Just a little chuffed!

[liam8223]

Start of my A.I chisel set, a 1" butt and 1" bevel edge chisel.
An A.I marking knife, Richard Kell No 3 mkII honing guide and a lovely workshop heaven 12 pocket chisel roll.

Also a shop fox wheel marking gauge.

Hooked on the A.I's, can't beleive how much better they are than the current jam and custards I'm using.

 

[Modernist]

The Ai's are magnificent tools. I've been using mine for a couple of months and they are still getting better.

that marking knife looks good. I didn't know AI did one like Japanesse style.

 

[MikeG.]

I tried an AI butt chisel for a week or so, a while back, and it was a really lovely little thing. However, if you are starting a collection of AI chisels, why would you buy butt and bevel edge chisels of the same size?

Mike

 

[Aled Dafis]

Nice haul, I have a couple of AI chisels, and find them to be excelent, unfortunately my other Marples chisels also take a wicked edge so I can't justify upgrading the whole set.

I'm hoping to have a go with the Kell Mk3 at the Axminster hand tool event in Feb, it looks such a nice bit of kit.

Cheers

Aled

 

[Aled Dafis]

I tried an AI butt chisel for a week or so, a while back, and it was a really lovely little thing. However, if you are starting a collection of AI chisels, why would you buy butt and bevel edge chisels of the same size?

Mike

I was just thinking the same.

 

[liam8223]

Well that is a good question!

To be honest I've been doing alot of door hanging, and found my jam+custards very long and inaccurate when chopping the mortise, so thought i'd try a butt.

Doubt I'll buy more butts, but definately the bevel edged!

Dont suppose anyone would recommend a mallet that would be suitable?

I currently use a conventional beech mallet with my marples.

Liam.

 

[Karl]

Dont suppose anyone would recommend a mallet that would be suitable?

I currently use a conventional beech mallet with my marples.

Liam.

Liam - i've been using a Lignum mallet with my AI's. I bought the mallet from Matthew at the same time as the chisels.

The extra heft of the lignum means a lighter touch can be used when striking the chisel.

Cheers

Karl

 

[lwilliams]

Isn't it amazing what good steel is like? While I have problems with AI's over-all shape, bolsters and handles; I know the steel will be excellent. Barry Iles deserves praise for sticking with fine-grained and dependable ol' O-1 steel. It's a good thing he hasn't followed others into offering inferior A-2 or something even worse.

 

[awkwood]

The AI chisels look beautiful i hope i get chance to try some myself
I have some marples and black handled stanley chisles that are 20 plus years old (the stanleys hold a very good edge ) but would like some new ones for benchwork
There is a set of 5 sorby rosewood handled bevel edged chisels in a local ironmongers who is closing down soon, are they as good as AI and how much are they worth?

 

[Aled Dafis]

There is a set of 5 sorby rosewood handled bevel edged chisels in a local ironmongers who is closing down soon, are they as good as AI and how much are they worth?

The AI's go for £100 for a set of six, so unless they're significantly cheaper than this, I wouldn't bother. Robert Sorby chisels used to have a reputation for less than scrupulus quality control, not sure how they fare these days.

I'd definately check the backs of the Sorby's against a straightedge, and discard any that even hint at being convex, Matthew at Workshopheaven spent a great deal of time with AI to ensure that their chisels wer very slightly concave, which is the ideal condition for a chisel.

Cheers

Aled

 

[woodbloke]

. It's a good thing he hasn't followed others into offering inferior.

There's nothing wrong with A2 steel, the edge holding capacity is better than AI's and they can be sharpened equally well...if you have the right technique. I did a comprehensive review for F&C last year and LN chisels came out 'Best on Test', with AI's as 'Best Value' - Rob

 

[Modernist]

. It's a good thing he hasn't followed others into offering inferior.

There's nothing wrong with A2 steel, the edge holding capacity is better than AI's and they can be sharpened equally well...if you have the right technique. I did a comprehensive review for F&C last year and LN chisels came out 'Best on Test', with AI's as 'Best Value' - Rob

Well I can only say that is not my experience!!!

