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I've decided that I need to make some upgrades to my Chisels... The set I have holds a decent edge, but the inconsistency in the shape of the chisel makes keeping them sharp a major pain in the behind.

This is what I"m using now. I wish I had seen this review before I made the purchase.
http://www.sawdustandshavings.com/hand_ ... review.asp

I'm looking to piece together individual chisels that better suit my needs (I almost never use two of these chisels).

I'm looking for some opinions. What do you like? and why?

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Jim Hansen

I have an ancient set of Marples with the blue plastic handles.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I have these things. One of them says "Samson" the other I can't read. They're old, I got them off eBay for $20 bucks each. I sharpened them when I got them, and haven't had to sharpen them again since. I've split and carved braces for at least 3 entire guitars with them so far and they'e still super sharp. I've also done lots of other chiseling things for guitar repairs.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

2 cherries

Have those. Don't like them. Poor metal, always sharpening them.
Waiting money for those... (Lie Nielson)

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Francis Richer, Montréal
Les Guitares F&M Guitars

I'm sure Todd Stock will be along here any time now....

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

These are my shop chisels.
I really like the ones on the left.
As git-wisp says, they really get sharp and stay sharp.
The marples were $22 at Costco, and aren't bad.

Yea, I posted this in the wrong forum. I petitioned to have it moved.

I'm interested to see what he has to contribute. =)

I was drooling over those LN's hat Ti-Roux linked the other day. I like the shape, and the fact that they are avaialble in O-1 and A-2.
http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?sku=O-1-C#

does anyone own one of these that can comment on the quality of the milling? are the sides parallel and back smooth (no milling marks)?

Also, any comments on which steel is more suitable to guitar building (brace carving, inletting braces, cleaning up joints, etc...). The O-1 or A-2? LN makes these available in either version. I would think the O-1, which LN claims is better suited to lower angles, would probably be ideal, but I'm interested in comments. I keep all of my chisels at 25 degrees.

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Jim Hansen

I don't know about those chisels, Jim.
My favorite for carving braces is the 1/2" Buck.
The 3/4" Stanley, and Bartlett seem to really plow through the wood,
Whereas the Marples don't do as well,
even when equally as sharp.
Weird, huh?
The Buck and Bartlett I scored at a swap for $10 each.
I think the longer ones are more ergonomic for brace carving.

My primary interest is in being able to maintain an extremely sharp edge at a low angle (preferably without having to hit the strop/stone too often).

For brace shaving I'm looking to get fine/thin shavings at as many angles as possible (working in a go-bar deck), using as little pressure as possible. I tend to pre-shape my braces as much as possible, so I'm not hogging a lot of material off with the chisels (and these two cherries are pretty good at that if I do).

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Jim Hansen

Cumpiano told me I should get vintage chisels with long handle, sharpened at a shallow angle, I keep mine at 25 degrees, no micro bevel. This allows me to get very fine curls off the brace stock, with very ine control over how much material I move. The metal on these is typically much higher grade than you can get nowadays, without spending a hundred bucks on a chisel. I'm not adverse to doing that if you like, but there's PLENTY of old chisels on Ebay for cheap, that are just as good, just a little uglier. When I'm done with schooling I'm going to upgrade my entire shop. I'm thinking of becoming a mechanical engineer, or going into the health industry.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

Good post !

25 degrees is what I have on mine now, and I use about 28 degree microbevel, mainly because it makes refining the edge a ton easier.

I've thought about shopping for chisels on ebay. I should set up some searches. I guess I've avoided it because I wasn't sure what I was looking for, and I have no way to know the quality/hardness of the metal. I guess if get them cheap enough, it's probably worth the risk to try a few.

