Thread: Butt Chisels - Need some opinions

Hi Jason,

I bought a set of the Woodriver butt chisels which can be seen here: Buy WoodRiver 4 Piece Butt Chisel Set at Woodcraft

They came in a handy wooden box in 1/4" 1/2" 3/4" and 1". They are reasonably comfortable to hold and with the flat on top of the handle are designed to be struck with a mallet. They take a decent edge and seem quite robust. Backs need flattening (of course) and I found mine to be hollow ground, rather like a Japanese chisel.

I liked these because they had wooden handles rather like my Veritas planes. They were to be my "beaters". They are inexpensive and I feel they are very good value.

Jason - the couple of Ashley Iles chisels I have are excellent tools, so if they maintain quality like that across their range, they should be a good bet.

The Wood River chisels look a bit thick along the edge, which is not a problem in most situations, but would be a consideration if you plan to use them for dovetailing or other jobs requiring it to fit into <90 degree corners.

Two Cherries are made of good steel, but they insist on polishing them, and duffing the backs. This makes them a right PITA to re-flatten & make useful. Unpolished chisels are available, so if you decide on TC, look for unpolished versions.

Why do sellers continue to peddle the nonsense that they are called "butt chisels" because carpenters use them for installing butt hinges? They may well be used for that purpose, though personaally, I prefer to use a paring chisel. I'm sure just as many regular chisels are used for the job, and butt chisels have a myriad of uses apart from cutting hinge recesses. The name surely comes from the simple fact that so many, like my own, were the butts of once normal-length chisels.....

Cheers,

Hi Ian I agree with the name, try explaining to an ignorant wife that I now want butt chisels.... Apart from the fact I have so many bench chisels (Which she understands and relates to ie "bench") the term Butt doesnt quite sit well with her!!

And yes, I would go with the unpolished 2 cherries, the rolling of the edges is extremely bad. Very difficult to find in the butt version, all appear to be polished.

Lee Valley appears to be my new saving bank, with many a deposit being sent, not much interest though!! and that is why I question their butt chisel range.

Hi Jason,

I bought a set of the Woodriver butt chisels which can be seen here: Buy WoodRiver 4 Piece Butt Chisel Set at Woodcraft

T4M, will check out, Jim Davey sells these as well, great price for the set and handles!!

Originally Posted by JasonBF

Hi Ian I agree with the name, try explaining to an ignorant wife that I now want butt chisels.... Apart from the fact I have so many bench chisels (Which she understands and relates to ie "bench") the term Butt doesnt quite sit well with her!!

Lucky you are not after a breast drill then!

Originally Posted by Groggy

Lucky you are not after a breast drill then!

Or a Beaver Screw Tensioner

i always felt like butt chisels were a rip off (money) because i always associated them with being a new version of worn out old chisels, basically paying for a chisel butt only getting half

butt then i often used them for installing butt hinges (still do if i have one on hand), the length and balance is very good for that job where you just want a quick and shallow chop, so if i had the choice of both a regular and butt chisel i would choose the later (for that job only), the square sides are good for that job too. i've done countless hinges of course butt just as many or probably more using regular bevel edge chisels (they are more general purpose and suit wider variety of situations), otherwise known as carpenters chisels, contractors chisels, bench chisels and so on.. butt chisels are good though because they fit in your nail bag easy or they fit into your back pocket easy, which coincidently is right on your butt



cheers
chippy

Originally Posted by JasonBF

Hi Jason,

I bought a set of the Woodriver butt chisels which can be seen here: Buy WoodRiver 4 Piece Butt Chisel Set at Woodcraft

T4M, will check out, Jim Davey sells these as well, great price for the set and handles!!

I got mine off Jim Davey, butt the delivery was extremely slow and I had to chase him up a couple of times about them. Other items bought off Jim were delivered lightning fast, so this was peculiar?

If I could get over the plastic handles, I think the Veritas chisels would be durable, flat and worth the money (butt I can't). The Two Cherries stuff I've bought has been fine. I think maybe the polished blades got a bad rep from someone and the "myth" has snowballed?

Originally Posted by Tools4Me

The Two Cherries stuff I've bought has been fine. I think maybe the polished blades got a bad rep from someone and the "myth" has snowballed?

'Tain't no myth as far as I'm concerned, T4M. I've bought several TCs over the years & each was the same. The polishing leaves rouned edges all along the back of the chisels, and it's not just a whisker, they are good & rounded. This means you cannot get a straight sharp edge right across the chisel. It takes ages to lap the damn things back to properly square corners (they are made of decent steel!). That, plus the very thick shoulders of their bevels have not endeared me to TC, I'm afraid, but each to his own...

Cheers,

The full size Lee Valley ones are quite good so I imagine the Butt version is the same...only um shorter. The plastic handles haven't got the classic appeal of wooden ones but are comfortable.

I'm going to try this post again.....for the 3rd time, this time on the PC though not the phone....

Getting into the corner of dovetails was mentioned above, and i just thought i would share an idea that i have used for some time. Buy an extra 3/4" chisel and grind it to a 60deg point with a bevel on each side (like a skew but symmetrical) Getting into the corners of both through and blind dovetails is a breeze and it makes a great marking knife too. Sure makes a normal chisel look pretty safe though.

I have a set of chisels that are over polished, the one and only good thing is that you don't cut up you fingers with the sides while using them. Otherwise its just a PITA

Jason - I've got a set of the Ashley Iles bench chisels, which I really like. I have a set of both the Narex bench and mortise chisels (moment of weakness). I really like the Ashley Iles chisels - much more than the Narex. The Narex mortise chisels are HUGE - much bigger than I expected. I don't use them much - most likely they will be reserved for building-scale joinery, not cabinetmaking.

If I was to buy some right now, I'd look at the new Harold and Saxon chisel range, or perhaps the new Veritas PM-V11 bench chisels. The latter have some kind of new steel that is meant to be the duck's nuts.

Trav

Thanks Trav, Ueee, Sam & Ian
As for the new LV Steel, I have a low angle Jack plane coming with the new PM v11 steel blade (Fathers Day Present) so i can test how good it is (Hopefully soon)!!

I have many bench chisels (debating on whether to sell some at present) so the need for another set would be wasted. However as I noted above I have a series 90 Stanley Butt chisel, excellent weight and feel in "MY' hands (Its all about the feel). I have a tendency to pick that up first when doing small work (Not dovetailing). This is the reason for considering a set of butt chisels. I do like the recommendation that T4M made on the Woodriver chisels (inexpensive and wooden handled). Only problem with these and the LV version is that I cannot pick up and try them. But for the Price on the WR's who cares.

I have since enquired about the two cherries which they do not have an "unpoilished" version on their butt chisels (only Bench) supposedly

I even tried some Japanese butt chisels at he Sydney Wood show, and whilst they are nice to use, they were all a little long in the handle.

The closest chisel I have found to the 90 series, is Carbatec's japanese split resistant butt chisel (Yellow handle). They appear to resemble the Lee Valley Version (Handle shape slightly different). The LV Version is much cheaper then CT even with postage. It's seems its down to the LV's or WR's.

Hey Jason, have you checked out the Blue Spruce range? I haven't seen them in person but they look to be very well made: www.bluesprucetoolworks.com - Butt Chisels Probably in the same league as the H&S chisels?