Bench Chisel Question

Re: Bench Chisel Question

Tim Caley - North Little Rock

>I also had the blue handled Marples. They didn't seem to hold an edge very long so I upgraded to a set of Two Cherries. They hold an edge much better than the Marples. I sharpen them using the scary sharp method, and they do get very sharp.

I keep a box of bandaids in the shop now. I seem to keep letting the red stuff out of my fingers somehow.....

Re: Bench Chisel Question

Dennis McDonaugh

>Yes it would! While the marples chisels are a good value, you can't really understand the difference between them and a really quality set of chisels until you use them in the shop for a period of time. I haven't had the opportunity (or cash) to buy a set of LNs, but they are on my to do list. I have a set of two cherries and many different vintage chisels I've bought off of e-bay and they all sharpen well and hold an edge better than the marples. That's not saying the marples aren't good, just the others are better.

Agree...

Jonathan Kaplan (OR)

>The Marples are a good deal, in that they are inexpensive enough that at worst they make decent chisels for things you don't want to do w/ your good ones. But they don't hold an edge terribly well. (Though regrinding to a higher angle helps somewhat.)

I haven't tried the LNs; I use a number of different kinds of Japanese chisels, and love them. They hold an edge far, far longer than the blue chips, and get rather sharper.

There has been lots of discussion on the board re: LNs versus various other contemporary chisels (including Japanese chisels) versus various vintage chisels, etc. Some searching should pull up the threads. But the people that own the LNs really seem to love them; similarly, the people that own various Japanese chisels tend to be fond of them, as well.

So, while I think an upgrade of some kind is in order, I'm not willing to express a firm view on just *what* you should upgrade to. :) But have fun deciding -- there are a lot of good options out there!

jk

Re: Bench Chisel Question

Jim in Burlington Ontario

>I own all 3 you have mentioned. There's a huge difference between the two cherries/hirsch and blue chips. You'll be more than happy with them. The difference between the two cherries/hirsch and LN is one of balance and they were alot easier to initally sharpen because the two cherries/hirsch have slightly rounded backs and needed alot of work to flatten them. I still use the hirsch often and have never regreted buying them.

Re: Bench Chisel Question

Alan Hamilton

>Thomas,

I recently upgraded to a set of Hirsch bench chisels. I'm glad I did. They get sharper and stay sharp longer than my old set of red and yellow handled Marples.

BTW, Hirsch chisels are supposed to be exactly the same as Two Cherries; not similar, not close, but identical. But Hirsch chisels cost about a third less than Two Cherries.

Alan

Re: Bench Chisel Question

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>If you've used the search feature, you've already read my opinions on the L-N chisels. A chisel has two ends, and Tom deals with both of them in an exemplary manner. I've used lots of different bench and paring chisels, including Blue chips, Pfeils, Stanleys, Buck Bros, etc., (but not Japanese) and strongly prefer the L-Ns.

When you decide to upgrade, do not get rid of your Blue Chips. There are some places your better chisels should never go, so just treat your Marples like the blue-caped, fearless superheros that they were intended to be. Sometimes you need finesse, sometimes you need brute force to go where no chisel has gone before. Just be prepared to sharpen them when they need it.

Re: Bench Chisel Question

Glenn Madsen

>I agree with Sir William. The Blue Chips can be used by anyone who has permission to work in my shop. That can be my adult sons, or the local Scouts doing a project, or whatever.

There are also a couple of sets of carpenter style chisels, for when the going is rough.

The LNs are the private property of the shop owner, and are kept in the tool shrine. They are struck only with the shop made mallets, of which the shop owner is way too proud.

Tongue in cheek mode off, the LNs are an heirloom quality tool. If you can afford the investment, you will enjoy using the tool.

With the right, quality tools, you know that the screwed up dovetails are your own fault, so there is a downside. ;-)

Re: Bench Chisel Question

Don Thompson - Cutler Ridge, Florida

>I went Searching for your comments on the LN chisels, and I could not seem to find a single message/thread to point him to.

Now that you have been using them a while, how about a Review? I am sure that you have plenty of time. ;-)

Thanks Folks

Thomas Skaggs, Foothills of Mount Level

>You have confirmed what I have been thinking. I use chisels on every project so I think it's time I look at a serious upgrade.

I appreciate your comments.

Tommy

Re: Bench Chisel Question

ChrisF

>One other name I'd like to throw into the mix is Ashley Iles. I also started out life with a set of Marples Blue Chips, but they didn't hold an edge for very long. Bought a set of Ashley Iles' "American Pattern" chisels, and they're head and shoulders above the Blue Chips in edge retention (and overall enjoyment factor).

I did pick up a set of Hirsch chisels before getting the Iles, but found the flat areas on the Hirsch handles to be skewed towards right handed users (I'm left-handed). The Iles handles have no flat spots, so I have no problems with them.

Re: bench chisel reviews

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>Hmmmm... Maybe, some of my rants on this subject have been archived.

In general, I don't do formal reviews. I'm not a "formal" kind of guy. I guess the right brain is just too strong. It made it very frustrating to be an engineer, when I did that. I prefer to offer personal insights, beyond or in contrast to accepted orthodoxy, or to just answer specific questions, either from personal experience or by condensing the wisdom of others I have read and whose judgement I trust.

The kind of review Lyn does is way too much work for me, especially his defenses against unsubstantiated attacks. I figure if I can't create and defend a review to the standards of one of his, I shouldn't even try to call what I do a review.

I'll make observations, answer questions, ask rhetorical questions, and rant (when nothing else will do, or when I just feel like it). Hopefully, a reviewer will be reading, and hopefully, some of what I have offered will be distilled into a more structured, and more logical review by someone who is better at it than I am.

You do what you do best, I'll do what I do best, and we'll let Lyn, ALF, Chris and the other pros get hold of all the usual suspects, line them up, make them step and fetch, and give them a Thumbs Up or a Thumbs Down.