# Help! Need some advice



## Deanoside (Feb 26, 2018)

I'm in the market for A new set of bench chisles and Am wanting some suggestions from you guys on what is good for your money without breaking the bank


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## CWS (Feb 26, 2018)

No help here. My bank is always broken.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Brink (Feb 26, 2018)

Look at Narex, Stanley Fat Max or Stanley 750

Reactions: Like 1


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## Steve Smith (Feb 27, 2018)

I bought a set of the blue handled Marples chisels and they do me just fine for general work. They aren't made of any fancy steel so they need to be sharpened more often, but the value is quite good.

I also have a few specialty chisels from Blue Spruce and some Japanese dovetail chisels (mid grade) I bought specifically for dovetail work.

https://woodbarter.com/threads/blue-spruce-chisels.23153/

Reactions: Informative 1


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## Nature Man (Feb 27, 2018)

Narex are on my want list. I've only heard good things about them. Chuck

Reactions: Like 1


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## woodtickgreg (Feb 28, 2018)

I have also heard good things about 2 cherries brand. And I agree, for daily beaters nothing wrong with the marbles chiseled, learn to sharpen and they will serve the budget wood worker just fine.
I'm constantly searching the flea markets for a good set of socket chisels.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Joe Williams (Mar 1, 2018)

Deanoside said:


> I'm in the market for A new set of bench chisles and Am wanting some suggestions from you guys on what is good for your money without breaking the bank



I am by far an expert but I do use chisels a lot for dovetails, general mortises etc. The vintage Stanley 750's are great, they aren't dirt cheap anymore and ebay or other large sites seem to think they are the best tools in existence but if you can get them for 20 dollars or less a chisel I think you have a great chisel. 

Here is what I feel is the most important advice that I wish I knew when I started and before I bought a set of chisels:

1. You need a few chisels.
2. You need the sizes you didn't think you needed.
3. Get the kind that sell so you can sell what you buy mistakenly! 

So you don't need 12 chisels yet, maybe someday you will, in several years of using chisels there are a lot I haven't used in my sets. Think hard about what you will be doing and then get a chisel or two in sizes you can use. I use pretty much 3/8, 5/8 and 3/4 and 7/8 almost exclusively. 
For inlay I sometimes use the 1/8 and 1/4 but not very often because those are large for most stringing I do. The point is you aren't needing 10 chisels but you may really use 3 a lot.

On the selling point, I have learned that the 55.00 Lie Nielsen Chisel which is a good chisel, not the absolute finest but certainly a damn nice tool will actually sell for more than I paid for it on ebay. I do not know why, I just know that a Lie-Nielsen tool will always be worth at least what I paid even if it's used. I can buy them and never have to worry that I am stuck with a mistaken purchase. When I bought my first set of chisels I bought every Chisel Lie-Nielsen made. All the bench, all the mortise (at the time they had no skew, corner etc) and I even bought their leather tool rolls. After a year I found I hated the tool rolls, I never used most of the chisels and I found that the one I thought I would use the least I used a ton, which was the silly 1/10 mortise - This is because it's important for wood planes which I had no idea I would be making.
I sold all the extras on ebay and even the tool rolls for more than I paid, I found that my favorite tool roll of like a dozen I tried was the cheaper Blue Spruce canvas version, they are perfect for me.

Some tools like Blue Spruce chisels which are my dead set favorite actually sell for more because they often take a while to get, I understand that and I haven't sold any of them even though I have many I won't need because I didn't know better. Last thing I guess I would mention is you may think about getting a chisel that has a thin profile, Blue Spruce has 1/8" steel on their dovetail and paring and it's useful for getting into spaces sometimes. I haven't seen a lot with that thin a profile out there. 

Hope I haven't made things worse for you!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Deanoside (Mar 3, 2018)

Thanks guys I Decided to go with the narex set . AFTER looking at multiple sets I decided close would be best for me.
I will definitely let you guys know how I like Them


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## Deanoside (Mar 5, 2018)

Joe Williams said:


> I am by far an expert but I do use chisels a lot for dovetails, general mortises etc. The vintage Stanley 750's are great, they aren't dirt cheap anymore and ebay or other large sites seem to think they are the best tools in existence but if you can get them for 20 dollars or less a chisel I think you have a great chisel.
> 
> Here is what I feel is the most important advice that I wish I knew when I started and before I bought a set of chisels:
> 
> ...

Reactions: EyeCandy! 1 | Way Cool 1


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## woodtickgreg (Mar 7, 2018)

That's a very nice looking set. What did it cost?


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## Deanoside (Mar 13, 2018)

woodtickgreg said:


> That's a very nice looking set. What did it cost?


$84 w/ free shipping from Amazon prime

Reactions: Like 1


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## woodtickgreg (Mar 13, 2018)

I hear they are pretty nice, but need to be sharpened a couple of times before you get to the good material and then they really hold an edge. It doesn't make sense to me but that's what I read somewhere.


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## kweinert (Mar 13, 2018)

I know that without any work done on them, if you've set them in a tub because you're making a new cabinet to hold them and then you rummage through the tub looking for something else they're still sharp enough to draw blood.

And I know it's pretty much sacrilege to have them in a tub like that but I hadn't worked on them yet so I figured they still needed sharpening, and it wouldn't be that long, and, and, and. And the result was a band aid on my finger to stop the bleeding. 

Interesting, though, that my mortise chisels came with the dark handle and the others came with a light handle. Must not be as significant as I thought it was.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Funny 1


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