Marples chisels: trying again

[Bill_Houghton]

I owned some Marples chisels, purchased new, back in the 1970s.  I found them frustrating: they chipped way too easily.  So I got rid of them.  Today, at a moving sale, I gave in to temptation, and purchased a full set of Marples chisels with boxwood handles, nearly unused although a touch rusty.  We'll see if I have the same issues, or if I'm smarter now and thus better able to use them.

[Timberwolf]

I owned some Marples chisels, purchased new, back in the 1970s.  I found them frustrating: they chipped way too easily.  So I got rid of them.  Today, at a moving sale, I gave in to temptation, and purchased a full set of Marples chisels with boxwood handles, nearly unused although a touch rusty.  We'll see if I have the same issues, or if I'm smarter now and thus better able to use them.

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If they chip, you may want to consider micro beveling them a tad to strengthen the edge..I had a set of the blue handle Marples and ended up rehardening them and tempering them..after that they were fine.....You can find a youtube video on the technique in case you have never done that before.

[Bruce Haugen]

Are they the same ones Fred’s cousin ordered?  They should be good.

[adamcherubini]

I owned some Marples chisels, purchased new, back in the 1970s.  I found them frustrating: they chipped way too easily.  So I got rid of them.  Today, at a moving sale, I gave in to temptation, and purchased a full set of Marples chisels with boxwood handles, nearly unused although a touch rusty.  We'll see if I have the same issues, or if I'm smarter now and thus better able to use them.

Bill, I've gone through a c-change on chisels.  I'll bet you will find them acceptable.  Its amazing what skill and patience can do for a crappy tool. I've been using chisels most woodworkers regard as the worst chisels ever made, the venerable Stanley #60 plastic handled butt chisels. (To be fair, I think those Chinese chisels with a hornbeam like handles sold at that grocery store are the worst. The size and shape of them is just ghastly).

I feel like we didn't understand decarburization back in the day. Or differential/partial heat treating. Maybe some of those FWW tests would have been harder to judge if they started by grinding 1/16" off all the chisels they tested. Or giving each chisel the bevel angle it wanted. I don't recall any discussion of bevel angles. I bevel different chisels differently and different sized chisels differently.

BTW, I don't love the Stanley 60s. Sometimes I'm ok with a short chisel, sometimes I find it clumsy. But I've been able to maintain their edges ok and find the handles acceptable. They've given me good service so far. But I'm not making furniture dovetails with them.

[Bill_Houghton]

I've been using chisels most woodworkers regard as the worst chisels ever made, the venerable Stanley #60 plastic handled butt chisels. 

I guess I'm not most woodworkers (I'd weigh a lot more than I already do if I were all those woodworkers in one body).  Those chisels are my reliable friends for rough work.  The steel on my examples is tough as can be, takes a good edge, and lasts a long, long time.  And being able to hit them with a hammer when hogging out work is a blessing; no need to carry an extra tool on the jobsite.

The shape's probably not ideal for furniture: a tad short.  But they were never made as anything but butt chisels, and shouldn't be asked to be what they're not.

As to the Marples, we'll see how my patience is; certainly not much hope if skill is called for in using them.

[hbmcc]

BTW, I don't love the Stanley 60s. Sometimes I'm ok with a short chisel, sometimes I find it clumsy. But I've been able to maintain their edges ok and find the handles acceptable. They've given me good service so far. But I'm not making furniture dovetails with them.

Funny you mention the shorty Stanley. Mine has spent years waling away on studs, framing nails and such with hardly a touch to the grinding wheel. I was always afraid of grinding through whatever made them so tough. Not to mention using them for a short pry bar on stubborn nails or side nailed work. That plastic takes a beating. Noticed Harbor Freight offers the usual copycat for it too.

I don't have the desire to expand an already voluminous chisel bag. I think the Narex will do for inexpensive abuse. There was never a youthful attachment like Bill's. We have learned to avoid garage and estate sales. They are just as addictive as gambling and drugs.

[Bill_Houghton]

We have learned to avoid garage and estate sales. They are just as addictive as gambling and drugs.

Except you rarely die or contract a major diease from garage and estate sales...

[adamcherubini]

Funny you mention the shorty Stanley. Mine has spent years waling away on studs, framing nails and such with hardly a touch to the grinding wheel. I was always afraid of grinding through whatever made them so tough. Not to mention using them for a short pry bar on stubborn nails or side nailed work. That plastic takes a beating. Noticed Harbor Freight offers the usual copycat for it too.

I don't have the desire to expand an already voluminous chisel bag. I think the Narex will do for inexpensive abuse. There was never a youthful attachment like Bill's. We have learned to avoid garage and estate sales. They are just as addictive as gambling and drugs.

I wonder if we could go back, with what we know now, and try all the tools many of us declared to be worthless junk 20 years ago, if we would reach a different conclusion? I recall bashing Sorby chisels for example. I'd probably like them now.

[Vince]

Except you rarely die or contract a major diease from garage and estate sales...

That's assuming you're up to date on your tetanus shots...

[Tony Z]

...and for every chisel someone loathes, another will rise up loving it! Could it be with practice/use, we've finally figured out how to hold our tongue?

For the record, I've got a huge hoard of chisels, new, vintage and antique. I won't mention the ones I use, but I will mention a few I seem to never reach for: 750's and the various modern copies, original AI (too long for my liking) and Narex.