Looking for chisels for my son

[adamcherubini]

Does anybody know if the Narex chisels, which are marked with inch sizes, are really metric or not? I REALLY don't like metric chisels. If you got a digital caliper would the 3/8" chisel measure .39"?

[hbmcc]

Aldi? Good luck finding them.

Narex? Be careful you get the size you want; Metric vs. Imperial. You use Narex. Mine, like PM-v's are better as hand detailers. 

Japanese Laminated Oire Nomi? They're my go-to for pounding. They are more a butt chisel but easier for me to control.

That said, the longtime predecessor to Lee Valley's $75 yellow bellies is my favorite beater. I think Admiral's and Adam's Stanley #60 suggestions are the winner all round.

[hbmcc]

Does anybody know if the Narex chisels, which are marked with inch sizes, are really metric or not?  I REALLY don't like metric chisels. If you got a digital caliper would the 3/8" chisel measure .39"?

Rob Lee smacked me when I said his were probably metric. No, they are Imperial. Mine were from Highland and Metric. Narex may market Imperial universally, but for awhile only Lee Valley had them.

[AHill]

Narex really can't be beat for the price. They do come in multiple flavors, though. Their "classic" bench chisels can be purchased in either metric or imperial sizes. Lee Valley sells both. There are premium "Richter" Narex chisels as well, which have better steel. The classic chisels are easy to sharpen, hold a decent edge, and they don't cost a fortune. A classic 1/2" chisel is $13.50. A Richter 1/2" chisel is $34.50. The former is the one that most reviews cite as a best buy.

The Lee Valley plastic handled chisels are a good value, but the lands are so high they aren't suitable for getting into corners of dovetails when chopping and trimming out the waste.

Here's a link to the Classic Narex chisels:
https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/too...ge-chisels

There's also a set of 4 Narex Imperial chisels on Amazon. Hornbeam handles and not the hooped style that Lee Valley sells. Good value.
https://www.amazon.com/Narex-Imperial-Ca...B0113MD334

Narex are getting hard to find. LV still have stock but not in every size they sell. A set of 4 will probably suffice for 90% of whatever you need to do with a bench chisel. For finer work, 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", and 3/4". If more carpentry, 1/4", 1/2", 3/4", and 1".

[Phil S.]

Chris -

I have a set of 6 blue handled Marples, 1/4" to 1", I'll give you for postage.  They are marked Sheffield, England, so maybe pre-Irwin.  Sizes are marked both in imperial and metric, but when I put my rule on them they look to measure exactly the imperial measurement. Since I bought that set of Ashley Iles chisels from you on the Christmas auction a few years ago, I haven't used them.  Scuffed a little, but mostly in near new condition.

Phil

[BloomingtonMike]

I would not tuen down the stanley sweetheart chisels and tool roll

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0051PCQ7Y/ref...UTF8&psc=1

[JohnnyEgo]

Really?
Bueller???

No Aldi's recommendations? <grin>

You jest, but I use the hell out of mine. There is a lot to be said for a chisel that won't break your heart if something happens to it.


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My father gave me a cheap set of Craftsman rebrands of Stanley butt chisels with some sort of hard plastic handle in the 1990s. I never thought much of them. They sat rusting in an un-climate controlled balcony closet in Florida in between deployments as a squid. Every now and then I would use them to bash some space into a 2x4. One time I used one to cut off a screw I had stripped half way through a door jamb. I didn't understand them, and I didn't have much respect for them. Mostly kept them because they were a gift from my Dad.

Then, as a grown man, I bought a Worksharp. And for the first time I could sharpen them. I was truly amazed at what a sharp chisel could do. Now I have all sorts of chisels, and I sharpen with stones. But I still carry that rusted, 1" butt chisel in my apron pocket, but it's back is dead flat and it's sharp enough to shave with. So I appreciate it both as a gift and for what it can do. When the time comes, I will probably gift my own son a set of 'cheap' chisels, and teach him to sharpen. If he shows an interest, he will inherit my nicer ones.
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I like the Narex starter set. I like the Lee Valley set Admiral linked to a little better, because I think those synthetic handles will take the abuse and neglect of callow youth a little better. If you were looking for something between the Narex and the fancy Lee Valleys, Two Cherries makes a nice set of six in a leather roll for around $200.