Customer Reviews

Irwin M444SB6N Blue Chip Bevel Edge Woodworking Chisel Set, 6-Piece (Box set)

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

 

 

The Marples Blue Chip was one of the best intermdiate level user chisels available for many years. I had a few doubts when I ordered this set, that the quality had survived the purchase of the line by Irwin.

After a quick bit of sharpening, to be sure the edge was sharp, I cut a few mortises with the 1/2-inch one. After cutting six mortises I accidentally cut myself with it. It was still sharp enough that the cut looked, felt, and bled, like one from a razor blade.

In conclusion, the only reason they don't earn a fifth star is that the blades are covered with a clear coating, which was a pain to remove so I could hone the backs. If I tried to hone the backs without removing it first it clogged up my stones. I know that the majority of users probably won't hone the back before they sharpen them, so for most people it won't be an issue.

If you are familiar with the old Marples line of chisels, you know they were very good serviceable edge-tools. This Irwin-brand line is basically the same. Like ALL new chisels, these require some honing and preparations before use.

features;
Instead of using chrome-vanadium, they wisely chose to retain the high-carbon tool steel. That means these chisels have fine grain structure in the steel, so they will take a fine edge. The socket design is VERY robust. These require more initial work to get them sharp, but once they are sharp, they perform very well. I like the soft handle too.

Two complaints I hear about these:
One, they will rust. True.
Two, the plastic coating is hard to remove from new chisels. Not if you know how!

It is a GOOD sign that these will rust! Why? Because that indicates they are made from real tool-steel, not that gummy chrome-vanadium stuff we see in home-stores.

Chrome helps keeps steel from rusting, just like in stainless steel, but it does not promote very sharp edges or edge-retention.

The plastic coating is there to protect the steel from rust during shipment, and as others here have noted, you have to get that OFF before you hone the chisels or else it will make a mess out of whatever sharpening abrasive you use.

No problem!
You can easily remove that plastic with a heat gun. Just point the heat gun at the plastic and keep it moving. The plastic curls up and scrapes off easily. You want to keep the heat gun on a low setting and keep the nozzle moving so you don't affect the steel's hardness. Don't worry. That's not likely to happen with a heat gun unless you hold it in place on the high-setting for 30 seconds or more. You can keep a bucket of ice water handy to cool the tool, just as you would if you were grinding. The combination of heat then rapid cooling makes that plastic film wrinkle and disintegrate so it comes off in seconds! A regular hair dryer also works. It is safer, but takes longer.

Also, i have used my old belt-sander to remove that plastic. It's easy and fast, but you have to know what your doing, so I don't recommend that unless you have some experience.

To protect against rust, wipe them down with camellia oil, then store them in the box with a camphor block or some camphor spirits. Even in my portable tool-box (that stays in a cold garage) this simple cheap treatment (about every six-months) keeps all my tools rust-free. My dad did the same things and his tools were perfect, even those that were over a hundred years old.

So, bottom line: these are a great beginners set at a reasonable price. The steel is good, will take a fine edge and you can take care of it easily & cheaply.

Irwin bought out Marples many years ago. For awhile, IRWIN kept the Marples Sheffield factory going and the chisels were then became known as "Irwin Marples." NO LONGER. Irwin has shut down all tool works in the UK and all its chisels are made in CHINA, using Chinese steel (your recycled dog food cans). If the tool does not say on the face: Made in Sheffield UK, then its Chinese made, Chinese steel.

FOR many years, the true Sheffield made, Sheffield steel Marples were known as a value in low end wood working chisels. They fairly easy to sharpen, took a good very good edge and the backs could be nicely flattened. They did not stay sharp tremendously long, but when sharp, they worked well. We strongly recommended them in our college woodworking program.

If you are looking for a set of bangers to notch out studs, fine. If you are a beginning woodworker, the cheap Chinese metal in these chisels will FRUSTRATE you to no end. You will work hard to sharpen, only to have the edge fold over on you when cutting out dovetails in maple. There are still some good value chisels out there: look for Footprint chisels, still made in Sheffield, as well as Narex from the Czech republic.

