Chisel with a brain

My bet

Jim Reed @ Tallahassee

>is that it has to do with hardness. I'll bet both of them take a good edge and that the LN holds its edge longer. The Marples blue (which I love) are soft and deform pretty easy. My second bet is that your 15 years of experience also helps.

Re: My bet

Bob Powers

>I am sure that the Lie-Nielsen is harder, but neither would be dulled by the two hours I have used the L-N's. Also, wouldn't the experience, or lack of it, apply to both? There must be some reason why one costs $10 and the other $50.

Oooh Oooooh

Jonathan Peck - N.Y.

>Can I take a wag? I do belive that the LN's are lighter with excellent balance making it easier to hold and direct them that the heavier clumsier BC's....yeah?

Cost

Jim Reed @ Tallahassee

>LN probably has better steel, closer tolerances, better quality control (add 100% to cost). Then there is low batches with no mass production discount (add 100% to cost). Then there is the handle material (wood) and fitting (the blue plastic is probably melted into submission) (add 200%) to the cost. These are pretty rough numbers, but it shows me why the LNs cost several times more.

A magnifying glass doesn't show much

James Watriss

>A magnifying glass is one thing. A 10x loupe is another. A 60x pocket microscope is yet somethign else again, and even that doesn't always show everything.

It's true that the LNs are better steel, and that they'll hold a good edge for MUCH longer than the Marples will. But I also found that they have a much better balance overall, and that's just for starters. They're also shorter, meaning they're less likely to tip when they're struck with a mallet. AND, to top it all off, the blades are at a slight angle to the handle. If you bisect the cutting angle, the bisector is a little bit closer to being in line with the axis of the chisel, as opposed to the marples, which has the blade in-line, and would be more likely to get pushed off by the bevel.

But I still think it's the edge holding ability. It's easier to make a cleaner, precicsion cut with a tool that still has an edge on it.

Re: Maybe it's the brain between the ears.

Dale Stansbery

>Any chance you've been so enamored with the new chisels that you're trying harder to make better joints and just don't realize it?

I'm gonna say balance

David Barnett - Venice, Florida

>...even through I've not tried the Lie-Nielsens. I have too many chisels, old, recent, long, short, various makers (incl. me), and I'd have to say that so long as the steel takes and holds a decent edge, balance makes more difference to me than anything else. I make lots of repousse and chasing punches, gravers, and so on, and I take time to get a good balance to each. Really makes a difference how the tool moves when struck, where it ends up.

Re: psychological

Moses Yoder in White Pigeon, MI

>Were these judged by an outside, objective judge? My bet is that your brain is playing tricks on you, telling you there must have been some reason to spend that money. Just kidding. I want a set, think they would look good in my tool box and it would make a great conversation starter. Pull it out and "Hey, now much you think this thing cost?"

Re: magical chisels

Bob Powers

>Many times the way to answer a question is to put it in front of others, read or listen to the answers carefully, then combine what you have learned with what you already know. In this case, I agree with all but one of you. Balance is certainly a factor. Weight, too is important since I have a little arthritis in my thumbs, and as you know, the thumb is quite useful when cutting dovetails. I had not noticed that the chisel is at a slight angle to the axis of the handle.

But Moses, how could you possibly think that I might have said to myself "Self, if you paid $50 for a chisel, it had doggone well better make a better dovetail"?

Thanks for your thoughts, folks.

Fun stuff

Jim in Burlington On

>I wasn't quite sure if you were having a little fun with your post or not. Personally I really like the chisels. As to price they were not any big expense compared to some of the other hobbies I have. Good for you to be enjoying them so much. I am just going to order the other 4 sizes they have made for a total of 9. I have a set of blue chips and really they are the most aggrivating POS chisels to use. One tip if you have hand problems is making your score line a little deep for the chisel to sit in. Good for you life's to be enjoyed.

Re: A magnifying glass doesn't show much

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>Yeah, I agree!, but I think you missed two other important factors: the shape of the handle and its material it's made from. The striking surface of the Marples is just wrong for a controlled transfer of energy from the mallet to the edge. The squarish grip surface also seems to make it more difficult to align the chisel's edge precisely with the score. The hophornbeam of the L-Ns also transfers the force much more precisely, with less wiggling, wobbling and wasted vibrations, than the Marples' soft, flexible plastic. When I use my Marples, I feel like I'm trying to drive a large, al dente spaghetti noodle into a meatball. This last is, of course, an exaggeration, but I think there is a real difference. Using a rubber deadblow hammer instead of a hardwood mallet gives me a similar feel, and if I can feel the difference, the dovetail should be able to feel it too.