Can Anyone ID these? Sheffield or Chinese?
- This topic has 10 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 11 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
Hey, I am about to buy these but before I do I would like to be sure these are british steel/made and not the new not-good ones.
I am just about to begin so I have no experience at all, they do seem like being older, so I am hoping that they are indeed good steel, but how can I tell for sure?
Thank you very much in advance 🙂
Personally I wouldn’t buy them at all, they are heavy and require sharpening often not designed for fine work.
Samuel,
Given the condition I’m going with Sheffield 99.98%.
Craig
PS I agree with Salko.I thought as long as the metal was from the old marples chisels the metal would be decent and not need so much sharpening? As for the weight, well, for 30USD for 5 chisels I am willing to get non-ideal ones, just want a good start.
Thanks for the feedback, I might reconsider, would still like seeing some other people’s opinions over these, though.
upto you but my recommendation stand.
Found this link by Paul himself:
https://paulsellers.com/2014/02/many-chisel-choices/
He mentions:
“I once used the older, British-made Record-Marples blue-chip chisels when they first came out in the 1960’s, as well as the two-tone yellow and red models of the same era. I still use them for general carpentry work around the house and in the shop but prefer not to promote them because people confuse them with the current Irwin Marples models that are not UK made. The old models were very robust and stout alternatives to wooden handled models and less expensive on an apprentices wage back then. You can still get secondhand sets and individual chisels on eBay at reasonable prices but don’t be conned by look-alikes sold on eBay as new chisels under the Irwin-Record banner. These sellers use the old model images to sell Irwin’s Asian models. I liked the more squarish handles of these old Record Marples chisels. I think they enable good registration and adjustability and they don’t roll away from me or onto the floor.”
So he seems to approve of it, as long as it is not the new crappy asian ones. So I’m just going to try these if I can confirm they are sheffield-made.
“for general carpentry work” that’s all they’re good for you will not use them for fine work even though you can but they are heavy. When you start making dovetails your fingers will ache you will notice this, when you start chopping you will sharpen more times than you would with a quality chisel resulting in a disruption of work flow. The balance also sucks either way your wasting your money, every beginner looks at the price first without understanding what the tools do and why quality tools cost so much. Always buy the best you can afford never skimp on that.
Look at handsaws you can buy modern day equivalent or an old pre war one many times the modern days saws are cheaper they both cut wood but the handle in a modern day saw is uncomfortable to use. Can cause blisters and will tire you out quickly. There are many factors a saw maker takes into consideration when building a saw it is not just limited to what I mentioned. If I were you I would do some research before jumping into it. Or you can simply pay $30 and find out for yourself.
Hi Sam
I disagree with the advice above. I own a set of the chisels on the lower part of the photo that I bought new in 1989 or so. They are excellent quality and will serve you for a lifetime. The steel is excellent on my set and I use them daily, far more than my expensive Lie Nielsen chisels (the handles constantly fall out of their sockets with every change in humidity,despite hairspray etc). I put them in my tool box when ever I need to go on site, and they hold a great edge. Buy them, you won’t regret it. They will last your whole life (I’ve had mine for over 25 years). These romantic illusions that wood handle chisels are better for everything is baloney. Plastic replaced wood because it is practical and almost indestructible. Although I like wood handles, plastic is just fine if that is all you have. Like Paul says, go for it.I have a set of new Irwin Blue Chip Marples chisels I bought from Menards several years ago, before I knew anything about woodworking, and, I will admit, if no one told me differently I wouldn’t have known there were any better chisels available. For me they hold an edge just fine and are easy to resharpen. But, I’m also a hobbyist and only using them for a couple hours, at most, at a time, so different mileage may vary.
Based on the condition and grind, I would agree that they are older “Splitproof” makes from before IRWIN-Marples. Should be Sheffield steel.
Although I agree with Salko that this is not the end-all in chisels, they may serve you just fine at little risk. Make sure the bottoms of the blades are not bunged up. Perhaps you have access to more pictures. Several of them appear to have decent (side) bevel-edge grinding, which may make those more useful for dovetailing. If they do not work out, I would just place them in your house-hold tool box and treat them as beaters. There is a place for that.
Alternatively, you could pick up a set of four Narex “Classic Bevel-Edge Chisels” for about $45. They have decent steel, and come well recommended as a starter set.
Thank you very much guys.
I ended up buying these chisels and yesterday I have received them. I will in the next days repair them and (try) get them in working order, I’ll send more pictures when that happens with the results 🙂
Att,
Sam
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.