to be cutting wood.....a Cold Chisel can stand up to other metals scratching them. but......I don't use a cold chisel to chop a Mortise, either.

[steven c newman]

And...you are more than welcome to come and see the ones I have. Maybe I am doing something different than others do on a chisel?

But...IF your H-F chisels should happen to be ones like these....
chisel rack.jpg
Then , yes,they are junk. I thought these Yard Sale chisels were Stanleys......nope, just the cheaper versions. These make good loaner toys, that I don't care IF they are returned.

[John C Cox]

And yet they always get returned.

I suppose one benefit is that you can fix up the edge with a ball peen hammer.

These are the wood handle versions.

I believe these chisels are some sort of low carbon alloy. I managed to harden one up today - but it had to get really hot and brine quench. The standard nonmagnetic + 50 degrees leaves these mushy. No cracks, though.

[steven c newman]

Never had to "harden" any chisel....never saw a NEED to do so. Maybe searching for a "solution" of a "problem" that really doesn't exist......Of course, one can get any steel too "hard" , but ..then it just becomes too brittle to hold an edge.

"leaves them "mushy"? Maybe had the temper drawn out of them? By someone trying to "harden" them? Remind me not to loan any of my chisels to you....

[John C Cox]

lol. I did manage to get them "hard" but the temper draws out incredibly fast. Another hallmark of low carbon steel.

And I probably don't need to borrow your soft beater chisels - I already have my own.

I am going to grind these for flat end chisels. Perhaps they may be well suited for that duty.

Otherwise - these are now still a dead end for me.

[Tony Zaffuto]

Well, I'm mostly not a HF fan, but there are some items that are fair to good, at cheap prices. For example, HF sells lathe chisels (a Windsor Design), dirt cheap, but marked "HSS". Worked very well. Another tool are the dividers-bought a set of (IIRC) 12" long dividers for something like $6.00. Took maybe five minutes with Sc paper to dub off a sharp edge, but I've used them many times, hinge is still tight, and I would rate these very high.

[Mike Brady]

Shouldn't the conclusion here be "don't bother"? Harbor Freight would be the last place, literally, to shop for an edged tool. Almost anywhere else would be better: flea markets, garage sales, Aldi grocery (really not bad chisels!). This thread reminds me so much of one started about ten years ago regarding a HF hand plane. Guys were having custom irons made for them, making new wood handles, etc....really kind of ridiculous, like lipstick on a pig. I would bet maybe 10% of those purchased ever saw any use. The only winner here is Harbor Freight.