Old Chisels - Best Chisels
Old chisels I’ve saved, re handled and put back to work.
Because society has moved on and has scant regard or interest in the trades, many old and superb tools can be picked up for less than a can of hyped (and disgusting) energy drink.
I'm reminded of this when I have the time visit a car boot sale, flea market or browse eBay. I've picked up chisels without handles and made my own. This approach is not new, chisels used to be sold from new like this and the woodworker would make their own to suit. No lathe needed, octagonal handles feel great in the hand and are easy to make.
eBay has become less easy place to find a bargain chisel, sometimes buying a mixed lot provides a better option. Car boot sales and flea markets still have plenty to offer.
I would never discount a plastic handled chisel. I'm less keen on promoting new plastic handled chisels, but if they're already on the second hand market, why not! They are durable and as well balanced as anything else, as long as I find them comfortable then I have no issue. Blue handled or Orange and Yellow Marples are a safe bet, so too the black handled Stanley's and the Red of Footprint. Here are some of the things I weigh up when looking at secondhand chisels.
Comfort. A completely subjective topic, only you can judge this. I tend to be quite adaptable and not that fussy, you might be more of a Goldilocks. The only thing I keep away from are metal strike caps. These are great for heavy site carpentry, but not so comfy for paring by hand.
Balance is a conundrum I've never solved. A chisel gets shorter with use so balance will evolve over time. Again, a big heavy firmer chisel or metal capped chisel are a bit more top heavy, normal plastic is fine but wood is the natural winner.
The steel should be rust free. A light dusting of rust can be abraded without issue. However, if the rust is severe one the face, it often means you'll have pitting. Trying to remove pitting is a waste of time and resources, abrading away vast amounts of tool steel is not a fun job. For getting started, don't worry about the steel quality, it's a chisel, it'll hold an edge. You can buy fancy later if you want to
Nice bevel edges are good if you can find them. Early Marples blue handled have lovely bevels that terminate a gnat's away from the face. I can work with fatter bevels and early chisels had straight sides anyway. For my work it's mainly the smaller sizes that need to be bevelled, these are the ones I use to clean out angles such as dovetails.
With those points in mind, it's my experience that you can pick up a harlequin set of bench chisels for £10 to £20 pounds, perhaps an extra £10.00 if postage is required. It's also satisfying to put those neglected tools back to work.