Best bang for the buck regarding chisels..

On 13 Nov 2003 13:34:16 -0800, [email protected] (Fred the Red
Shirt) wrote:


>But if you can find old Buck chisels at garage sales etc, they're good.


Those are certainly not the Buck Bros. tools sold at BORGS and
hardware stores.

Barry

On Wed, 12 Nov 2003 15:33:41 GMT, "Ed Angell" <[email protected]>
wrote:


>While I find Home depot a pain in the but, they do carry all sizes of the
>Buck chisel, they are well built and fairly inexpensive and made in the USA
>I do believe. At the price it's well worth trying one to check the quality,
>I've had good luck with them.
>
>Ed Angell
>


Do you actually use them?

I've found Buck Bros. stuff to be of such low quality that I'd not use
the chisels to open paint cans.

What do I mean by low quality? They don't hold an edge. Maybe
they'd be fine whacking out notches in 2x4's, but I've never had
decent luck with them for woodworking.

Barry

Two cherries make great carving tools, but in chisels, I like these, as
well. http://www.pecktool.com/chisels.htm

Of course, I have that set of Millers Falls phenolic handled butt chisels
for the rough work. That's the key to keeping an edge on your trim and pare
chisels, having a set to run along the glue line, hack chunks, or open paint
cans....

"Frank McVey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Marples are a good middle-of-the-road brand. I have several that I use
when
> I have to go on site.
>
> In UK you can often find deals on their splitproof range - they do a set
of
> 6 for around 45 - 50 GBP. If you ever manage to split one of these
handles,
> they'll replace the chisel for free.
>
> If you want to go upmarket, you might look at Two Cherries or Robert
Sorby.

If you're looking for Japanese chisels you really can't beat the blue
steel Matsumura chisels from Japan Woodworker. Excellent bang for the
buck among Japanese chisels...and chisels in general.

Layne
Usual disclaimers apply.

On Wed, 12 Nov 2003 14:26:53 GMT, "Brandon" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Well, it's time to upgrade the cheap chisels I started out with and I'm
>looking for some advice. I've gotten pretty good at sharpening and taking
>care of mine, but I want some that are decent and will hold an edge longer
>than 5 minutes. Whats are the best chisels for the money on the market?
>I'm thinking maybe Marples but honestly have no clue.
>
>Thanks,
>Brandon
>
>

I saw an expose on some t.v. news magazine that had a female producer
of Korean descent pose undercover as an immigrant worker in New York's
garment district. Immigrants would gather on the street corners and
bid for work in the sweatshops (lowest bid wins). This undercover
producer won the bid at an incredulous $1 an hour. She worked for 12+
hours with no lunch break...even bathroom breaks were severly frowned
upon with the threat of being fired. In some of the sweatshops she
worked in there were rats crawling around, had loose live electrical
wires, fire exits were blocked, and more than one stiffed her of her
hard earned wages. So before you start complaining about buying Made
in China, you might want to reconsider buying Made in America.

FWIW, I've visited sweatshops here in LA in the Fall when it's
relatively cool, but can imagine how hot it could get in the summer
with 90+ degree temps and no A/C.

Layne

On 12 Nov 2003 18:40:43 GMT, Hitch <[email protected]> wrote:

>Unless you live in China, or until the Chinese pay living wages and provide
>safe working places for their employees, and have stringently-enforced,
>strong environmental rules, please don't buy Chinese (or any other slave-
>wage country's) products if you can avoid it. The U.S. has lost at least
>three million manufacturing jobs since 1998, and a major portion have been
>lost to slave-wage countries. China's production costs are so cheap that
>even Mexico is losing jobs to them! A good way to stop the slide of wages
>and jobs in this country is to buy at home first.
>
>Thanks.
>
>--
>John Snow
>"If I knew what I was doing, I wouldn't be here"

>FWW did a chisel test & review in issue #139 (Dec'99).
>In it they ranked the mfgrs products for "toughness" ie the
>ability to hold an edge. They also gave a real world ratings
>to the rankings: 1-3 = excellent; 4-7 = Good;
>and 8+ = Average.

