Question about chisels -

[durango dude]

So - I noticed that WC has some chisels on sale.
I asked the sales guy what kind of steel the chisels were made of
and what the pros/cons of that were.........

You would have thunk I asked him to explain Einstein's theory, or something.

He turns on a computer, and reads the technical specifications aloud ---- obviously not knowing a **** thing about them.

Now - I don't know a dang thing, either ----- but I'd hope that a sales person who is selling me chisels knows something about them.

Can one of you "Mature" individuals point me in the correct direction?

What kind of steel is good/better/best for a quality woodworking chisel?
Is there an optimal hardness?

Obviously, soft steel is easier to maintain ----- and tough steel becomes too ridgid to keep an edge.
Where's the sweet spot?

My woodworking activity is primarily small stuff - boxes, pens, stuff like that.
I occasionally make furniture ---- but usually for myself.

Yeah - I know how to make dovetails - but that's what routers are for.


Here's what I looked at:

http://www.woodcraft.com/products/woodriver-6-piece-bench-chisel-set


I'm also looking at Narex set. Not finding a lot of useful information on the differences between chisels.

[leehljp]

And to add to the confusion . . .

I added a long paragraph before I noticed that you were talking about wood working chisels instead of turning chisels. I have a large set of Japanese chisels that were given to me by a Japanese woodworker friend. If I were to buy that set of Japanese wood working chisels today, they would cost me well over $1000.00.

I don't know what a good set is here in the USA, but I would imagine that the ones you linked would be a very good set.

[cwsmith]

I would think that the Wood Craft are pretty decent, but I have no experience with them. The hardness seems about right, as you certainly don't want them too hard (brittle) or soft (poor edge). I have and old set of there Craftsman which I bought back in the 70's, too soft and won't hold an edge at all. Then in the early 2000's I bought a set of four Irwin's when they were made in Sheffield, UK, they're not bad, but very soon after I bought mine, they changed and were made in China. There were a few reports of them splitting (too hard?).

Then I discovered Narex and really like them. Very well made, hardness of Rc59, chrome vanadium steel with very comfortable handles with steel banded caps. I have a set of six bevel edge bench chisels and I liked them so much that I bought a set of six mortise chisels. That year I wrote to L-V and asked if they could get the two skew chisels and within a month they added those to the catalog too, and I bought them. I've had them for about eight years now and they have held up very well.

Lee-Valley has a good variety of chisels at reasonable prices IMO. The Narex are quite affordable I think.

https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/hand-tools/chisels?query=&resultOnPage=12&page=1&categoryId={ 71C724C0-FCD2-45E9-A920-B522988DE92A}&sortBy=default&includeCategories=fal se&dataItem={CCF16E47-16D8-4F1C-AC6A-936DFE31CEA3}

Regarding Japanese chisels, I've never owned or used any. They have the reputation of being about the finest.

CWS

[Jim Frye]

I wish I knew an answer as to steel quality. My chisel sets are probably not what most folks would consider high quality stuff, but they work very well for me and my projects. I have a set of Craftsman butt chisels I inherited from my Father-In-Law when he passed. He did amazing work with them and I have found they hold a working edge for a very long time. I use them mostly for rough construction work. I also have a set of Stanley butt chisels. They were my first purchased chisels when I didn’t have much tool budget. They were pretty rough and I spent a bunch of time polishing them and sharpening them. They were cheap and I guess you get what you pay for. I finally bought a “good” quality chisels for paring work. A set of Marples chisels in a fitted case. They have served me well for the last twenty years and hold an edge quite well. Here’s where things changed. I thought I’d be sharpening chisels and plane blades a lot so I bought a Veritas stone pond and some water stones, because they were the new thing in sharpening at the time. After a bit of time, I replaced the pond and stones with a variable speed grinder equipped with a fine grit stone and a 2” wide cotton wheel and haven’t used the pond and stones since.

[durango dude]

Lee ----- I have a nice old set of Millers falls that I occasionally originally used for turning. They were getting kind of short, so I picked up a set from HF that I can live with. Will pick up a Sorby or two when I upgrade my lathe.

WC has some Japanese chisel sets - way pricey.

Picked up the WC chisels today, and will let y'all know.

PS --- the dirty word feature on this system is a tad bit zealous.
(lol)

[leehljp]

How good or zealous are you at sharpening both wood and turning chisels? The reason I ask is that I find some who can do it fairly well but see it as a chore, and then there are some who have no qualms about spending the necessary time for fine sharpening.

1. The better quality steel hold their edge longer.

2. On turning tools, many turners who see fine sharpening as difficult, and are going to tools with carbide inserts which last much longer and are easily changed out once dull. I personally enjoy sharpening my tools but then I have been sharpening steel since I was a kid in the '50s. But I can't blame anyone who would prefer to use carbide inserts.

[Carlos]

Unless you're using them a lot, as in mostly hand-working wood, nearly anything outside of big box store junk will be good. I've had a basic 4-chisel set from Marples for a decade and they've been great. But I only need them for little things, since I primarily use power tools. I've probably sharpened them four times. About two years ago I picked up a Narex 3/4" cranked neck chisel (8133 99). It quickly became my number one go-to, I use that thing all the time. Far more than the flat chisels. I highly recommend having at least one of those. So many uses. Oh, and in two years I've never sharpened it, but it definitely does need it now. I need to improve my sharpening situation and am looking at CBN wheels versus good diamond stones, etc.

[Slik Geek]

Never had heard of such a chisel before... could have used one of those last week!

[leehljp]

Carlos, I have two CBN wheels, a 180 and a 600. Wow are they great! I have a Grizzly waterwheel that is the clone of the Tormek. They are good but SLOOOOW. The water wheel grinders turn at about 110 rpm. Have I mentioned that 110rpm is SLOW? If you have LOTS of time on your hands, it does and excellent job. Of course the water wheels keep the edge from losing its temper.

Back to the CBN, at 2400 rpm or 3600 rpm, heat is not a problem, they are quick and don't require pressure. Shaping is MUCH quicker than with a water wheel and sharpening only takes seconds. I still hone each chisel after using the 600 grit.

There is nothing to compare with CBN wheels for speed in sharpening while keeping it cool enough to prevent losing the temper.

[Carlos]

That's useful info. The cost is quite high though. For how little I sharpen, it's hard to justify two wheels.

[leehljp]

Here is where I got my CBN wheels, and they were about 20% cheaper when I go mine almost 2 years ago. They last a life time, so they are a one time purchase.

https://woodturnerswonders.com

Oh, forgot to mention, they have front face only and front & side faced wheels for those that what a flat grind.