Customer Reviews

Boxed Narex Bevel Edge Chisels Set/6

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My neighbor gave me this set of chisels. His sweetie bought him a very expensive set. I have a few chisel's, not a matched set but they belonged to my granddad and are good one's. Nice box, much better than some I've seen. I make boxes so that is the first thing I look at. I like these tools, they have a good feel and heft to them and I like the length of the handle and overall length. Even the 1/4 inch doesn't feel like it will bend or break if you lean into it. Chrome-moly blades are not usually my first choice in cutting tools, but these are reported to be hardened to rc58. Thats pretty good. Now, he said he couldn't get a real good edge on em and they wouldnt hold an edge long. But I've known him a long time and he has trouble sharpening a pencil so I didn't take that to heart. They needed to be flattened and squared, not a big deal, couple minutes on the stationary belt sander and 8" grinder got em ready to be sharpened. I sharpened em up on my 1" belt sander, using Lee Valley's sharpening grits and then lapped them on glass with lapping compound. I am happy to report they take a nice edge, very nice. I've only used the 1/4 and 3/8 chisels so far, cleaned out some dovetails in black mesquite. They both did a real nice job, and I noticed no loss of edge. One small item, they are closer to the metric size than standard. Not a big deal as long as you are aware.

All in all this is a nice set, I didn't have to buy it, but I think I would if I had to do it again. Recommend these to anyone who wants a good, sturdy chisel set.

I had been using cheap Chinese made chisels for the past

few years. For some reason this set caught my eye..Spent

the past couple of hours making a box for a single straight

razor using these chisels..I am very pleased. I was able

to do a side by side comparison with the inexpensive

Harbor Freight chisels... The Narex are a pleasure to use.

Take an edge and hold it. I was working with western maple,

not particularly hard, but quite tough..After sharpening the new chisels, I just started working the wood. Every now

and then I would pick up one of my 'old' chisels to compare.

Both were sharpened exactly the same, but the Narex is

substantially superior...If you want a nice set of chisels

at a very reasonable cost,, buy these...you will like them.

Jim in Gold Bar

Don't let the price fool you. I bought a set of these to keep as the "beater" set because of the price. But I am very surprised at the quality - they keep a very good edge. You'll use this as your "good set." Not great but very good, and certainly worth the price.

I bought this set after reading the other reviews, and I haven't been disappointed.

These are well-made chisels that took minimal time to flatten and hone. I have a set of Japanese bench chisels (from Grizzly) that I use for general work, so I re-ground the bevels to 19 degrees and use these as paring chisels -- long blades, sturdy handles, and razor-sharp. They hold an edge well and cut beautifully.

I like them so much that I bought the remaining sizes individually to complete the set.

This is my first set of what I would consider "real" chisels. I was a little skeptical with the price, but I took the plung. Glad I did. After sharpening this set has lived up to all my expectations. The only complaint I have is with the box the chisels come in. After about three openings the latch broke on the box, so now I have a big rubber band around the box. Not a problem. Overall I am completly satisfied with this purchase.

As a beginning woodworker, I wanted to start off with some sturdy tools that would make learning easier. These chisels are wonderful to work with: the handles fit well into my (small) hand, they arrived perfectly honed and ready to go, and the storage box sturdy as well. No regrets.

I had read many good reviews on the Narex and I was in the market for a chisel set....being wary of reviews that say things like "great tool FOR THE PRICE", I decided to get a Narex and a Lie Nielson chisel and compare them side by side. I acquired the bench chisels in both (one of each) and proceeded to use them both for things they were designed for and things they were not. First of all, you expect the LN chisel to be better and it was...by far. Thr LN = Harder metal, longer blade retention and takes a razor sharp edge. It pared, mortised and carved with great efficiency. Now, the Narex metal did not hold an edge as long, did not take quite as sharp an edge and looked pretty beat up after some mortice work, (but remember, it was not a mortice chisel) Having said that - I found the Narex to do very good dovetail and paring work and did take a very sharp edge. You do have to sharpen them a little more frequently and you can't smack them with a hammer so much, but, how shall I say this - "FOR THE PRICE" - they are very good and I am planning on buying a set! They are very nice to work with and I will use them to do the dirty work and then finish up with my good chisels. For the price and quality of the tool, they are a buy and would do well as an everyday chisel in anyones shop. You can't go wrong with these at the price point they are offered at. They are not junk and are not cheaply made - they are a good tool. You can purchase a set of these for the price of one LN chisel. But I am still getting the LN's :) If you graded the Narex on quality alone they would be a good chisel for most work. When you grade them on their quality AND price - they are pretty much one of the best deals on the market. I don't like and don't buy cheap tools - I believe the pleasure you derive from owning and using fine tools is part of the woodworking experience. Bottom line - I enjoyed the Narex chisel I purchased - and I enjoyed the money it left in my bank account too :)

I saw one other reviewer had similar problems to mine. I've found i can only work for about 5 minutes with these chisels (just cleaning out mortises in soft maple, or even just making mortises for door hinges) before they get ragged on the edge. I'm mystified by all the positive reviews both here and in "Fine Woodworking". I flattened the backs and sharpened the edge to a mirror shine right out of the box, but it gets really old having to resharpen them so often. Maybe i just got a bad set. Very disappointing.

I'm not giving these three stars, despite the problems, since the price I paid for the entire set and case is equal to the cost of one or two expensive chisels.

The bevel along the sides of the shanks is well-angeled for dovetails. Out of the box these seemed to have a pretty good edge, beveled at 35 degrees. When doing dovetails, however, they weren't sharp enough to cut soft maple well, but compressed the middle fibers, resulting in shoddy tails. Fortunately, this is hidden when the joint goes together. I sharpened the entire set on water stones (back and bevel)--starting with 220, finishing with 8000. After cutting another set of dovetails, I noticed the 12 and 16mm chisels were ragged, chipped from cutting poplar. There is some levering involved in dovetails, so perhaps I'm too rough on them, but my guess is it comes from lower quality, coarse-grained steel. IOW, contrary to the description, the steel is brittle. I just resharpened them again and they made it through another set of dovetails without chipping. I'm still undecided.

I use these chisels for general woodworking and rifle stockmaking. I love them. They are easy to sharp and they hold good sharp edge for very long. I use them mostly on claro black walnut and maple. Definetly worth the price. I do have some really expensive chisels and I do not see too much difference. Now I am looking to get a set of hollow chisels from Narex.