>14 Sorby Octagonal

These got rated pretty low by comparison to the others. They may not be
the best steel, but the hardness of the steel isn't everything. There's
definitely something to be said for a tool that just "feels" right. I
wouldn't trade my set of these for anything.

Hitch <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Juergen Hannappel <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
>
> > I found chinese chisels made from HSS to be of excellent quality: The
> > can be sharpened to usual standard very easily and being very hard but
> > not noticeably brittle hold the edge well, at very low cost also.
> > Description:
> > http://www.dick-gmbh.com/shop/prodausgtabfs.asp?index=ChineseChisels
> >
>
> Unless you live in China, or until the Chinese pay living wages and provide
> safe working places for their employees, and have stringently-enforced,
> strong environmental rules, please don't buy Chinese (or any other slave-
> wage country's) products if you can avoid it. The U.S. has lost at least
> three million manufacturing jobs since 1998, and a major portion have been
> lost to slave-wage countries. China's production costs are so cheap that
> even Mexico is losing jobs to them! A good way to stop the slide of wages
> and jobs in this country is to buy at home first.
>
> Thanks.


Or better still, buy British! If you want a decent quality,
serviceable chisel at a great price for a set, get the Marples Blue
Chip. I have a set of top of the line Japanese chisels which cost an
arm and a leg. They're absolutely great but I feel I might be just as
well off with the Marples for my work and the arm and leg back in the
bank!! If you can sharpen well and quickly, do the Marples. The
British don't pay slave wages either!
All the best,
Paul

FWW did a chisel test & review in issue #139 (Dec'99).
In it they ranked the mfgrs products for "toughness" ie the
ability to hold an edge. They also gave a real world ratings
to the rankings: 1-3 = excellent; 4-7 = Good;
and 8+ = Average.

The best value for the money is something you have to
research & decide for yourself.

Art

Rank Mfgr
1 White Steel
2 Blue Steel
3 Iyori
4 Hirsch
5 Barr Specialty Tools
6 Two Cherries
7 Crown Tools
8 Harris Tools
9 Craftsman
10 Japan Woodworker
11 Garrett Wade
12 Sorby Gilt-Edge
13 Lee Valley
14 Sorby Octagonal
15 Stanley
16 Marples Blue Chip
17 Pfeil






"Brandon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Well, it's time to upgrade the cheap chisels I started out with and I'm
> looking for some advice. I've gotten pretty good at sharpening and taking
> care of mine, but I want some that are decent and will hold an edge longer
> than 5 minutes. Whats are the best chisels for the money on the market?
> I'm thinking maybe Marples but honestly have no clue.
>
> Thanks,
> Brandon
>
>

Amen!

>Unless you live in China, or until the Chinese pay living wages and provide
>safe working places for their employees, and have stringently-enforced,
>strong environmental rules, please don't buy Chinese (or any other slave-
>wage country's) products if you can avoid it. The U.S. has lost at least
>three million manufacturing jobs since 1998, and a major portion have been
>lost to slave-wage countries. China's production costs are so cheap that
>even Mexico is losing jobs to them! A good way to stop the slide of wages
>and jobs in this country is to buy at home first.
>
>Thanks.

Not knowing better at the time, I bought a set of Marples blue handle chisels. They take
a nice edge, but don't hold it worth a d**n. When the time comes I'll get some better
ones.

I know how you feel. I have the Marples set myself hehe



--

There are no stupid questions.
There are a LOT of inquisitive idiots.


