LN Chisels @ Axminster

[The Restorer]

Anyone noticed that in the latest Axminster "Highlight" they are now selling Lie-Nielsen Bevel edged chisels at £189.95 for a set of 5.
Those of you that have them, are they "that" good?[/i]

 

[Philly]

Only had them a month or so but first impressions are good.....
They work out at about £35 each (plus a free leather roll........)-are they worth that? They feel wonderful in the hand-light, delicate, meaningful and with a wonderful sharp edge. And they smell lovely-must be the roll.. :roll:
Once I've lived them longer I'll write a review. Until then, Alf? Chris? anyone else?
Cheers
Philly
(waiting for the battery of sarky posts....)

 

[Alf]

Don't look at me; I've hardly touched mine. They've been living inside since I found <whisper>rust</whisper> appearing when they were left in the w'shop. Subsequently every time I reach for a chisel I do the "oh-damn-my-LNs-are-inside-I'll-use-the-handy-ones-instead" routine. Anyone want to buy some unused but slightly "patinafied" L-N chisels? They're s** all use to me at the moment.

Sorry, I'll try not to go off on a "damp workshop" rant, but I'm a little sick of new tools growing rust under protective oils/grease at the moment.

Depressed but iron oxide-rich, Alf

 

[Keith Smith]

Alf these chisels are made from A-2 steel and should be more resistant to rust than the usual W-1 carbon steel, are you finding the opposite?

Keith

 

[Chris Knight]

Of course they are worth that much! At least they are to the guy who has bought them - just before he handed the money over.

Afterwards? Well, they are very nice chisels, no doubt. Well balanced, even beautifully balanced. A nice fine bevel (even if I did cut myself once, gripping it too hard as I worked a dovetail) that few modern chisels have.

Wonderfully flat and well shaped. They really only take a couple of minutes per, to make them into the perfect woodworking chisel.

The steel? I really don't know but to my mind there is little to choose between the LN chisels and other good ones I have (like pre-war cast steel chisels) in terms of sharpening and edge holding. I have done no scientific tests so I am simply reporting impressions gained through normal usage in a variety of hardwoods.

If you were keen, you could get equivalent chisels by buying really good second hand ones, making new handles and grinding them carefully to a desired shape.

I dunno about anyone else but my time is worth more than the differential cost.

 

[Ian Dalziel]

Of course they are worth that much! At least they are to the guy who has bought them - just before he handed the money over.

with you there Chris,

if i had them for a month or so on test then had to give them back would i rush out and buy another set 'No'

the leather roll smells nice though, pity its redundant as they are now installed in the wall unit, might try and find a spot for it somewhere as it gives of a lovely aroma.

Andy has a set for a review soon

Ian

 

[Losos]

Alf - I've been researching the ways to reduce rust in w/shop lately 'cos my old shop is rust heaven (Hoping the new one will be better, if it ever gets finished ) Anyway, FWW have a thread on this very subject at the moment, one interesting solution is cat litter :? Not the clay type but the crystals, apparently it's cheap, readily available, and you just put some in a small jar or lid and place it on the bench, machine, etc.

 

[Alf]

Anyway, FWW have a thread on this very subject at the moment, one interesting solution is cat litter :? Not the clay type but the crystals, apparently it's cheap, readily available, and you just put some in a small jar or lid and place it on the bench, machine, etc.

Oh really? Thanks for that, Losos; I'll go and take a look. At the moment I'm costing up the likes of vapour emitters, rust inhibiting paper and plane socks (and exclaiming "How much?!" I might add

) It seems to be the new tools that are copping it. My L-V medium shoulder plane, still in its anti-rust paper and grease, unused and unsharpened, has suffered for one.

I'm fairly convinced the problem with the chisels is that fancy leather roll they came in; I'll probably switch to a canvas one as I've not had problems with those so far. I didn't know the A2 was supposed to be more resistant, Keith. Interesting, but so far not true as fas as I'm concerned. It's extremely galling that it's the pricey new tools that attract the trouble, and not the battered old ones. Heigh ho.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Philly]

Alf
I sprayed some camelia oil inside the dividers of my chisel roll-that seems to of helped a lot with mine.
cheers
Philly

 

[The Restorer]

Thank you all for your replies.

I currently have a variety of chisels from old pre-war cast iron ones through Japanese and Kirschen. All have draw backs;

Cast Iron - hard to find, take ages to flatten the backs properly, handles often need to be replaced
Japanese - brittle (makes you cry when restoring something and finding a hidden nail that takes a chip out of the cutting edge), very expensive, take some getting used to
Kirschen - Horrible laquer on the blades and heavily rounded edges

LN's, if like the rest of his tools, will hopefully fit the bill (but won't be used for restoration)

Alf - please take a look at my new thread on how to prevent rust in the workshop and get rid of your greasey paper etc.

Thanks again

Steve.

 

[Philly]

Hi All
Spent a couple of hours on the weekend using my L-N chisels in anger. Was chopping out some dovetails in mahogany-the chisels were a dream. Used my carvers mallet, didn't hold back and was pleased to see at the end of the session that the handles were virtually unmarked. Guess that bodes well for the future.
Also the cutting edge held up really well-my Marples would of folded after 5 minutes! They showed no sign of the edge folding of chipping and (IMHO) were pretty much as sharp at the end of the session as at the beginning.
It was good to use these chisels in anger-the only way to truly tell if they are worthy. Kinda feel better about the credit card bill now....... :wink:
regards
Philly