Best used chisels to buy?

[weum817]

What are some good chisels to be on the lookout for on eBay? I have a few new pfeil chisels , one stanley socket chisel, and one old buck bros.
Any suggestions on do or don't buy.. I'm not much on plastic handles so they are already on my don't buy list.
Thanks, William

 

[Onojutta]

What specifically are you looking for? Chisels for inletting, gouges for relief carving, etc.

For inletting chisels, look no further than Muzzleloader Builder Supply. They sell some nice basic steel chisels that are great for inletting and very affordable.

For more "technical" chisels such as gouges, veniers, etc. its hard to say what is a good used tool and what isn't without looking at it. Most of what you might find in the used category at auctions, sales, etc. might not even be labeled with a manufacturer. A real quick and general way to assess the quality of a chisel is to look at the wood handle. Chances are if cheap tool steel was used, a cheap handle followed. On the other hand, if good quality steel was used, the handle probably wasn't skimped on. The quality of the handle can be a lot easier to gauge by the untrained eye than the quality of the steel.

Above all else, just remember that the expression "you get what you pay for" has no greater meaning than in the context of tools.

 

[ZUG]

Some of the used chisel prices on Ebay are higher than you would pay at some of the woodworking suppliers so be careful on what you buy from Ebay. That said you can look for older chisels made in England, Austria, Germany and America. I have a set of GunLine chisels that my dad bought me in the mid 60's made by Stubai that are well made - not as high polished as other makers but good steel non the less. If you want new made than Pfeil, Two Cherries, Henry Taylor, Dastra, Ashley Isles, just to name a few.

 

[44-henry]

I have a variety of Swiss and other European antique chisels and gouges that I have picked up over the years. A couple days ago I was looking in an antique store and found a dandy little 1/4 chisel that really felt good in my hand. Looked it up and it was the precursor to the Everlast chisels made by Stanley. I would like a few more of this type, but they are rather expensive on Ebay.

 

[weum817]

Are the new stanley 750 sweetheart chisels good?

 

[44-henry]

I haven't any experience with those, though generally I am not impressed with any Stanley woodworking tools that have been produced in the last 40 years. Pretty much when power tools became affordable enough for woodworkers to purchase for their home shops the market and demand for high quality hand tools started to decline which led to companies producing sub quality tools. I suppose it might also have been a point when the engineers involved in the design were no longer users of these tools themselves.

As far as straight chisels go I do most of my work with 1/8, 1/4, and 3/8 or 1/2". Some folks like the bigger chisels for certain operations, but for me the smaller sizes have always worked best. If you look around a bit you can find good deals on older, better quality tools an even if they are in bad shape they can generally be brought up to function at a level better than new. If you want to purchase new check out Lee Valley, or Woodcraft. These companies carry premium lines of hand tools, but you will pay a premium for them. If there is a Woodcraft store near your location it might not be a bad idea to make a visit and see (and even try out which sometimes they will let you do) the tool before you buy.

 

[Vaino]

Perhaps I was just plain lucky ....bought 2 sets {6 chisels each} of my most used chisels and paid $6 for one set and $10 for the other. The sets are different in widths. Of course this was in 1978 and prices were lower...but the higher priced European chisels were 2 to 3 times higher in price than the domestic chisels I bought.

The above mentioned "cheap" chisels sharpen keenly and hold their edges even when used on very hard maple.

I have some high priced European gouges only because I can't find some suitable domestic made gouges. My large flat chisels were bought from the local hardware sore in 1978 and have performed well.

Also have made some specialized chisels from 02 oil hardening drill rod.

A couple of small chisels were mad from hardened concrete nails.

When inlaying, I use a re-sharpened Xacto blades for outlining the inlay. Some use the "stab in" method which requires more specially contoured chisels.

For wire inlay work I made straight and curved chisels from dull hacksaw blades.

Don't really know if it's possible nowadays to accumulate any cheap chisels that really do the job as I did....Fred

 

[Artificer]

When my Grandpa passed, I got all his and his Father's Hand Tools for woodworking. Great Grandpa was a Rough Carpenter in the late 19th century and Grandpa was initially trained as a Finish Carpenter before he moved into being a machinist. So outside of one or two chisels that were stamped with my Great Grandfather's custom hand stamp, I am not sure what belonged to whom.

