Comments on: That’s a Funny Looking Chisel – Viewer Question

By: steven

steven — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:35:47 +0000

i have robert sorby chisels and tend to like the longer blades and handels, did you find that it took time to get use to the shorter blade lengths

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:54:40 +0000

A true paring chisel is actually somewhat convex on the flat side. This allows you better control so the chisel doesn’t dig into the wood. But this kind of paring chisel is hard to find these days. Most of mine were made around the turn of the 19th century–back when all professional woodworkers still used hand tools. You can usually find the old chisels cheap at any flea market. And if they haven’t been sharpened down too far, will still cut with the best of the modern chisels. Plus you can often find them in odd sizes. In my shop I routinely use 1/8″ and even 1/16″ chisels.

By: Jim Jones

Jim Jones — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:54:15 +0000

From what I’ve read and seen in chisel sharpening videos (Norton’s for example), the extremely flat portion is only required near the cutting edge so you can get the truly flat and sharp edge. The rest of the back just needs to be pretty flat. I guess that is mainly needed if you are paring.

By: thewoodwhisperer

thewoodwhisperer — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:30:39 +0000

I also have a set of inexpensive Marples that really do the trick. They have several sets on Amazon.com and I have one set in our store: http://thewoodwhisperer.com/store/amazon-store/

But its not the same exact set I have now. Not sure if they use the same steel these days.

By: thewoodwhisperer

thewoodwhisperer — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:28:26 +0000

Only if you are paring something very skinny or very close to an edge. But for 99% of paring operations, it works just fine.

By: Marc

Marc — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:26:55 +0000

I have a set of 5, from 6mm to 42mm. They are awesome but they sure are expensive!

By: Germain

Germain — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:24:00 +0000

Grizzly recently released a line of nice chisels. They have been reviewed quite favorably and they are fairly inexpensive, compared to the higher-end brands.

I have a Woodriver set and they’re OK for starter chisels. But if I had to do it again, I think I’d buy the Grizzly chisels.

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:33:42 +0000

Japanese chisels can vary wildly in price depending on who made them. Some of them are actually affordable while others seem to be intended to have a shrine built for them and spend their days being worshipped. :->

Google “Japan Woodworker” and have them send you a catalog. They carry the widest range of Japanese chisels and their catalog is full of information about them.

By: Dean

Dean — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:43:17 +0000

I’ve always admired Japanese Chisels. Here’s a short 4 minute commentary on Japanese Chisels. I’ve read a lot about them on the web, and how they’re made, and the different types, but it would be nice to find a comprehensive document on these chisels.

http://woodtreks.com/an-introd.....hisels/74/

By: Larry Dufault

Larry Dufault — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:30:38 +0000

Wow!! Those are some REALLY expensive chisels. I have no doubt that they are worth it though.
Hey Marc, Can you recomend a decent set of chisels that the average guy can afford?