Advice on buying chisels needed

[LFS19]

Hi,

I'm in the market for a decent chisel set.
As much as I like a good car boot sale bargain, I would really like to get a new set.

I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations?

I've seen quite a few marples sets that seem quite nice, but I wanted to get your opinions.

Another question I have if I may is whether brand really matters?
I saw a Paul Sellers video where he says he bought a great set from Aldi, is the reason I ask.

Thanks!


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[Wildman]

it is not the brand name per se but the quality of steel used, thus almost any chisel made in Sheffield in years gone by has a 99% chance of being excellent. Today even UK brands tend to be made overseas with dubious grades of steel. Some are good and some are really bad. Thus car boots can prove the best way to get some decent tools without breaking the bank if you go for known brands or "Sheffield Steel"

 

[ColeyS1]

Whats your budget ? Do you prefer wooden or plastic handles ?

Coley

 

[YorkshireMartin]

Narex have done OK for me. Just the basic ones. Not too expensive and feel reasonable in the hand for a newbie like me.

 

[Wildman]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1fEYcxM9Ic
Paul Sellars using said chisels. Others have recommended them as well. Were on sale in LIDL last week.

 

[Wizard9999]

When either Aldi or Lidl have had their chisels in th elast a few weeks later the other one has. If that pattern is repeated, given they were on sale last week at Lidl they should be on offer at Aldi in the next few week.

Terry.

 

[LFS19]

it is not the brand name per se but the quality of steel used, thus almost any chisel made in Sheffield in years gone by has a 99% chance of being excellent. Today even UK brands tend to be made overseas with dubious grades of steel. Some are good and some are really bad. Thus car boots can prove the best way to get some decent tools without breaking the bank if you go for known brands or "Sheffield Steel"

Right, that makes sense. I've had quite a few Sheffield steel equipment I've bought from Carboot sales in the past; no chisels though.

Thanks


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[LFS19]

Whats your budget ? Do you prefer wooden or plastic handles ?

Coley

I'm flexible, really.
Just looking for something that's decent quality and won't break the bank.


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[LFS19]

Narex have done OK for me. Just the basic ones. Not too expensive and feel reasonable in the hand for a newbie like me.

Yes I've heard of Narex, I'll check those out in more detail.

Thanks


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[LFS19]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1fEYcxM9Ic
Paul Sellars using said chisels. Others have recommended them as well. Were on sale in LIDL last week.

That's pretty cool. I've heard a lot of people really like them.

Thanks


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[LFS19]

When either Aldi or Lidl have had their chisels in th elast a few weeks later the other one has. If that pattern is repeated, given they were on sale last week at Lidl they should be on offer at Aldi in the next few week.

Terry.

I shall have to have a look around those stores, thanks for the heads up.


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[Bm101]

If you search the sale section on here for stanley chisels you should find two fairly recent posts. One is a set that was on sale from Deema a ukw member. The other is a slightly older post where the same set (from memory) get high praise and the seller was convinced not to sell his ones (just yet anyway). Might be worth a look? I'd find you the links but I'm in the shed on the mobile.

Edit. Scratch that they've gone. Sorry. They were 5001s btw.

 

[Harbo]

Ashley Iles chisels are made in the UK

http://www.ashleyiles.co.uk/chisels.html

I have a set of their Butt chisels - excellent steel.

Rod

 

[part_time_cowboy]

When either Aldi or Lidl have had their chisels in th elast a few weeks later the other one has. If that pattern is repeated, given they were on sale last week at Lidl they should be on offer at Aldi in the next few week.

I shall have to have a look around those stores, thanks for the heads up.

The Lidl chisels were still available in my local store when I popped in on Saturday (to buy the little japanese saw they had).

 

[RossJarvis]

My usual reply is "it depends". Do you have an idea of what you're going to put them to or are you looking for a "general purpose" chisel? I've got some dirt cheap Stanley Chisels which are brilliant and a couple of very expensive Japanese Hand made chisels which are brilliant in a completely different way but not as good as the Stanley's. Apart from when the Japanese chisels are much better than the Stanley's.

If you're just starting out it's very hard to know what you are going to choose the chisels for and harder to realise that there are a lot of different chisels for different jobs.

Getting some cheap chisels from Lidl is probably an excellent start and then finding out how to sharpen them is the next thing (though don't ask how to do that here!!!!).

If you've got the cash, buy a set of 8 chisels from anywhere, Irwin Marples, Bahco etc, for about 50-70quid. This'll teach you that you don't really need more than 3 or so. Currently I've seen an Irwin Marples set with really large to fairly small. This will really help you to find the 2 or 3 sizes that you really prefer.

Disregard anything Jacob says and get a honing jig and cheap stone with oil. This'll cost about a tenner. If you want, you can chuck the jig away and do it freehand after a while and save a lot of time.

Ultimately, what's your budget? If skint, buy from Lidl or even the cheapest set from the pound shop. If you've got a lot of cash, don't spend more than £70 on a 6 or 8 piece set from Irwin Marples or Bahco. Once you've learnt from these you'll get a feel for what to go for next.

I tend to use a 38mm chisel of which I have 3, sometimes I use any one of many smaller ones. I'd like to have some bigger ones too.

If you ask me, get a 38mm chisel, a 5mm chisel and a 12.7mm one. Beyond this is just luxury. If you want a particular type recommended I'd say get the black handled Stanley ones from 20 years ago which looked fairly rubbish and cost £1.50 each.

 

[keithkarl2007]

The Narex chisels are pretty good. The edges of the blade are thin enough for some fine dovetailing. The Aldi and Lidl chisels I'd imagine would be quite thicker.

 

[Paddy Roxburgh]

I went in Lidl yesterday and they still had chisels. I bought a set a couple of years ago and they are fantastic value. They are slightly weird sizes and the smallest one is 8mm so you may need to buy a 6mm or 1/4". Narex (avaliable from Workshop Heaven) are pretty good value (although one chisel is the same price as the Lidl set of four.
Paddy

 

[jlawford]

I've been using some new Stanley chisels which were £35 for a set of 3. The Lidl/Aldi chisels are much better and you get 4 in the set for £7. They sharpen easily and get very sharp.