ScottGoddard
Established Member
HI all - Struggling to think of a present for the misses to buy me. I got a set of cheap chisels a couple of years go and wonder what are some good mid ranges sets to buy?
Chiesls - which to buy
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John15
Established Member
Try going onto Ebay and look out for some secondhand Sheffield made Marples bevel edged chisels. A 1/4", 3/8", 1/2" and a 3/4" would make a nice set for most jobs.
John
John
John
John
Which cheap chisels exactly Scott? And are you looking for a new set as an upgrade, to get something new in terms of quality/features (if so, what?), or just for "Oh look, shiny!" value?
Be handy to know the approximate budget too, since 'mid range' does cover quite a lot of ground, including Narex – which some won't even sniff at – at one end and Ashley Iles (sort of) at the other end.
Just to throw something into the mix, this vintage set of three chisels and one gouge from Ward & Payne on Tooltique are likely to be better than anything modern at a comparable price.
Be handy to know the approximate budget too, since 'mid range' does cover quite a lot of ground, including Narex – which some won't even sniff at – at one end and Ashley Iles (sort of) at the other end.
Just to throw something into the mix, this vintage set of three chisels and one gouge from Ward & Payne on Tooltique are likely to be better than anything modern at a comparable price.
"Oh look, shiny!" with a time travel element: new in box set of four red-handled Footprints for a BIN price of £34 on eBay.
The footprints with the delicate sides are about as good as anything, except for the heavy handles (you can't have it all!!).
Steel wise, they're a lot like iles chisels, which are functionally similar to the better quality pre-70s marples, et. al chisels.
I have had a lot of sets of chisels (curiosity, not necessity), but have no suggestion without knowing a budget. The ashley iles chisels are about the best cabinetmaker's chisels I've seen, despite comments about them looking less than perfectly finished (they are done by skilled hand, not by CNC machine).
But they're a lot more than 34 pounds (and a lot less than a lot of "premium chisels" that are functionally worse or no better).
Beware of later bevel edge footprints with fat sides, they're not the same - they look in person as though they may have been made by marples or someone else.
Steel wise, they're a lot like iles chisels, which are functionally similar to the better quality pre-70s marples, et. al chisels.
I have had a lot of sets of chisels (curiosity, not necessity), but have no suggestion without knowing a budget. The ashley iles chisels are about the best cabinetmaker's chisels I've seen, despite comments about them looking less than perfectly finished (they are done by skilled hand, not by CNC machine).
But they're a lot more than 34 pounds (and a lot less than a lot of "premium chisels" that are functionally worse or no better).
Beware of later bevel edge footprints with fat sides, they're not the same - they look in person as though they may have been made by marples or someone else.
Woody2Shoes
Impressive Member
I guess it depends on what you want to use them for, and what sort of price your Mrs. has in mind (!), but for "cabinet-making" I suggest this deal is hard to beat:
£150 for a set of six - https://www.workshopheaven.com/ashley-i ... -of-6.html
I've recently bought a couple of AI dovetail chisels and I'm delighted with them - but I keep my old Marples splitproof chisels for more demanding jobs. I've supplemented my 1970's era splitproof ones with a couple of brand new and I've been less disappointed with them than I'd expected to be. for example: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Irwin-Marples- ... B0001GS17W
The Lidl/Aldi ones are still hard to beat as far as value for money.
Cheers, W2S
£150 for a set of six - https://www.workshopheaven.com/ashley-i ... -of-6.html
I've recently bought a couple of AI dovetail chisels and I'm delighted with them - but I keep my old Marples splitproof chisels for more demanding jobs. I've supplemented my 1970's era splitproof ones with a couple of brand new and I've been less disappointed with them than I'd expected to be. for example: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Irwin-Marples- ... B0001GS17W
The Lidl/Aldi ones are still hard to beat as far as value for money.
Cheers, W2S
Woody2Shoes":3m37h76d said:
Ditto - not chisels to be abused or mortised with, but great for cutting joints. heavier chisels (especially in england) can be found cheap and plentiful. The selection of old chisels there is better than here - most of what's left here is construction chisels.
I'm always amazed when someone complains that those chisels are 25 pounds each. There's nothing else as good for as cheap. Certainly, there are used chisels for cheaper, but that's different than getting a new chisel.
richarddownunder
Established Member
I second (or third?) the AI chisels. I'm happy with mine which are the predecessors with the bigger handles. I think these Mk2s would be nicer still. I stupidly spent some time flattening the backs completely before realising they were suppose to be slightly hollow ground so you only have to hone the end of the back. Duh!
Cheers
Richard
Cheers
Richard
thetyreman
Established Member
if I was starting out again I'd buy old well made chisels with boxwood handles, but they're going up in value all the time it seems, get some old marples or ward and you can't really go wrong, the steel is amazing on them.
I saw five nice Marples box handled ones, 1/8th to about 3/8th at the market last week for £12.50. They're still around.
lurcher
Established Member
I would buy the Stanley 5001 chisels always on eBay for peanuts. My best set are Maywood palm tree 2" / to. 1/8" very very good chisels. Also you can still get some very good sorby chisels from turners retreat
Mawhood - in case anyone googles them. 
Jacob
Pint of bass, porkpie, and packet of crisps please
Much too short for paring chisels, too light for most other purposes. You find chisels like this in old collections which started as long parers but are now of little use.Woody2Shoes":okhgsm0n said:
Jacob":3v9xqwd9 said:
Maybe too light for architectural work, but a delight for most cabinet joinery work. I haven't found them too light for much of anything other than mortising, but where you guys live, it's pretty simple to track down some firmer chisels for a few pounds each. Despite all of the internet posting, I don't gather many people are actually cutting mortises, or doing much more than dovetails.
Agree on the parers - there is nothing that is the equal of a true parer - again, you're living in a place where you can find them cheaply. They're harder to find in the states, and more costly - cheaper just to scan UK ebay and beg sellers to ship to the states. For all of the talk on parers, I don't think most people have proper parers, either - and expect someone to make them new. The newer ones are either bulky or on the soft side (at least those that I've tried). Sort of like sorby's chisels now - potentially lovely chisels, but too soft.
Maybe there's some spec for carpenter's chisels that they have to make them to to sell them in some markets. Whatever it is, they don't match the old ones, nor the AI chisels (which are similar to older English chisels).
