The Best Woodworking Chisels
A chisel pares, mortises, and chops. The quality is entirely in the steel and the grind. A sharp chisel in soft hands does better work than a dull chisel in strong ones. These are the sets worth buying and learning to maintain.
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How to Choose
A starter set of four chisels covers most work: 1/4-inch, 1/2-inch, 3/4-inch, and 1-inch. The steel should be high carbon, not stainless -- high carbon takes a sharper edge and is easier to hone. Look for chisels with hooped handles if you plan to strike them with a mallet; unhoped handles can split under repeated blows. Every chisel on this list needs to be sharpened before first use regardless of what the packaging says.
Narex Premium Bench Chisel Set
Narex has been making edge tools in Czechoslovakia since 1919. The Premium bench chisels are made from Cr-Mn steel that takes a fine edge and holds it through a full mortising session. The beech handles are fitted with metal ferrules and hoops for mallet use. Available as a four-piece or six-piece set. The best value in quality chisels available in America today.
The benchmark for chisels under a hundred dollars. Czech steel, honest construction, ready for a lifetime of work.
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Stanley 750 Series Socket Chisels
The Stanley 750 is the chisel that American furniture makers used through most of the 20th century. Socket chisels -- where the handle fits into a socket rather than onto a tang -- are more durable under mallet use and the handle can be replaced easily. The 750 series uses a high-carbon steel that sharpens beautifully. Currently hard to find new but worth buying secondhand.
The American heirloom chisel. If you find a set in good condition, buy it.
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Two Cherries 500-Series Bench Chisels
Made in Solingen, Germany, the cutlery capital of Europe. Two Cherries chisels use hardened chrome steel, the handles are hornbeam with brass ferrules, and the grind is done by hand. They come sharp enough to use immediately, which is unusual. A more expensive chisel but one that represents the German standard for edge tools that has existed for two centuries.
For the woodworker who wants German precision and is willing to pay for handwork.
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Crown Hand Tools 5001 Chisel Set
Crown is one of the last surviving edge tool makers in Sheffield, England, where cutlery and edge tools have been made since the 16th century. The 5001 series chisels are ground from high carbon Sheffield steel with boxwood handles. They require flattening and sharpening before first use, which is the same requirement as every serious chisel. The Sheffield heritage is real.
English Sheffield steel, from the city that defined edge tools for five centuries.
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