Does anybody know if the steel they used in the Stanley chisels of yesteryear (say 50+ years ago), is better/worse than the Fat Max they sell at the Hardware stores today?.
Reason I ask is I have 3 Stanley #40 Everlast and I really like the way they feel in my hand, their balance, the handel size etc, and they really take a keen edge.
Of course it’s not the lasting edge I get from my Japanese or Hirsch chisels, but I’m a finish carpenter by trade and IO won’t brong the high end good chisels on site.
Just curious.
I also have a handfull of old Witherby, @& Winchester chisels, but I’ve yet to restore them.
Replies
Hi Jer,
I don't know much about steel, but I have to agree that the old Stanly 40s are nice to work with. I have built a set that have become my regular bench chisels and I go for them all the time. Just something about them!
Jer,
I've seen those 40's, in a set, going for $100 a piece from dealers, so your in good company in your likes and dislikes.
Personally, I have not found a chisel that I'm willing to throw away. Each seem to have different objective qualities (e.g. hardness/softness and ease of sharpening)and subjective features like how it fits my hand or the intended purpose.
I don't have any experience with older Stanley chisels, but in looking over the selection at Lowes, I noticed that some chisels are made in Mexico, and some have the Sheffield Steel / made in England notation. I'm guessing there must be some difference in quality between these two? I can't help but think what happened to the England-made Marples chisels now that Irwin owns the company.
Are the Irwin made Marples chisels worse? I have 2 sets of the older Marples, The blue chips and 4 nice boxwoods, both about 25 years old & they're pretty good tools.
I can't compare old Stanleys to new Stanleys, but I can compare old Buck chisels to new Buck Chisels. I have an antique set inherited from my great grandfather, and a set of plastic handled ones that I purchased when I got the handtool bug about 8 years ago.
There's an enormous difference in the steel in these two sets. While I'm reluctant to use my GG's too much because they're heirlooms, I keep coming back to them. The form factor of the plastic-handled Bucks are quite nice, and regardless of the icky aesthetics of plastic handles, they can really take abuse better than wooden ones. However, the steel is soft - I can roll a freshly sharpened edge on these "new" Bucks by simple paring in moderately hard wood like poplar and mahogany. The old ones don't do that - in fact, I generally can't see any deformation in the edge under a hand magnifier, it seems like the eventual dullness occurs more by abrasion than edge-rolling.
I've had the same problem in new Sorby and even Lie-Nielsen chisels. A set of recently purchased Blue Spruce chisels are the only ones I've come across that have comparable qualities to the oldies.
older Marples.. (blue?) I have some.. Hold an edge well and sort of easy to sharpen.. I guess I LOVE them... I do have to bring them inside the house in winter as they rust quite easily...
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