Thread: The best brand of chisels

Hello Andreas

Best is a complex question.

Have a look at the following, listed in what I think of as being as the best, measured in terms of type of steel used, as well as fit and finish.

Harold & Saxon

M2 HSS finished to perfection, square, razor sharp out of the box, with a beautiful range of timbers for handles. $130 each - There is however great demand for Harold & Saxon chisels and you can expect a sizable wait for delivery.

Blue Spruce Toolworks.com

A2 A littler easier to sharpen and not as durable as the M2 HSS, Blue Spruce uses stabilized wood for their handles, so they are almost indestructible. Stabilized wood also will not pick up dirt from your hands and will always look new. The fit and finish should be as good as the Harold & Saxon. $110

Lie-Nielsen

Now the LN chisels are not as crave worthy as the above. However, they are a very good chisel for the price. Their size may seem small but are perfect balanced for delicate furniture joinery. My own gripe with these is the handles are small, I would opt for the longer pairing handles Or turn your own. Also the timber used in handles turns a horrible black grey yuck color after a few uses. $55

To be honest, none of the above tools will make you a better maker or compensate for a lack of design skill. They are fine tools in their own right, but nothing more.

Harold and Saxon get my vote, as said above I had to wait nearly 2 years

Originally Posted by China

Harold and Saxon get my vote, as said above I had to wait nearly 2 years

Got to agree I do like the H&S product.

Pick up my bevel edged set from H&S at the Perth TWW show in September has been ordered & paid for some time now which will compliment the H&S Titan set I have.

Cheers

For those that are used to Bunnings yellow handled Stanleys (I have some), then LN or BS or H&S chisels may look pretty good. However, for some the LN, et al are just average/decent chisels.

It depends on what you are used to.

Let's start again. First of all you have to ask "what type of chisel?". There are bench chisels, paring chisels, mortice chisels, dovetail/detail chisels ...

Then you need to ask the price range.... $5 ... $50 .. $100 .. $150 ... $250 .... $500 ... each.

One man's meat is another man's poison: .... Thick, thin, short, long, round, oval, octagonal, wood, plastic, hooped handles. ....

Thick blades, thin blades, narrow /square /thick shoulders.

Better for paring, better for chopping, better for dovetailing ...

Some love their vintage chisels that they bought cheaply and restored ... I have Stanley #750s that I modified and consider fantastic. They did not cost much.

Cheaper Japanese chisels sell for about the same as LNs, which some consider expensive. You have no idea how high Japanese chisels can go! I waited nearly 3 years for my set of Kiyohisa slicks (paring chisels), and I would say that these are just stunning! Better than H&S? About the same price and just as difficult to order (still waiting 3 years + for a couple of H&S to test out).



I've only handled H&S once but my impression was that the steel was excessively thick and the chisels lost "feel". They certainly looked like they would take a beating, and were very pretty... maybe one day I will get a chance to try them out properly?

If you want some light chisels that excel at detail and dovetail work, the Blue Spruce are magic. These are not for hitting, only for pushing (however BS do make some wonderful bench chisels that take a beating). I chose them over the LN because the handles are longer and felt better in my hand. I have sizes 1/8" through 3/4".



Best value-for-money Japanese chisels? Take a look at the Koyamaichi. I have some dovetail chisels that date from 1980, and recently added a few new ones. They will cost about the same as a LN ..



Contact Stu in Japan or Lee Valley.

If you are patient, Lee Valley are coming out with chisels this year (I'm not sure when). They promise to be special (and I am not sure of the price).

Lots and lots of choices. No such thing as "the best chisel".

Regards from Perth

Derek

G'Day

as thumbsucker has said "best" comes down to your personal preferences.

I'm going to talk about Bench Chisels as these get the majority of use in my hands.

I like the look of the Harold and Saxon and had the pleasure of trying one out in anger. Great tool with the added bonus of Australian manufacture. Their waiting lists are reportedly truely epic though. I've read several reports of people waiting up to two years. If you can wait two years and afford the price then you won't find be disappointed.

Blue Spruce are simply fantastic to hold and use. They feel a bit sleeker in the hand than the Harold and Saxon, to my eye they are the best looking chisels out there too. They are also slightly less expensive and have a much shorter wait time. The edge of these chisels holds up well too. I can't really make any objective comparison between H&S and Blue spruce in terms of edge retention, however, they do work well on hard and silicacious timbers. On the balance of what I've heard perhaps not quite as durable as the Harold and Saxon but they are still superb. These are very fine chisels and a full set will eventually make it's way into my shed.

Japanese hand-forged bevel-edged chisels. There are several different makers and they make in different styles intended for different functions and preferences. I didn't grow up with this tradition and have not had the opportunity to develop a full understanding. I do own one high end japanese cabinet makers chisel and find it a pleasure to use. Perhaps as my techniques evolve I may purchase more.

