Hirsch chisel tool review
The Hand Tool Curmudgeon
>I posted this elsewhere and thought you might get a kick out of an "Adam, the old tool curmudgeon" tool review. The subject is Hirsch/two cherries forming chisels. Ready?
I have a set of Hirsch chisels which are pretty highly regarded, often recommended, and I can't stand them. Its not the quality of the steel but everything else I don't like. And frankly, I find that frustrtating. Its obvious that they CAN build a great chisel, but in my opinion, they have decided not to.
What I have are 2, 6, 10, 12, 16, 20mm firmers. I mic'ed them instead of assuming their names were accurate. As it turns out, they were very accurate.
The 2mm is pretty much a joke. Its .075 wide, so just a little over a sixteenth. Its a worthless tool in my shop.
The 6mm (.235) is light of 1/4" by .015. So if I plow a 1/4" groove for a drawer bottom, I have to fuss with this chisel to clean it up. I'd much rather have a chisel the exact width of my plow iron and my 1/4" mortiser (I do have, its just not my Hirsch). This chisel I should probably grind down to a heavy 3/16", taking .015 off each edge, eliminating the dubbed edge that resulted from the excessive polishing. In fairness, unpolished chisels are available.
The 10mm (.396) is a heavy three eights. This chisel is a decent size for London pattern dts, albeit a bit big- especially for half blinds in 4/4 stock. Otherwise, 0.4" is an awkward size in cabinetry. Its too big for a groove in 4/4 stock, and its a really huge mortise.
The 12mm (.471) is my favorite of the lot. Its a decent size for carcass dovetails. I really like having chisels 7/16", 8/16", and 9/16" for carcass dovetails. Hirsch only offers the 12mm and possibly the 10mm in this size range, the 10 being a bit too small, for carcass dts, a bit too large for London pattern drawers as mentioned earlier. But feel free to consider this nit picking. This is a good chisel.
The 16mm is pretty darn close to 5/8" and I find its an even swap for a 5/8" chisel- which I use for the pins on half blinds.
The 20mm is fine. I like a chisel wider than 3/4" to clean up 3/4" rabbets. This chisel I mic'ed at .789. Ditto, I like a 1-1/2" chisel for clean up tenons cheeks. I don't feel as strongly about these big sizes as I do about the smaller. But I wish they had different handles. When you use a chisel all day, you quickly realize that you can't hold the things like screwdrivers, relying on the tightness of your grip to operate them. Well, unless you enjoy prying your fingers open each morning. The alternative is the time honored open palm push from the butt end. The tiny bolstered butt ends make this uncomfortable, eliminating fully half of my technique.
The blades on all these chisels are a tiny bit thick for my tastes, though they are better than the Stanley 750's I have. When chopping a dt, penetration matters. These chisels can hold their edges with low (20+ degrees). But they'd work better if they were reduced in thickness by 75%. Like everything else about these chisels, they've shackled their fine steel to really thoughtless features, limiting the usefulness and performance of what could have been great chisels.
My feeling about these chisels is that they reflect the general ignorance about hand tool work. In keeping with every chisel review I've read over the last 10 years, Hirsch/Kirschen/ECE have mistaken the function of a chisel for edge holding. In fact, softer chisels with good patterns (blade shapes) and nice handles can be advantageous. They require more frequent honing, but they are easier to hone.
In all, I hate the handles, resent the dubbing, and feel U.S. cabinetmakers are screwed out of a decent 1/4", 5/16", and 3/8" chisel. The fact that the steel is as good as it gets doesn't make up for their missing sizes.
Adam
hand tool curmudgeon
