# chisels these days are absolute crap, what are the best brands?



## aus_chippie (Sep 8, 2011)

Are there any decent chisels on the market now that don't bend in half when straightening decking boards? My boss agrees that chisels nowadays are soft and I should be looking for some old ones at local markets that the retired guys give away or sell. What brand do you guys use, by the way I'm talking about general use chisels that need to be stronger.. I already have a set of chisels for light work


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## Kent Whitten (Mar 24, 2006)

I use Marples


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## Jackpine Savage (Dec 27, 2010)

KentWhitten said:


> I use Marples


Isn't Marples owned by Irwin now? That couldn't be good in the long run.


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## Kent Whitten (Mar 24, 2006)

Jackpine Savage said:


> Isn't Marples owned by Irwin now? That couldn't be good in the long run.


Looks like it. He was asking for general use, that's what I have for general use.

Otherwise...

http://www.japanwoodworker.com/dept.asp?dept_id=12758&s=JapanWoodworker


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## Kent Whitten (Mar 24, 2006)

Of course I am partial though to Lie-Nielsen out of Maine. Nice woodworking tools all around

http://www.lie-nielsen.com/


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## Jackpine Savage (Dec 27, 2010)

What size chisel are we talking here? For general purpose I use an 1 1/2" chisel, either Stanley or Irwin. By general purpose, I mean it kicks around my tool box and is used a scraper, pry bar, etc. Rarely put an edge on it. I actually have never bent or broke one.


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## Cole82 (Nov 22, 2008)

Chiesels are for chiseling wood, pry bars are for prying wood.

Use the right tool for the right job.

Cole


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## Rich D. (Oct 14, 2011)

Anytime I buy a chisel I take it straight to the bench grinder and do what is called a hollow ground.. the grinder has to be set to the correct angle. 

Do this veryyyyyy slowly so you don't build up heat. Cool it in water after every pass. Then go over to your diamond blocks and hand sharpen. 

The whole point is to reduce the surface contact on the diamond block so it faster to sharpen. The chisels come out super Sharp and stay that way longer. When it comes time to sharpen its easier and faster. This method takes time and practice. Just make sure your chisel is made from a high quality steel.


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## Rich D. (Oct 14, 2011)

The reason why there bending is because there not meant to be used as a pry bar..


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## TBFGhost (Oct 9, 2008)

Chisels do not come with the proper edge on them. You need to hone them.


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## Mike- (Aug 20, 2011)

Try a pry bar!!!

Or get better materials. Lol


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## Tom Struble (Mar 2, 2007)

i dont have any chisels that actually chisel wood


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## SAW.co (Jan 2, 2011)

I buy the Stanley chisels they don't bend but they do dull fairly quick.
but for only about $12 bucks I tos um & buy a new one.

If you need to pry deck boards get the bow wrench.
www.bowwrench.com


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## katoman (Apr 26, 2009)

Woodcraft have a large selection.

http://www.woodcraft.com/Category/1002076/Bench-Chisels.aspx


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## KillerToiletSpider (May 27, 2007)

Tom Struble said:


> i dont have any chisels that actually chisel wood



Neither do I.


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 17, 2008)

i carry a beater set of husky chisels for grunt work like scraping gunk off of things and taking chunks of wood out when framing. their cheap and do what there intended to do

for finish work i use the lee valley chisels and the new style irwins.. believe it or not my irwin chisels actually hold a edge much better than the marples i have


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

Cole82 said:


> Chiesels are for chiseling wood, pry bars are for prying wood.
> Cole


All my tools are muli taskers:whistling check my sig. line:blink:


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## stonecutter (May 13, 2010)

KentWhitten said:


> Looks like it. He was asking for general use, that's what I have for general use.
> 
> Otherwise...
> 
> http://www.japanwoodworker.com/dept.asp?dept_id=12758&s=JapanWoodworker


This link is great.


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## Tom Struble (Mar 2, 2007)

i thought lone said you lost your marples Kent?:blink:


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## RS Sam (Feb 9, 2009)

aus_chippie said:


> Are there any decent chisels on the market now that don't bend in half when straightening decking boards?


The "chisel" you need can be seen here www.contractortalk.com/reviews/bear-claw-scraper-bar-vaughan I wrote this review and do not hesitate to recommend vaughn bars in various sizes for every carpenter. I even sharpen my vaughn scraper/pry bar so that I can occasionally use it as a chisel.

Otherwise,seriously good chisels for woodworking would be the Matsumura Blue Steel chisels, available from Japan Woodworker (see Kent's link above) or Lie Neilsen Chisels - made in Maine.


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## chewy (May 23, 2010)

I use Bahco chisels, they are alot better than Irwin Marples as far as holding and edge goes and they come with plastic sheathes that clip onto your toolbelt and stop them cutting up your bags. I carry the Bahco chisel knife on my belt as a beater and a 3/4 inch/19mm for finer work.

Sounds like you may be better with a scraper bar, its about 8 inches long and doesnt weigh alot. I sharpen the end of mine on the bench grinder. They do not flex at all.


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## loneframer (Feb 13, 2009)

I have a coupe sets of Marples that are decent all around chisels.

Been planning on trying some from Footprint. Not sure if any are still made in Sheffield England though.

http://www.footprint-tools.co.uk/Products/woodworking-chisels-products.htm#1

My first set of Marples were made in England if I recall. The post Irwins are not.


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## moorewarner (May 29, 2009)

RS Sam said:


> The "chisel" you need can be seen here www.contractortalk.com/reviews/bear-claw-scraper-bar-vaughan I wrote this review and do not hesitate to recommend vaughn bars in various sizes for every carpenter. I even sharpen my vaughn scraper/pry bar so that I can occasionally use it as a chisel.



I suspect this is exactly what the Op is looking for. :thumbsup:


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## WarriorWithWood (Jun 30, 2007)

Has anyone used the Stanley Sweetheart line? They look like a very nice chisel and I'm wondering how they hold an edge.
http://woodworker.com/fullpres.asp?PARTNUM=160-358&LARGEVIEW=ON


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## VinylHanger (Jul 14, 2011)

The chisel I use for prying and breaking out aluminum windows is the old black handled Stanley. I have beaten on it as hard as I can and the only damage was from a new waffle faced framer. It chipped the handle. I use a smooth face with it and I still beat it to death. And pry with it as well.

When the "new" yellow clear handles came out, they broke first time out.


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 17, 2008)

i tried one of those vaughn cats paws years ago, didnt like it i since switched to the "restorers cats paw" that lee valley sells, it a cats paw on one end and has a flat bar without a nail slot on the other. its 12" long so you can get better leverage on it and also can be used as a splitting chisel or scraper. best part is the quality of the steel. other shops around here sell similar bars but they cost more and hte steel is much more brittle


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## greg24k (May 19, 2007)

Why you using a chisel? Chisel is not a board straightener.


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## SuperiorHIP (Aug 15, 2010)

All of new chisels seem to work really well to cut through some unseen nail. I stopped buying chisels and invested in a grinding wheel and set of sharpening stones.


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