I have posted threads, mainly on the other side, about the fragility of 30 deg edges in A2. It often needs 33-35deg to be strong enough for some work. Only yesterday I was opening up some glazing apertures in solid chipboard doors, where the glass was a little tight, and used a Stanley Blue handle 38mm chisel to chop back the rebate then my lovely Veritas Bull Nose to clean them up. At the end the Stanley was a little dull but undamaged whearas the Veritas, honed at the same 30 deg had crumbled back and ruined the edge to such an extent I had to spend 10 mins on the 1000 stone just to get back to clean steel.

I have had the same experience with a LN 60 1/2 on end grain Am Cherry which is another reason I was keen to give the Quangsheng block a try earlier this week.

There is no doubt A2 offers a longer edge life at higher EP angles but for sharpness and lower angle work the traditional steels are better which is presumably why LN now offer them as an alternative. What a climbdown!

 

[Martin.53]

Hi!

I was lucky enough to get a selection something similar to Liam, in my case 6mm dovetail, 12mm 25mm Bevel Cabinet Makers. I had already bought a Veritas Mk 11 in preparation.

My question is "should I put a secondary bevel on these chisels?"

I remember reading somewhere that paring chisels should only have the one bevel, Joyce I think, so I honed to 25 deg only.

I have done a couple of practice Dovetails and found that the ends have broken up, become ragged very quickly.

 

[matthewwh]

Hi Martin,

If you are only using them for paring then a 25 degree bevel should be fine, if you are doing any kind of chopping then a 30 degree secondary bevel is recommended.

If you get abnormal edge failure beyond these angles then the tool may be just a fraction over optimum hardness (very rare but not unheard of) in which case I'll be happy to replace it.

 

[Martin.53]

Thanks Matthew.

No chopping with these! I've got my eyes on one or two your firmer's to hit, but for now will use my Stanley's.

I'm sure they'll be OK I was just a little unsure of what to expect. Let me see how I get on.

 

[lwilliams]

"... I did a comprehensive review for F&C last year and LN chisels came out 'Best on Test', with AI's as 'Best Value'" - Rob

Obviously, you and I expect different things from our chisels. Mine need to be capable of very fine work and need to be able to take a very fine, controlled paring cut leaving a finished surface. A 35º bevel angle just won't do the job.

Many of my tools are vintage tools accumulated over a life-time of professional woodworking. I learned a long time ago that I could tell the quality of tool steel simply by raising a good wire edge and checking it for fine grain, uniformity and rigidity. All the properties for a good edge show up in a wire edge. I can't really tell the difference between oil and water hardening steels in edge quality, fine grain or even the wire edge either will produce. Examining a wire edge with a 10X loupe tells a lot about the steel and the difference between a wire edge of A-2 and good water or oil hardening steel is dramatic. The A-2 gives the kind of wire edge that would encourage me to stop working on a vintage tool -- to write it off as coarse grained and having been burned or abused by some unknowing individual.

 

[Aled Dafis]

lwilliams, are you THE Larry Williams of planemaking fame?

 

[Alf]

He is.

I'm nowhere near familiar enough with the properties of steel and the processes required that differ between types, but I've long had a nasty suspicion that all, or many, of the benefits of the super-douper steels are for the manufacturer and not the woodworker. Is this suspicion grounded in fact? Or am I just a cynical so-and-so? I seem to recall some discussion on The Porch many years ago, that suggested that W1 was the best steel for woodworking, but the most labour-intensive and/or tricky to get right - must try a search for it, as my memory could well be playing tricks on me.

Brian, news to me that L-N were offering O1 irons now - thanks for the info.

But to wander briefly back on topic - nice haul, Liam.

 

[Modernist]

Brian, news to me that L-N were offering O1 irons now - thanks for the info.

At "no extra cost" now there's generosity for you

 

[Alf]

Actually could be, if the manufacturing process required is more costly for O1. Coincidentally I went for a trawl for the Old Tools List thread I'd remembered, and found comment that L-N irons used to be W1.

Anyway, if anyone's interested, one thread I remember and one stumbled over in the process. Not exactly what I was looking for, but quite interesting nevertheless.