OK, now that the background is out of the way; I can say from experience that antique/collector James Swan Chisels were uniformly excellent and most Buck Brothers chisels are pretty darn good as well. I am referring to various kinds of flat chisels, mortising chisels and gouges. You usually can't find them in sets unless you are willing to pay BIG BUCKS, but the individual chisels often show up at Flea Markets, Antique Stores, Yard Sales, etc.

Gus

 

[Artificer]

Sorry, forgot to mention UK made period chisels.

J.B. Addis & Sons, Henry Taylor, and Robert Sorby were the best known and most highly regarded U.K. chisel makers from that time period as well. I have a couple of Addis chisels and one or two Sorby chisels and they are also truly excellent. Again, try antique stores, flea markets, yard sales for them.

Gus

Edited to add: I might suggest you take a list of these Chisel Manufacturers' Names with you when you go to flea markets or antiquing.

 

[Crewdawg445]

Depends on what you need them for... Bought a nice set from a retired builder for a decent price and I've got more variations and choices than a Swiss army knife.

Personally, I've found the most useful are the ones I've made myself. Ever think of trying your hand at making a few? Very easy to do and allows the creativity to make something specifically tailored to your needs.

 

[weum817]

Do you just forge them? or grind them down from other things?

 

[weum817]

1978 was a good year, I was born 1978.

 

[19 16 6]

To be very general & as a working carpenter, I have found that if the manufacturer put his name on the chisel it is good.
I Have & use all the names already mentioned & can throw in some more.
E.A Berg. Eskil Tuna. Even though they have a plastic handle. - Sweden
Herring Bro's - England
Moulson Bro's - England
Ward - Scotland
Titan - Australia
Pexto - USA
Mathieson - Scotland
C.E Jennings -USA
Tuck - USA
Crown - England
Any old bi metal Japanese Nomi chisels are top of the heap.

These chisels are mostly all old, over 50 & in some cases like the Wards & Mathiesons, over 150 years. My Pfiel's are new, but I do not care for most new chisels that are affordable. There are good ones out there but new price will be three times as much as an old one of equal quality.
The bang for buck is why I go with old Name branded chisels.
O.

 

[ZUG]

To be very general & as a working carpenter, I have found that if the manufacturer put his name on the chisel it is good.
I Have & use all the names already mentioned & can throw in some more.
E.A Berg. Eskil Tuna. Even though they have a plastic handle. - Sweden
Herring Bro's - England
Moulson Bro's - England
Ward - Scotland
Titan - Australia
Pexto - USA
Mathieson - Scotland
C.E Jennings -USA
Tuck - USA
Crown - England
Any old bi metal Japanese Nomi chisels are top of the heap.

These chisels are mostly all old, over 50 & in some cases like the Wards & Mathiesons, over 150 years. My Pfiel's are new, but I do not care for most new chisels that are affordable. There are good ones out there but new price will be three times as much as an old one of equal quality.
The bang for buck is why I go with old Name branded chisels.
O.

Very good info 19166 - I will make a copy of this and keep it handy - one never knows when one will run into an older chisel of a different known brand name.

 

[Elnathan]

Wetherby is another good name that hasn't been mentioned yet.

Most of mine are Henry Taylors

 

[ZUG]

I like Henry Taylor chisels most of my larger chisels & gouges (3/4"+) are Henry Taylor. The ones under that size are Pfeil & various european brand chisels. I've not tried any of the Jap stuff but they say they are very good.

 

[Cpl. Ashencheeks]

I have about 23 Addis & Sons chisels of different types and sizes.

They only get used for very special occasions and I never drive them with any kind of mall, period! I just don't do it.

If I have need to drive any kind of chisel that needs a secondary tool to drive it, I will use a cheap resin handled set for that.

These are too rare and there is historic and artistic value to them. Still they do very fine work and most of the time they are a pleasure to work with.

I have never had to sharpen them. They have remained sharp enough since the late 1990s when I bought them to do most any fine carving and large wood removal just by body driving the tool, as long as the wood is properly dry.

I protect the edges of each tool by keeping cork over them and they are stored in a special sliding drawer cabinet.

I will use them only on wood I feel I can trust, so they do not get used too often.

Please excuse my amount of enthusiasm for my ownership of chisels like this, but I consider these to be one of the finest set of tools I own.

I am not an expert in these kind tools, but I know something good when I see it, and these are in every sense of the word very good chisels.

I will be very hard pressed to ever part with them unless they are handed down to a family member.

If you find some of these or other fine English chisels with handles in good to excellent condition, snatch them up for the best price you can find or afford.

Still have cheaper chisels also, they can do most of the hard work for most any task.