In terms of best value for money. I don't think you can go past the Ashley Iles bevel edged sets. They are not as 'fancy' as those listed above but are incredibly good value for money. The one chisel I bought for comparison purposes feels very nice in the hand and holds an edge better than many in my collection. If I were giving a 'best' in terms of value these would be it.

Others to consider:

Lie Nielsen: I'm not a fan of these chisels. Some like them I didn't make friends with the one I used. The handle was uncomfortable for me and I didn't think the quality of finish justified the price.

Pfiel: Made in Switzerland and more famous for their carving chisels, these bevel-edged bench chisels are fantastic value for money. Woodcraft in the US sell a lot of sets, they are a really good chisel and hold a good edge when working australian timbers.

Two Cherries/Hirch: I tried one and it annoyed me. I don't understand why anyone would polish a chisel as the one I had was polished, which rounded the back. It takes ages to get them flat and I hear this is not an isloated incident. If you can get hold of an "umpolished" set they are reportedly the measure of the Pfiel.

I can't be a lot of help on firmers, they are a bit thin on the ground. I have a set of Japanese Mortise chisels that are just great at their job. However, I've not made a significant survey of the suppliers.

Good lock with your purchase

Horaldic

They sell unpolished two cherries at dieder schimd
Link: TWO CHERRIES Chisels

Think I should buy these instead of the Japanese/lie nielsen ones? They are MUTCH cheaper and if the quality of the chisels are good...? Dont think i can afford the cash or w8ing time for the H&S chisels

Originally Posted by derekcohen

Best value-for-money Japanese chisels? Take a look at the Koyamaichi. I have some dovetail chisels that date from 1980, and recently added a few new ones. They will cost about the same as a LN ..



Contact Stu in Japan or Lee Valley.

I second the Koyamaichi - Stunning chisels.

During my working career, I used a selection of English tools made by Marples, Sorby, Stanley etc. and they served me very well. In my retirement, I have assembled sets of Stanley 720s, 750s (purely for ease of replacing the handles) along with various mortice chisels.

I'm not tight, but I really don't want or need anything 'better' (more expensive). Don't get me wrong, I will consider any tool that offers an advantage in performance or comfort. I have seen images of racks and racks of costly boutique chisels, but what little work I've seen produced by them doesn't convince me they can do anything my chisels can't do.

If showing off a wall full of expensive tools is your thing, then there are seemingly plenty of toolmakers who will gladly relieve you of your money, but if you're content with using attractive tools that are more than adequate, then there's a very large range of new and second hand tools out there for you to explore.

As the idiom goes, "You pays your money and you takes your choice."

As has already been said, if you want H&S be prepared to wait. I am coming up two years now and still waiting.

You may also wish to consider a traditional Mortise chisel such as those made by Ray Isles

The Return of the Old-school Mortiser by Christopher Schwarz

regards

If we're talking a set of chisels I'd order the Ashley Iles over the Hirsch/Two Cherries. If I recall correctly (I'm away from home at the moment) the edge retention is better on them plus they taper more on the bevel. There are several net/phone order places that will post them to you.

This really is a personal preference thing so you may want to just get one from each of your top two suppliers and use them for a month before deciding.

Hi Andreas

Something needs to be emphasised. It has been touched on by several here, myself included, but not spelled out enough.

As mostly hobbiests, woodworking is a fun activity, and a great deal of attention is given to choosing the "right" tools. For some there is a perception that this equates to "status" tools. One man's meat .... For others this means tools that just "do the job". In this case, "best" may refer to value-for-money.

When you boil it all down there are only two types of chisels - sharp enough and dull

There are cheap vintage chisels that take time to collect but are worth the wait. There are newer alternatives that span a very wide price range. None of this tells you what you want to hear, which is, "which is the best brand". In truth, there is no such thing - only many, many opinions.

I assumed that you want to buy well (don't we all!) but I think you need to clarify what you are prepared to spend, what you wish to do with the chisels (e.g. general allround bench chisels or specialised dovetailing/morticing/paring). How many chisels do you need?

Regards from Perth

Derek

Andreas87, just noticed that you are in Norway. I guess that some of the advice tendered here may not be relevant. However, there is some good general suggestions. Whilst there is some very good information on this subject from many proficient woodworkers on The Forum, on this thread and given your location Derek offers some excellent advice.

Andreas

There is much good advice & commentary that has already been provided in the previous posts. I would also suggest that you read some of the many reviews that are available on the net. These reviews comment on brands of chisels and discuss their qualities, which will allow you to decide which of these qualities are more important to you than others, & then source the best brand that suits your needs.

Located as you are next door to Sweden, you may also be well placed to locate A E Berg Chisels which have an excellent reputation, and keenly sought by both users and collectors.

Regards