Narex Bevel Edge Chisel Set with Wooden Handles, Set of 4 pcs

After using this set of chisels for two years, here are some comments. Great blades. They were pretty sharp when they arrived. The backs were flat. They sharpened nicely and kept the edge for a reasonable bit of work. The beveled edges are good--enough bevel for getting into most corners, but not so extreme as to make the long edges uncomfortable for fingers. Nice handles. Flat spots prevent rolling. Well seated on the chisel tang. The hardwood handles have a good shape in my hand. Heck they just feel good. The handles have not deformed from impact but note that I use an appropriate mallet when needed, never a hammer. Handles show little wear after two years. They are stored in a leather chisel roll when not in use. Metric sizes are fine. The set is 6 mm, 12 mm, 20 mm and 26 mm. That's virtually the same as 1/4", 1/2", 3/4" and 1-1/16". The only oddball is the largest chisel but 25 mm is just a hair less than 1 inch. When you reach for a wide chisel, it's usually fine if it's just a sliver extra wide. These Czech chisels are excellent. Don't believe me? Check Woodcraft. If you can't afford Lie-Nielsen, Narex is their next-best chisel. Also recommended by Matt Estlea and Rob Cosman. I have other Narex chisels, too, and they've all been great. For about $10 per chisel this is a very nice set that would make a welcome gift for any woodworker. Birthday? Fathers' Day? Christmas? Graduation? Retirement? Any time? They will last a lifetime. Just think twice before stuffing sharp chisels in a Christmas stocking. Consider a chisel roll at the same time to protect these four and a few more. These chisels are about 11 inches long so a roll that is 12 to 13 inches tall will work well. I like the flexibility of suede leather and use this roll: Faithfull Leather Chisel Roll - 8 Pocket . Anyway, it's easy (and a pleasure) to rate these Narex chisels at five stars.

Having been a skilled amateur woodworker off and on for over sixty years, I've owned more than a few chisels. Marples were my standard - traditional English made with fine steel and beautiful beech wood handles. For years I had two complete sets - flat sided mortice chisels and bevel sided paring chisels. In inflation adjusted terms, each Marples I chisel I bought in 1970 cost nearly three times as much as this Narex Czech Steel four piece. More to the point, my new Narex are every bit as good to sharpen, handle, and cut, as any Marple or Sthalitz or Three Cherries chisel I ever owned. I do all by edges on DMT diamonds down to extra-fine, then shave the top of my left forearm to prove. The Narex started out square and sharp, took a final edge quickly, and honed on the strop ready to split hairs. Next test was cleaning hardened Titebond drips off glued edge joints on a 15"x20" white oak flat piece. The Narex chisels seemed not to notice the glue; when done with that ate the hard, tough, splintery white oak in effortless translucent petals of an exotic oak flower. The extended blade length of these chisels was essential to shave flat across a 4" outer plank to reach the entire length of the glue joint. After that I squared out several deep mortices with rounded ends left from routing - again in mean tough white oak. Then I did some touch-up paring to slice the thinest of curls from a few stubborn high spots which had been out of reach with a plane. Not yet any need to return to the sharpening station. Now, to be fair, for under $20 I bought a set of chisels in the same size range which also took a shaving edge. But getting there was more time on my diamonds, starting with uneven flats and bevels ground in a factory halfway around the world from Narex. The less expensive set looks more crudely made - important in an essentially esthetic endeavor - and lacks the extra reach provided by the Narex long blades. Today, with ubiquitous router joinery, I rarely chop with mallet on chisel so I probably won't challenge the modest dimensions of the Narex crown band. My old Marples had fordged rings at least twice as thick. But no matter when the chisel's role is to trim and refine, accurately and effortlessly. I think this set will for years to come.

The edges were varying degrees of sharp, but they were all out of square relative to the bottom face, again to varying degrees. The bottom faces were fortunately all at or very, very near dead flat, so it didn't take too long to redo the primary angle and bevel to straighten things out. Edge retention is excellent once sharpened. Cut quality is excellent. Structurally they're great, no issues with them falling apart or breaking.

Nice set. Stays sharper better than cheaper ones.