There is a "new" manufactor of high end forged chisels from the north.

[Warren Mickley]

Some years ago I attended a hand tool fair where a fellow carver was demonstrating. He does 18th century high style work. There was also a vendor there who had just unveiled a new line of carving tools. Toward the end of the day the vendor came over to the carver and my ears pricked up to hear the conversation:

Vendor: Did you see our new carving tools? What did you think of them?
Carver: They are awfully heavy.
V: They are really nice aren't they?
C: They would require a lot of work.
V: Aren't they really great tools?
C: They are unusable.

A reputable dealer and a reputable manufacturer got together to develop a fine line of tools. They probably thought it an improvement to make them 70% heavier than the tools we have used for 250 years or so. The carver tried to be diplomatic, but the vendor was not hearing what he was saying. This happens all the time. I talked to three Lee Valley people when they were designing chisels. It was as if they had never talked to anyone who actually uses chisels for a living.

The Northmen can make any kind of chisel they want. If they want to claim traditional craftsmanship, they should look into history.

[Pat Barry]

I agree with you Lasse. It was a terrible mistake to have started this thread. This forum has done a thorough job of undermining Northmens reputation. Had these been expensive Japanese Chisels, the discussion would have been totally different.

I tend to agree with this statement. All the commentary here has been based purely on preconceived notions, what can be gleaned from a webpage or two, information from other sources about previous tools made by this manufacturer, and no hands on testing or usage. Much of the commentary has been needlessly flame ridden.

[Roger Nair]

Warren, I will respectfully disagree. The dialogue of the vendor and the carver is surely true from the carvers point of view but the carver will not speak for all the various trades. Some of us need chisels to make holes quickly in heavy timber, carving tools for those tasks need to stay in the chest. Northmen appear to be selling mystique of the sub-artic life not really how I have made my living. I made my living for over 25 years timber framing in oak and before that 20 years as a diversified carpenter, your light articulate carving chisels would for me be useless. The particular trade has it own specialized demands, your fine tradition and tools would be a curse on my working life, reality not finger pointing irony in debate.

To me there is no such thing as a perfect chisel, only chisels optimized toward a particular use.

I would not buy the Northmen bench chisel set, simply because it does not address a clear need.

[Warren Mickley]

Roger, I may have mislead you there. I certainly have done heavy timber framing. I only brought up the carving tools to illustrate how out of touch a well meaning manufacturer can be with a craftsman. And that it is a general problem of manufacturers being unaware of traditional tool specifications. My guess is that you have made handles for socket chisels. Usually we would not have a shoulder on the handle that rides up right on the rim of the socket; usually we would not epoxy the handle in the socket. Why don't these manufacturers know this?

[Daniel O'Connell]

Buying a hundred chisels for $2 a pop is the same as buying one for $200 when you don't need, maintain, or use them to build anything. It's stupid. But there's a market for both. Haven't yet figured out why the first group gets applause and envy around here, while the second group gets turned into a punching bag. And if you thought a forum was the place to find serious woodworkers...

I don't know if I would call it stupid. I buy chisels out of a combination of curiosity, need, and simple availability. And yes I have way, way more than I will ever need. I like them, I like rehabbing and trying out new chisels, etc. If money was no object I'd buy a set of these...but 1200 is an impracticality for me right now.

[Patrick Chase]

Jesus I regret that I posted this thread!

Lasse, you specifically asked Stan for his impressions, and welcomed comments from others. Stan and others told you what they thought in detail. It apparently wasn't what you wanted or expected to hear, but that's life. What's to regret?

Perhaps you should have said "Hey Stan and others, I really like these chisels so only reply if you're going to make me feel good about my existing preference".

[Daniel O'Connell]

Are there really droves of uninformed woodworkers who are willing to buy a $1200 set of chisels at the drop of a hat based on a marketing description? Somehow I doubt that...or I've been hanging out in less affluent circles!

Droves? I doubt it.

That said, one of my buddies who is a tool collector has something like a 10k/year budget for tool acquisition. A set of these chisels, if he were to want them, would not be a major problem. I imagine quite a few people could be in the same head space. 10,000 sales is probably a major profit for the maker, of all the woodworkers in the world...yeah, I could imagine 10000 of them not minding spending $1200 on a set of chisels they are intrigued with.

[Roger Nair]

Warren, I have made handles with froe and drawknife and have never shouldered the handle at the ring or socket. I also like the feature of giving the socket a sharp rap and removing the handle for compact storage. I also prefer framing chisels that have a belly that gives the carpenter leverage to steer out off the cut. Also the belly applies a counter force to the single bevel tip that tends to embed in the cut while mortising. Also traditional framing chisels tend to taper in width 3 or 4 hundredths to lessen jamming in deep mortises. All those details are lost in modern framing chisels. I learned these things by using old chisels, I never read or heard it. The details are lost because who and how many, in the case of timber framing, is actually spending the necessary time hand mortising. Commonplace knowledge is lost to the point that even if a manufacturer knows better, who and how many in the customer side of the equation is demanding the subtle detailing that make a difference? All a manufacturer has to do is measure and reason through the design, then cost out the refinements and then say to himself will the extra cost retard sells? Northmen looks like a seller of mystique, sizzle not steak. Actual tool review would be helpful.

[Dave Anderson NH]

OK folks we have beat this topic to death. Constructive criticism and commentary is within our bounds, but demeaning, sarcastic, and insulting comments are crudities whether they are tongue in cheek or not. I will leave this thread in place unedited because there is too much to edit and it proves the old adage, " no one is useless, they can at least set a bad example."

I would ask that many of you who have posted in this thread go back and reread what you have posted. Please reflect on whether or not you behaved in a appropriate and gentlemanly manner.