Good beginner chisels?

mkepke

Mark
Senior User
I like the Irwin Blue Chips. I have been making high end furniture for 40 years and still have my first set. You should be able to get a set of 4 for about $55.
Marples Blue Chip and Footprint brand used to be the go-to for high schools and trade schools decades ago. Marples was bought out by Irwin in the mid-1990s and the Blue Chips are now produced in China - I have heard they are not as good. The old Marples Blue Chip were produced in Sheffield England - "a city on the move" (lets see who gets the reference).

I have my old Marples Blue Chips too.

-Mark
 

Chris C

Chris
Senior User
What I would consider decent vintage chisels are unbelievable hard to find in the wild..... At least to my experience.
 

Mike Davis

Mike
Corporate Member
I’ve been hearing great things about Andrew Kimmons, a new startup maker.
some claim his chisels are the best ever made, at about $100 each I hope so.
I’m saving my lunch money.
 

iclark

Ivan
User
How does one know if old chisels are any good? I have a pile of them and no clue.
If it is tool steel and the end is blue, the temper has been drawn and it is not good until the heat treatment is re-done. That is something that most of us want to mess with on an unidentified type of steel.
Otherwise, sharpen it, mount an oak or other hard and low-silica wood in a vise and take thin shaving across that end grain. The more inches that you can shave, the better the chisel (and your sharpening).
 

iclark

Ivan
User
To the OP, the WorkZone chisels from Aldi's are surprisingly good user chisels. Not the best steel in the world, but decent. Also, inexpensive for a 4-chisel set.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
Been comparing my older Sheffield Marples with the one new Narex Richter 1/2 inch I bought. Both can be super sharp, but it is true, the Richter is much tougher. Very expensive, but it is cheaper to buy ONCE. I bought one for a test, and now will be buying several more. I have a pile of chisels that were my grandfathers. Again, I can get them all sharp, but none hold up like the Richter. Another place of value, they come with the back flat and polished. A quick strop and you are cutting. Cheaper chisels, even good steel, can take hours to get ready.

Modern technology can beat "vintage'. A lot of nostalgia about old tools, but I look at them as tools to use.
 

chris_goris

Chris
Senior User
Spend the money on quality, not quantity and buy them as you need them. I would start with a 1/2" or 3/8" chisel because you can use it for wider work as well.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
Spend the money on quality, not quantity and buy them as you need them. I would start with a 1/2" or 3/8" chisel because you can use it for wider work as well.
Yup. I use my 1/2 the most, so that is the one I bought. Practicing dovetails, I'll be buying the 3/8 and 1/4 next. Might consider regrinding my smaller Marples into a skew. Larger ones will become carpentry tools or where I need to hammer through a knot.

I have a 12 piece Freud carving set I bought years ago. I think I have used two of them. I could have bought two good ones for far less that did not take hours and hours to make ready to use.
 

kooshball

David
Corporate Member

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