Back in Oct 2008 Chris Gouchnour did a test on a bunch of chisels. As a rule I take some of the info and sort it out and make a decision on what I might purchase. In this case, I saw the Narex chisels got pretty good reviews and they were cheap. The Garrett Wade chisels were virtually identical with the exception of the ugly black handles. I found the chisels on the internet and at a local supplier for the same price- 60 dollars for a set of 6 chisels. I was a bit suspicious??
I bought the set to use as beaters and chisels I would allow my son to use when I’m not around. You get the idea.
Along came a job to chop out a bunch of mortises. Large mortises. Lots of paring to do. I generally pull out my old sheffield/greelee stuff and go to work. This time I opted to touch up the beaters and give them a run. Surprise. Good news.
I was so impressed with the way they held up on heavy oak beams, I decided to grind them to a 30 degree angle and hone the heck out of them. I wanted to see if they could be useful with delicate work so I polished up to 8000 and then hit the diamond past on some slick maple surface. Folks these are a steal.
If you don’t have much money and your time to search is limited, this is a pretty good deal. It will take a while to hone the backs to a polished surface but the way the steel holds its edge makes it worth the trouble/investment in the beginning.
Now I know those handles are ugly and you’re going to get some looks from the highend crowd but these chisels will do you a good job. I like to find a deal now and then and these little guys from the Czech Rep are worth every dollar to me.
good luck
dan
Replies
I've got a chisel habit: many,many vintage and an equal number of modern chisels. My then eight year old daughter, with the help of SWMBO bought me the Narex chisel four pack for Christmas this year. Backs were decent and only required a bit of work each. I sharpend mine to 25 degrees and have been regularly using the 1/4" and 1/2" and I've got to say, for bench chisel, these are a steal ($22 for the four at Highland Hardware)!
The handles are butt-a_s ugly, but simply chucking them in the lathe, with the blade going into the spindle bore and supported with a live center at the tailstock, I was able to make the handles nearly attractive.
Again, these are a real steal for the price and in my view the equal of AI, better than Sorby, as good as vintage Stanley 750 and so on, so you get the picture. I'm going to pick up a couple more: 1/4" & 3/8" so I can grind the side flats to a sharper bevel so as to use for dovetails. I already got LN skews, so I don't need to make any of those!
T.Z.
TZ
Glad to hear you had the same or better experience. I was wondering if I just hit a good production run or maybe the steal is tough and the chisels are a real bargain.
Funny you should mention what I was thinking of doing: getting a couple 3/4" chisels and grinding them for skew use. Having some small ones sure is nice for those half dovetail corners. Its always something.
good luck
dan
An elderly woodworker sold me his shop before going to the nursing home. There were some old chisles I barely looked at at first. These were made by he himself out of old jointer steel andt hey had beat up looking shopmade handles. After a (minimal ) sharpening I was really impressed how good the steel is and how they hold an edge. They are probably as good as anything else in the drawer.
With the economy being in the tank I think there will be a resurgence of things like this.
Frank
That's a good thing. Lots of useable stuff it just takes time. Its seems like its always a fine balance between time and money.
d
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