"Bob N" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Not knowing better at the time, I bought a set of Marples blue handle
chisels. They take
> a nice edge, but don't hold it worth a d**n. When the time comes I'll get
some better
> ones.
>
>

Good luck trying to change the world...Let me know how it works out for you.
Money makes the world go round; always has, always will. The truth of the
matter is we'll all be making the same wages in another 50-100 years. Of
course that means the standard of living in the U.S. will be less, but there
ain't no stoppin' it.
--
Larry C in Auburn, WA

"Hitch" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Juergen Hannappel <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
>
> > I found chinese chisels made from HSS to be of excellent quality: The
> > can be sharpened to usual standard very easily and being very hard but
> > not noticeably brittle hold the edge well, at very low cost also.
> > Description:
> > http://www.dick-gmbh.com/shop/prodausgtabfs.asp?index=ChineseChisels
> >
>
> Unless you live in China, or until the Chinese pay living wages and
provide
> safe working places for their employees, and have stringently-enforced,
> strong environmental rules, please don't buy Chinese (or any other slave-
> wage country's) products if you can avoid it. The U.S. has lost at least
> three million manufacturing jobs since 1998, and a major portion have been
> lost to slave-wage countries. China's production costs are so cheap that
> even Mexico is losing jobs to them! A good way to stop the slide of wages
> and jobs in this country is to buy at home first.
>
> Thanks.
>
> --
> John Snow
> "If I knew what I was doing, I wouldn't be here"

Juergen Hannappel <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> I found chinese chisels made from HSS to be of excellent quality: The
> can be sharpened to usual standard very easily and being very hard but
> not noticeably brittle hold the edge well, at very low cost also.
> Description:
> http://www.dick-gmbh.com/shop/prodausgtabfs.asp?index=ChineseChisels
>

Unless you live in China, or until the Chinese pay living wages and provide
safe working places for their employees, and have stringently-enforced,
strong environmental rules, please don't buy Chinese (or any other slave-
wage country's) products if you can avoid it. The U.S. has lost at least
three million manufacturing jobs since 1998, and a major portion have been
lost to slave-wage countries. China's production costs are so cheap that
even Mexico is losing jobs to them! A good way to stop the slide of wages
and jobs in this country is to buy at home first.

Thanks.

--
John Snow
"If I knew what I was doing, I wouldn't be here"

Mike in Mystic wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> I actually just received my new boxed set of 6 two cherries
> chisels. check them out at:
> http://www.craftsmanstudio.com/html/fine_tools/two_cherries/two_cher
> ries.htm
>
> (this is the special promotional boxed set)
>
> At 15% of $99.50 that's only $84.58 for a very good set of chisels,
> IMO. I had a $5 coupon, so with shipping it totaled to only $90
> for me. Another option is the set of 7 Lee Valley bevel-edge
> chisels for $60+shipping (w/o a box). I think the two cherries is
> a better value, but the LV set does give you the 1.5" chisel, which
> is pretty useful. So, for only about 2x the price of a marples
> set, you can get a much better set of chisels.
>
I have a set of Marples chisels and they won't hold an edge very
long at all. I use them on Mesquite, which is about twice as hard as
Oak. I have been trying to decide between two cherries or the Sorby
chisels.
What chisel would ya'll pick if money was no object??
Michael

> Mike
>
>
> --
>
> There are no stupid questions.
> There are a LOT of inquisitive idiots.
>
>
> "Brandon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> Well, it's time to upgrade the cheap chisels I started out with
>> and I'm looking for some advice. I've gotten pretty good at
>> sharpening and taking care of mine, but I want some that are
>> decent and will hold an edge longer than 5 minutes. Whats are the
>> best chisels for the money on the market? I'm thinking maybe
>> Marples but honestly have no clue.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Brandon
>>
>>
>
>
>



--
Michael Burton
Thunderbird Hardwoods
Llano, TX

mhburton at moment dot net

Marples are a good middle-of-the-road brand. I have several that I use when
I have to go on site.

In UK you can often find deals on their splitproof range - they do a set of
6 for around 45 - 50 GBP. If you ever manage to split one of these handles,
they'll replace the chisel for free.

If you want to go upmarket, you might look at Two Cherries or Robert Sorby.

