Thread: Aldi and Narex Chisels

I have had a set of 4 Aldi chisels now for a few months. I bought a set as a present and when I got them home I thought they looked so good, for $13 I better get myself some also. Anyway they are hollow ground and sharpened to 20 degrees. They hold an edge perfectly well. The only drawback is that the sides are too wide to get easily into the base of dovetails. It can be done but you have to be careful. For anything else they are just great.

I also have had sets of Narex chisels- bevel edged and mortise chisels- for a couple of years. They cost a bit more.But I think I paid less than $200 for the two sets of chisels. The sides on the bevel edged chisels are okay for dovetailing. One in seven and one in eight tails are fine. The steel is good. I read that the first bit of the tip is brittle and after that the steel is better and I have found similarly. The first edges I put on them were not great but now the steel holds a fine edge for as long as you could reasonably expect.

It is really a matter of how much you are prepared to spend. If you spend heaps more for LN or something else you will get a better chisel. But it seems to me that if what I make with the tools I have is not up to standard then I am just being an old fool blaming the chisels. It is more likely the tool holding the chisel that is to blame.