Thread: Marples Ridgway chisels

Near the bottom of this page is some info that gives the mid-seventies as the probable era of manufacture.
Record Hand Planes

Are they any good? Do companies make their best quality products during periods of management changes?

On the other hand......if you only ever hit them with a wooden mallet they are very unlikely to bend or shatter....weather they hold an edge for very long is another thing.

I had a 1" M-R like the ones in your pic. Apart from the fat handle that I hated (& soon remodelled) it was as good as any Marples I ever used. If you got a set like that for 'next to nothing' I think you've done well...
Chees,

They still look brand new which is probably why I was skeptical, I'll go have a better look today if I get a chance. The 2nd hand dealer is asking R180 (AUD19.76) for them, a new set of Irwin Marples goes for R600 (AUD65.88) here in South Africa.

If they're cheap ... get 'em and let *us* know how they are.

If they're no good ... that what ebay is for.

Cheers,
Paul

Take advantage of his ignorance.

So I went back to the pawn shop this weekend to have another look at said chisels. They look pretty decent, and all have Marples Sheffield England etchings on the blade. I was still a little skeptical but thought what the hell, offered the guy R165 (AUD18.00). They all still have their factory edges, from what I can see only one of them was ever used maybe once. The handles suck, they are too fat and uncomfortable but I can probably modify them to suite me better. I haven't tested them out yet as I first want to sharpen them, will then see how long they hold an edge.
Here's a few pics I took of them:

Score!


For that price here, you get 3 plastic handled Chinese chisels.