Cheers

Frank




"Brandon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Well, it's time to upgrade the cheap chisels I started out with and I'm
> looking for some advice. I've gotten pretty good at sharpening and taking
> care of mine, but I want some that are decent and will hold an edge longer
> than 5 minutes. Whats are the best chisels for the money on the market?
> I'm thinking maybe Marples but honestly have no clue.
>
> Thanks,
> Brandon
>
>

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
says...
> Well, it's time to upgrade the cheap chisels I started out with and I'm
> looking for some advice. I've gotten pretty good at sharpening and taking
> care of mine, but I want some that are decent and will hold an edge longer
> than 5 minutes. Whats are the best chisels for the money on the market?
> I'm thinking maybe Marples but honestly have no clue.
>
Take a look at:

http://www.diefenbacher.com/Chiselink.htm

A variety of grades available. I've bought from him and was happy.

--
Where ARE those Iraqi WMDs?

"Larry C in Auburn, WA" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<WqAsb.182882$HS4.1523543@attbi_s01>...
> Good luck trying to change the world...Let me know how it works out for you.
> Money makes the world go round; always has, always will.

I believe that is precisely the point.

--

FF

B a r r y B u r k e J r . <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> On Wed, 12 Nov 2003 15:33:41 GMT, "Ed Angell" <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>
> >While I find Home depot a pain in the but, they do carry all sizes of the
> >Buck chisel, they are well built and fairly inexpensive and made in the USA
> >I do believe. At the price it's well worth trying one to check the quality,
> >I've had good luck with them.
> >
> >Ed Angell
> >
>
>
> Do you actually use them?
>
> I've found Buck Bros. stuff to be of such low quality that I'd not use
> the chisels to open paint cans.
>
> What do I mean by low quality? They don't hold an edge. Maybe
> they'd be fine whacking out notches in 2x4's, but I've never had
> decent luck with them for woodworking.
>

Buck was a good name in chisels once upon a time. Then the name was
sold.
At least two companies independently manufacure (different) products
under the Buck name. The Buck Bros Turning chisels are good quality.
I dunno anything else with that name that is.

But if you can find old Buck chisels at garage sales etc, they're good.

--

FF

B a r r y B u r k e J r . <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> On 13 Nov 2003 13:34:16 -0800, [email protected] (Fred the Red
> Shirt) wrote:
>
>
> >But if you can find old Buck chisels at garage sales etc, they're good.
>
>
> Those are certainly not the Buck Bros. tools sold at BORGS and
> hardware stores.
>

Correct. The good ones predate the BORG by at least 50 years.

--

FF

Thanks Everybody -- Great info as always...


"Brandon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Well, it's time to upgrade the cheap chisels I started out with and I'm
> looking for some advice. I've gotten pretty good at sharpening and taking
> care of mine, but I want some that are decent and will hold an edge longer
> than 5 minutes. Whats are the best chisels for the money on the market?
> I'm thinking maybe Marples but honestly have no clue.
>
> Thanks,
> Brandon
>
>

"Brandon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Well, it's time to upgrade the cheap chisels I started out with and I'm
> looking for some advice. I've gotten pretty good at sharpening and taking
> care of mine, but I want some that are decent and will hold an edge longer
> than 5 minutes. Whats are the best chisels for the money on the market?
> I'm thinking maybe Marples but honestly have no clue.
>
> Thanks,
> Brandon
>
>
While I find Home depot a pain in the but, they do carry all sizes of the
Buck chisel, they are well built and fairly inexpensive and made in the USA
I do believe. At the price it's well worth trying one to check the quality,
I've had good luck with them.

Ed Angell

FWW did a chisel test & review in issue #139 (Dec'99).
In it they ranked the mfgrs products for "toughness" ie the
ability to hold an edge. They also gave a real world ratings
to the rankings: 1-3 = excellent; 4-7 = Good;
and 8+ = Average.

The best value for the money is something you have to
research & decide for yourself.

