Reply To: Chisels
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[quote quote=11515]I have a couple of Lie Nielsen chisels I really like them, they can do just about everything you would want, but I find it hard to justify the price.[/quote]
On a lark, I bought one 3/8″ chisel the year before last, and I must admit it is a superlative chisel. How would I justify the price? Here are my opinions:
1) The grinding is extremely precise, so no flattening is needed. I’ve spent a large amount of time (and experienced some frustration) flattening new and vintage chisels in the past, so I have to say I was impressed and relieved.
2) Polishing the chisel back was also fast because the chisel was already so flat and smoothed to 400 grit. Unlike other chisels, Milling marks are a non-issue.
3) The steel is noticeably thicker than many others, which makes them sturdier for chopping.
4) The carefully ground side bevels have very,very small flats (lands) on either side, which are consistently thin from the edge to the shoulder. This makes them great for dovetail work. The lands on many other chisels (including the original Stanley 720 and 750 chisels) get thicker toward the shoulder. As you grind away the LN chisel edge during its lifetime, you will never end up with chisel with thick side lands. I’ve seen too many stubby vintage chisels that were rendered useless for dovetailing.
5) The A2 steel holds up very very well under use. I was really impressed with how much longer the edge seemed to be usable over my vintage Buck Bros chisels. I’ve read that A2 does not get as sharp as O1, but I have not had any problems with sharpness.
6) If you take care of any LN product, you (or your children, or grandchildren) can probably sell it for 85% of the original purchase price. This does not alleviate the initial cash outlay, but does provide some piece of mind.
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The only downside I can think of is that the handles can come loose during use. This is easily remedied with some hair spray, or an occasional tap on the bench.