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Jim Hansen

My narrower one says "Samson" on it, and the other one says "orvel............e.. Diamond Edge" in a diamond shaped logo, with "DE" in the middle of the diamond, with an arrow going through it. I wish I knew what the heck it was, I'd look for more of them on the Bay. So I think if you got Samson vintage chisels you'd be okay. The long handles allow me to get the shallowest angle for the finest cut. I'm sure some of these guys can reccomend other vintage brands, I hear the Stanley 750's don't hold their edge, but the other Stanley model is super.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

I did some research my chisel is a "Norvell Shapleigh Diamond Edge" chisel.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

Thank you!

You need a new "Word of the Day". May I suggest Shapleigh? :p

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Jim Hansen

Show off

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"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

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Old Marples with wood handles
Old Marples Blue Chip with plastic handles
Ashley Iles - one of my favorites)
Footprint with red plastic handle (the beater)
Henry Taylor with skewed blade - another favorite
Japanese with offset blade - another favorite, found at a flea market for $25

Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

I knew Todd was an old chisler !

Not trying to steal thread here but I do have a question .... Looking at the micro chisels on stewmac .... any experience ? ..... any good ? ...... worth the money ?

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The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

I have an LN set and love them but rarely use them all. If I was allowed a "do over" I would get a few Narex chisels at Lee Valley, Garret Wade or Highland and invest in better Single Malt.

http://www.finewoodworking.com/ToolGuide/ToolGuidePDF.aspx?id=31061

Funny, your beater is my most used chisel. I have the same 1" Footprint that I find the most comfortable, it gets used the most and doesn't seem to need sharpening very often.

I see Lee Valley has the newly re introduced Stanley Sweethearts. http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.a ... at=1,41504

Anyone heard any reports. They are priced well.

Thats a nice looking set of chisels , I wish they were still made usa though . The set for $219.00 doesnt seem out of line .

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The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

Sockets!
Duh older, better!
Personal choice ~ any of the Swedish Eskilstuna makers...EA Berg, Jernbolaget, Esteel harder and harder to find.

Plastic handles

The Eskistuna are on the right. The rest are all carving chisels.





Padmas suggestion to the amateur builders, $20 will go a long way at a pawn shop when it comes to buying a few chisels. Try and go for sockets and stay away from the plastic. Put your money into tone wood, not steel.
Now if you took the early retirement buy out package and gotts money to burn well then buy what thou wilt.

blessings
Padma

Ps...learn how to properly sharpen the suckers too! You'll be amazed at how a well sharpened cheapo will perform.

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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Padma ..... me come up and dig through your chisel pile and me bring $20.00 tooo !!

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

No.

Although you are most welcome to visit "Padmapa House"

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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I had really inconsistent luck with flea market chisels.. Some are amazing... Others turn out to have been jettisoned by someone because they had been ruined by abuse and would no longer take an edge.....

For the OP with the Twin cherries "Special" with unpolished irons.... Those are some high quality chisels.. The "Special" ones were frequently requested by hard core woodworkers - as the "Standard" ones turned out to have over-polished, wavy, rounded backs.... and you couldn't get a real nice, true cut... By no means do you have to hone the backs till all the tool marks are gone... Only just enough to get the back good and flat...

If you are having trouble with them staying sharp, I would revisit your sharpening technique... Sometimes going to a *Slightly* higher angle will give you an edge that stays sharp for a whole lot longer... especially when you are working harder, more abrasive woods....

Next thing... Before you buy.... Decide specifically what you want and buy the *ONE* chisel you need to do the job.... For example - brace carving... Needs a really fine edge, and a very long blade... I have best luck with a moderately wide blade... Because of the super fine edge for cutting shavings in spruce - a high quality Carbon steel long blade "Patternmaker's chisel" does real well here.... For cleaning up binding routs and inlay in hard back and sides woods - you can use one made out of one of the newer high tech tool steels like A2 or D2 - they are more abrasion resistant and hold up longer in very hard, abrasive woods..... but you can't sharpen them at as fine of an angle - like say 30-35* vs 20-25* you would use for spruce/cedar

This is why many builders end up with a big hodge podge of chisels...