Art

Rank Mfgr
1 White Steel
2 Blue Steel
3 Iyori
4 Hirsch
5 Barr Specialty Tools
6 Two Cherries
7 Crown Tools
8 Harris Tools
9 Craftsman
10 Japan Woodworker
11 Garrett Wade
12 Sorby Gilt-Edge
13 Lee Valley
14 Sorby Octagonal
15 Stanley
16 Marples Blue Chip
17 Pfeil

"Brandon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Well, it's time to upgrade the cheap chisels I started out with and I'm
> looking for some advice. I've gotten pretty good at sharpening and taking
> care of mine, but I want some that are decent and will hold an edge longer
> than 5 minutes. Whats are the best chisels for the money on the market?
> I'm thinking maybe Marples but honestly have no clue.
>
> Thanks,
> Brandon
>
>

I actually just received my new boxed set of 6 two cherries chisels. check
them out at:
http://www.craftsmanstudio.com/html/fine_tools/two_cherries/two_cherries.htm

(this is the special promotional boxed set)

At 15% of $99.50 that's only $84.58 for a very good set of chisels, IMO. I
had a $5 coupon, so with shipping it totaled to only $90 for me. Another
option is the set of 7 Lee Valley bevel-edge chisels for $60+shipping (w/o a
box). I think the two cherries is a better value, but the LV set does give
you the 1.5" chisel, which is pretty useful. So, for only about 2x the
price of a marples set, you can get a much better set of chisels.

Mike


--

There are no stupid questions.
There are a LOT of inquisitive idiots.


"Brandon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Well, it's time to upgrade the cheap chisels I started out with and I'm
> looking for some advice. I've gotten pretty good at sharpening and taking
> care of mine, but I want some that are decent and will hold an edge longer
> than 5 minutes. Whats are the best chisels for the money on the market?
> I'm thinking maybe Marples but honestly have no clue.
>
> Thanks,
> Brandon
>
>

"Brandon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Well, it's time to upgrade the cheap chisels I started out with and I'm
> looking for some advice. I've gotten pretty good at sharpening and taking
> care of mine, but I want some that are decent and will hold an edge longer
> than 5 minutes. Whats are the best chisels for the money on the market?
> I'm thinking maybe Marples but honestly have no clue.

I've been slowly building my Sorby mortise chisel collection. Definately
spendy, but worth it. Great chisel. My next endeavor is to start on the
Sorby paring chisel collection. For the rough stuff, I have the Stanley
arsenal.
SH

OK Hitch, how about a list of Made in USA chisel manufactures.

Erik


"Hitch" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> Unless you live in China, or until the Chinese pay living wages and
provide
> safe working places for their employees, and have stringently-enforced,
> strong environmental rules, please don't buy Chinese (or any other slave-
> wage country's) products if you can avoid it. The U.S. has lost at least
> three million manufacturing jobs since 1998, and a major portion have been
> lost to slave-wage countries. China's production costs are so cheap that
> even Mexico is losing jobs to them! A good way to stop the slide of wages
> and jobs in this country is to buy at home first.
>
> Thanks.
>

"Brandon" <[email protected]> writes:

> Well, it's time to upgrade the cheap chisels I started out with and I'm
> looking for some advice. I've gotten pretty good at sharpening and taking
> care of mine, but I want some that are decent and will hold an edge longer
> than 5 minutes. Whats are the best chisels for the money on the market?
> I'm thinking maybe Marples but honestly have no clue.


I found chinese chisels made from HSS to be of excellent quality: The
can be sharpened to usual standard very easily and being very hard but
not noticeably brittle hold the edge well, at very low cost also.
Description:
http://www.dick-gmbh.com/shop/prodausgtabfs.asp?index=ChineseChisels

--
Dr. Juergen Hannappel http://lisa2.physik.uni-bonn.de/~hannappe
mailto:[email protected] Phone: +49 228 73 2447 FAX ... 7869
Physikalisches Institut der Uni Bonn Nussallee 12, D-53115 Bonn, Germany
CERN: Phone: +412276 76461 Fax: ..77930 Bat. 892-R-A13 CH-1211 Geneve 23