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+-- Thread: GreenLee chisels (/showthread.php?tid=7245433)
GreenLee chisels - SDB777 - 03-17-2016
Curious as to whether or not the GreenLee older chisels are worth bothering with?
I keep seeing them posted on fleaBay but I've never handled one. And there pricing doesn't seem 'unfair'.
Do they hold an edge?
Is the metal 'good', meaning does the heat treating work with the chisel or against it?
Anyone have one? Willing to share your thoughts???
Scott (always need another chisel) B
Re: GreenLee chisels - Boatman53 - 03-17-2016
I have several in the rehab box. Socket style with green plastic handles that will be wooden ones when I'm done.
Jim
Re: GreenLee chisels - Tony Z - 03-17-2016
Boatman53 said:
I have several in the rehab box. Socket style with green plastic handles that will be wooden ones when I'm done.
Jim
I got a set of four of the green plastic handled ones. Seem nearly identical to Marples/Record blue handled, Sheffield made. Mine were as new, except the 3/4" that had a badly mangled user grind on it. Steel is good in them and I'll leave the green plastic be, as I have plenty of wood handled chisels and the green adds a bit of color to the shop!
Re: GreenLee chisels - Slav Jelesijevich - 03-17-2016
Greenlee made quality chisels, might not have the appeal of Stanley or Berg, you can't go wrong.
Slav
Re: GreenLee chisels - Timberwolf - 03-17-2016
What Slav said....They made first class tools....
Now whether or not the steel has been annealed by turning it blue when grinding, well that's another question. Many vintage tools get a bad rap because a previous owner unknowingly {or accidentally} "de-tempered" them...Fortunately, if you have a propane torch and a container of oil, you can re-harden and re-temper them, providing they were good quality to begin with...{most vintage American made tools were good quality} Plenty of info out there on Youtube to show you how to do it..
Re: GreenLee chisels - Mike Brady - 03-17-2016
I agree with Slav. Mine are good chisels (got some of mine from him). They were made in Rockford, IL, just up the road.
Re: GreenLee chisels - Bibliophile 13 - 03-17-2016
I've got one, and it's every bit as good as my other vintage chisels. I use it all the time.
Re: GreenLee chisels - Admiral - 03-17-2016
Quality stuff; if they are cheap its because they are underappreciated, and generally vintage chisels are hard sells nowadays, unless you have the "names" everybody likes. Don't hesitate, if I saw a set on a market table reasonably priced they would be in my bag in a nanosecond.
Edit: I just checked the recent listings on ebay, and they are getting pretty good prices, actually.... so I stand corrected.
Re: GreenLee chisels - SDB777 - 03-17-2016
Timberwolf said:
What Slav said....They made first class tools....
Now whether or not the steel has been annealed by turning it blue when grinding, well that's another question. Many vintage tools get a bad rap because a previous owner unknowingly {or accidentally} "de-tempered" them...Fortunately, if you have a propane torch and a container of oil, you can re-harden and re-temper them, providing they were good quality to begin with...{most vintage American made tools were good quality} Plenty of info out there on Youtube to show you how to do it..
Certain types of steel require different kinds of heat treating to keep them from being overly brittle, or just soft...
I know how to do 1095 steel, but that is about it....
Scott (thanks everyone) B
Re: GreenLee chisels - wmickley - 03-18-2016
I have a pair of Greenlee chisels that i have been using for about 50 years. My grandfather bought them in 1930. They are tang chisels and have a logo with Greenlee on a straight ribbon with an oval background with Rockford Il. The only steel I have used that is finer is 19th century English.
The tangs are very fine, which is nice for changing a handle. I put longer handles on as they have been used quite a bit.
Around 1980, with the hand tool renaissance, Greenlee started marketing chisels again, but they were not manufacturing them. So if a chisel looks like it was made in Sheffield, it probably was the same as some contemporary English manufacture.