More on chisels (*pics)
GolfSteve in Calgary
>I enjoyed the thread below on dovetail chisels. Since I had the digital camera out I thought I would take some pictures of my chisels and talk about what I like/dislike with each version.
First the mortise chisels. I have Sorby, LN, and Hirsch (not pictured). The Sorby's served me well, hold an excellent edge, and I like the steel bolster; although this can make a mess of your mallet, and I like the leather shock absorber. However the cross section of steel is a bit lightweight - if you're prying with one of these you could bend them. The LN on the other hand, have a very comfortable handle, and a very thick cross section - there's no bending these. The thick cross section also helps me keep the chisel tracking in a straight line when prying out the waste. I find that the thinner Sorby sometimes twist whey prying, causing the sides of the mortise to get mucked up and wider than I want.
The left three chisels are the mortise chisels in 3/8 and 1/4" widths.
The fourth and fifth chisels in the above photo are my 3/4" bevel edge chisels. First is a chisel that I picked up at an army surplus store. It is one of my favourite chisels. I never really paid attention to it until today, but it has a lot of good things going for it.
The middle two chisels in the above photo are the 3/4" chisels (army surplus on the left, Lie-Nielsen on the right). The army surplus version is thinner in cross section than LN with steeper relief angles on the sides. I can really get this chisel into tight areas. The army surplus handle is socket fit and has leather bolsters on the end. The balance isn't as good as the LN, but the steel gets much sharper than the LN. However, the LN steel stays sharper much longer.
Anyone know the make of this army surplus chisel (cost me $5) ? Here's a picture of the logo - Two Cherries?
Next is the half-inch chisels. In the middle of the photo below are another army surplus chisel (Paffo) and a LN bevel edge. Once again the Paffo is lower profile than the LN. It is well balanced, takes and holds a good edge, and is very light. The LN chisel is just as good, but is thicker in cross-section. I also have a Hirsch carving chisel (not pictured) that is only 1.5 mm in thickness which is really handy for paring between narrow dovetails.
The Paffo handle is very nice. The LN is reminiscent of this shape.
Next is the 3/8" bevel edge chisels. I have a LN, Iyoroi, and Lee-Valley. Here the LN is my clear favourite. The Japanese chisel takes and holds an excellent edge, but is very square in profile so it's not much use for dovetails. However, I do I like it for other uses. The LV yellow handle also does not have enough relief for dovetail work, doesn't take an edge very well, and generally I don't like it. Its only benefit is that it doesn't roll off the table.
For 1/4" chisels I have a Marples, Stanley, and LN. I like all of these for different uses. The LN is the one I reach for when doing fine work. The Stanley is unbalanced, but the steel is excellent and the handle is indestructable. I reach for the Stanley when doing construction work. The Marples is well balanced, takes a good edge, but does not hold the edge very well.
For 1/8" chisels I have an Iyoroi and a LN. Both are excellent chisels, but the Iyoroi cross section is at least twice as high as the LN. This makes it good for chopping narrow mortises, but limits its usefullness in tight spaces.
Finally here's some specialty chisels. First are two Iyoroi dovetail chisels. I love these. They are perfect for chopping out the waste between dovetails. I also have a Marples that I reprofiled for use when chopping dovetails. I hardly use the Marples anymore now that I have the Iyoroi dovetail chisels. Lee-Valley carries a number of Iyoroi chisels, but I don't know why they don't carry the specialty dovetail chisels. Everyone should have one or two.
