Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
LV Chisels
John Meikrantz
>Does anyone use the Lee Valley house brand chisels? Wondered how they compared to other low/mid cost brands, i.e. Garrett Wade, Narex, Marples Blue Chips, etc.
Any time they ever come up in discussion, the thread is usually hijacked with the "buy the Hirsch, Two Cherries, etc.", but I would still like to know how the Lee Valley chisels perform.
Thanks,
John
Re: LV Chisels
Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX
>Probably the hijacks happen because not many of us have these chisels. So why don't you buy one or two, try them out, let us know how it turns out?
Pam
Re: LV Chisels
Bob Dodge
>A friend of mine bought the ones with the clear plastic handles. He hated those, lots of chipping on the blade edge. I can't offer more info, than that, sorry. He had a small, one man commercial shop, making furniture(mostly harvest tables)form recycled timbers.He may have been a little over-rough with them. Bob
Re: LV Chisels
Greg Phillips, Medford, OR
>IIRC, they did not fair too well in the Fine Woodworking chisel review. That being said, I have not tried them. You might chase down the article and have a look.
Greg
LV Chisels - Not their best product
Jeff Aldred
>I have a 1.5 inch chisel of theirs. I got lots of chipping out of it - seemed like every time I used it. I have not taken it off the shelf in 10 years.
The caviet I must use is that I bought it a long time ago (15 years?), and had no idea what I was doing. In retrospect, I had a shallow grind on it, and was using a mallet in oak. Perhaps a steeper grind and another try would give more fair results.
Re: LV Chisels
John Stegall
>I do remember it did not do well in the FWW test and I think I saw another test which also rated them lower than the brands you mentioned.
john
Re: LV Chisels
Don Clark
>I have two, a one-inch and a one-quarter inch. They are both beautifully ground and I like the handle shape and balance. However, the larger one seems very soft-doesn't hold an edge more than a few minutes paring and almost immediately dulls if it is used on hard wood. The smaller one is slightly better, but only slightly.
In comparison, my Home Depot Buck Brothers were horribly ground. All four were slightly twisted. However, after finally getting them reasonably flattened and lined up, they will hold an edge many times longer than the Lee Valley.
I am a fan of Lee Valley, and continue to be a loyal customer. All their other tools I have are excellent. But I can't comprehend why they put out something so well-made from a form and finish standpoint, but using "steel" that acts more like tin.
Don Clark