Help Clarify My Chisel Confusion Please

[Jake Rothermel]

Buying one or two really good chisels is a great idea - but I have to agree with Roger and Chris. No matter how nice the chisel is when you first buy it, you're going to have to learn to sharpen it (as you've clearly already figured out). But I would hate to ruin half an inch of really prime steel on a really nice chisel learning to sharpen it.

So, maybe your answer is to buy one or two really nice Iles or LNs to get a benchmark for "correct" and then pick up a cheaper set of four or six chisels to learn to sharpen on?

Also, I can't echo Chris enough by suggesting you read up on Bob Smalser's chisel rehabbing articles. They're a godsend of information.

[Jonathan McCullough]

A lot of the comments on here appear to be all over the place. There are different chisels for different purposes. The original poster asked about chisels for dovetailing. To my knowledge, there are only a few commercially available chisels that would be suitable for that specific purpose: the Lie Nielsen chisels, Ashley Iles (bench chisels, butt chisels, and dovetail chisels), Blue Spruce dovetail chisels, Czeck Edge dovetail chisels, and a a specific trapezoidal type from Japan Woodworker.

If any of you are doing dovetails with the so-called "bevel edge" chisels commonly available, you're better men than me, because I just can't see how you could possibly get right into the corner of a tail with a square-shaped chisel like that.

As for vintage chisels, I'm not sure which ones would be suitable for dovetailing--you'd really have to inspect them before buying. The Stanley 750s and Everlast appear to be shaped so that you can do dovetails, but you'd pay as much as a new AI chisel so . . .

If you want to do mortises, you would use mortising chisels. Narex has a good inexpensive set of sash mortise chisels that should be good for most purposes like furniture up to small carpentry (I'm going to assume boat building is another matter, and that it's something I'm not qualified to comment on). Unlike the dovetail chisels, the mortising chisels should be fairly long to pry out wood from the bottom of a mortise; you want plenty of leverage to "pop" those chips out. You could use dovetail chisels to do this, but then again, you could also use nail clippers . . . they're just not appropriate to the job.

[Sean Hughto]

Many brands of vintage chisels would be suitable for dovetailing, assuming normal sized stock and normal sized tail/pin spacing. But no matter what, any flea market special can be made into a dovetail chisel in 5 minutes on a grinder:

[David Keller NC]

Matthew - I tend to come down on the "buy it once and done" side of things, which would steer you towards buying perhaps a pair of LNs and adding to the set as you need/can afford them.

However, I would suggest you think about your own situation before deciding whether to buy a less expensive brand such as two cherries, pfiel, etc... If you're just starting out in woodworking, are not really sure whether you're committed to the hobby, and have large tool needs (i.e., you don't have any handplanes, saws, etc...), then buying an inexpensive set or a couple of vintage chisels may be your best bet, because it allows you to put the rest of the money into something that you really need.

In this case, I would suggest that would be a high-quality dovetail saw. While you can get workable chisels for 1/2 to 1/3 the price of L-N, Blue Spruce, etc..., you are definitely going to need to spend at least $75 on a dovetail saw - and there is only one choice that's suitable in this category - the Lee Valley high-tech version. Any other halfway decent dovetail saw is going to run you about $125. This is, of course, if you choose a western-style push saw. Decent japanese pull-types can be had for less.

There are certain categories in the hand-tool world where there's a continuous spectrum of performance/price until you get down to the rock-bottom, home store examples. Chisels are one such tool - the cheap ones will still cut, they just won't hold their edge very long and will have plastic handles.

But saws, marking gauges, holdfasts, and several other types of necessary handtools aren't like this - there's a floor price for which you can get a decent, well-performing example, and anything less will get you a nearly unworkable tool-shaped object.

Something to consider.

[Matthew Bobek]

Wow, I didn't know this would peak so much interest. Thank you very much for all of your responses. Firstly, I am feeling more comfortable with my reasoning of purchasing the 1/4 and 1/2 LN chisels, for a couple of reasons:
-I have never used chisels extensively and definitely need to know what a good, well made chisel feels like

-I do have some stanley chisels from the big box that have been beat on for rough home projects that I can use to hone my sharpening skills (no pun intended)

-I am not brand new to the hobby, I've been doing it since I was a child on and off, but have been into it seriously for the past five years, mainly building the power tool workshop and doing projects that way, and now it's time to incorporate hand tools and really work the wood

-I have decided on the Veritas dovetail saw, but I don't intend to only use these chisels for dovetailing

-Lastly, one day down the road I may be interested in rehabing old chisels (and planes too), but for now I just want to learn and do, not spend time trying to make a chisel work (other than the time it will take me to learn)

So, if you think I'm out of mind, you may politely let me know Or if there is any other wisdom out there please feel free to share.

[Graham Hughes (CA)]

Something that I've found immensely useful for a variety of tasks is a very large (1 ½" or 2") chisel. Doesn't have to be a LN, mine is one of the "new" Marples and honestly the steel isn't that great but the chisel is still useful. Because it's big it's easier to control for paring tasks like putting chamfers on things freehand or straightening tenons. One of your Stanleys could easily suffice.

[Chris M Pyle]

whatever you do, make the tools you purchase work for you.

You don't need mortise chisels to make a mortise. You can drill out waste, then pare the side accurately with practice.

GOod luck

[Roger Benton]

Wow, I didn't know this would peak so much interest. Thank you very much for all of your responses. Firstly, I am feeling more comfortable with my reasoning of purchasing the 1/4 and 1/2 LN chisels, for a couple of reasons:
-I have never used chisels extensively and definitely need to know what a good, well made chisel feels like

-I do have some stanley chisels from the big box that have been beat on for rough home projects that I can use to hone my sharpening skills (no pun intended)

-I am not brand new to the hobby, I've been doing it since I was a child on and off, but have been into it seriously for the past five years, mainly building the power tool workshop and doing projects that way, and now it's time to incorporate hand tools and really work the wood

-I have decided on the Veritas dovetail saw, but I don't intend to only use these chisels for dovetailing

-Lastly, one day down the road I may be interested in rehabing old chisels (and planes too), but for now I just want to learn and do, not spend time trying to make a chisel work (other than the time it will take me to learn)

So, if you think I'm out of mind, you may politely let me know Or if there is any other wisdom out there please feel free to share.

Matthew, your logic sounds great to me. When you get the LN chisels, try to have them give you a copy of their sharpening pamphlet; they have broken the process down into a sub-5 minute ordeal for new chisels/irons. Very helpful.

Good luck, and enjoy the awesome side of the force.

[Don Dorn]

FWIW - I have a set of decent Japanese chisels and like them allot, but thye are not bevel edge. With smaller dovetails, choping and cleaning would buger the tail.

I looked for some other ones and finally decided to buy the LN 1/4 and 1/2" - then a month later, I got a 3/4". Eventually, I'll round out the collection and while expensive, it's nice to know that I'm done with chisels - they are great to use and the 1/4 and 1/2 were the right way to go to begin. BTW - the bevel edge works great on the dovetails (not to mention a great balance) fits perfectly in my elipse jig and I'm able to hone a secondary bevel in a very short time that allows me to slice end grain in transparant thicknesses. They were well worth it - save your pennies.