I have used this chisel set for more than a year now for a variety of tasks and woods. I have cut/timmed mortise & tenon joints in mahogany, dovetail joints in rosewood and maple, general trim/fitting of joints with poplar and plywoods, and removal of baseboard molding. In all my uses so far, I have found these tools to be fine for my needs.

I am fairly new to woodworking as a hobby and wanted to by a decent, but not expense set of chisels. I am very pleased with my choice.

The handles have held up pretty well, although use of a standard 13 oz. hammer and really beating on the chisel during baseboard removal has caused a bit of damage. Otherwise, the handles remain tight/in good condition and the blades hold their edge reasonably well.

I use the Worksharp 3000 to sharpen these chisels and it isn't difficult to get the edges get nicely sharp. When cutting dovetail joints in very hard wood (rosewood in my experience), the blades need to be resharpened after only a few pins or tails, but I found that I could work for a couple of hours in maple, poplar or mahogany before resharpening.

Like any chisel, the backs need to be flattened before the first sharpening and they definitely need to be sharpened before their first use. I like the appearance of the blue handles, the fit of their shape in my hand and that since the handles are not round they do not tend to roll off the bench easily.

While there are certainly nicer chisels on the market that will take a keener edge or hold that edge longer, you can buy this set of chisels for what a single one of those other chisels cost. Compared to the standard chisels sold by the big home improvement stores, these chisels take a much sharper edge and hold it much longer. This is exactly the choice I was trying to make.

I agree with other reviewers, the plastic coat is annoying when lapping the back, but I suspect the plastic coat is there for a reason. Once removed, the blades corrode rather quickly compared to my other hand tools like plane blades, carving or lathe tools. Even with a light coat of oil on them, the sharpened tools get pitting on the portions of the blade where the plastic coat has been removed.

They do hold an edge fairly well, and I've had no problems with the handle cracking.

I agree with the last reviewer, honing the back was a pain with the clear coat they put on, but once they are sharp they hold an edge.

Another comment, they give you a 1 1/4" NOT a 5/8"

The chisels aren't as good as I'd hoped, but they aren't as bad as I feared, given the price point that they are selling them at. They aren't "premium" chisels, by any means, but they seem to be solid.

I spent several hours today, flattening the backs and honing the bevels. The steel is sufficiently hard that it should hold an edge pretty well, but you are going to have to work at getting a good edge. That's one of the reasons these chisels are so cheap, The grinding done at the factory is probably the bare minimum that they think they can get away with. None of my chisels were sharp out of the box and all of them required flattening of the back, 3 of them required significant work to flatten. Same with the bevels, in that 3 of them required much more work than the other 3, to achieve proper bevel that was square. I have a Worksharp 3000, Work Sharp WS3000 Wood Tool Sharpener, so I didn't mind the extra work on the bevels, but I flatten the backs by hand on DMT diamond stones. Without the Worksharp, I think I'd have returned them because of the very poor sharpening job done at the factory. I had to spend about 3 hours on the DMT extra coarse/coarse stone to get the chisel backs to a point where I could use a higher grit. That is a lot of stoning..... Hopefully, the chisels will prove to be good performers after I do the final finish sharpening and get to using them on something other than test pieces.

If you're willing to put in a lot of work to get the chisels sharp, then you'll probably like this set.

Duh! I'd forgotten a very useful technique tip for this type of tune up to flatten chisel flats and plane soles. A machinist scraper, Value ORS12850M 6"flat General Machinist Scraper is designed to remove material much better and faster than using stones. It only costs $4, but would save a TON of stoning on these chisels. I bought one of these scrapers when I learned this tip and stuck it in my tool box. I'll dig it out tomorrow and see how it works on the chisels that I have yet to finish up and take off the high spots that are left.

Delivery time was great
Great condition when recieved
put in nice wooden, dovetail-jointed box
6 stellar chissels
great buy in my opinion

The display box was even better looking than in the picture. My husband loved the quality of the chisels. I was an excellent choice. Thanks!

As described.
Needed several hours of sharpening on the work sharp. Still not done as I need to order more paper, They were really off on angel and quite rough. Not unexpected though.
Solid wood box not padded as in the photo, again not unexpected.