Buying a Chisel
When buying chisels, you will usually find a set of 4 or a set of 6. The set of 4 includes the 4 most common sizes listed below and the set of 6 includes the two additional sizes:
- ¼” (6mm)
- ½” (12mm)
- ¾” (18mm)
- 1” (25mm)
and 2 additional sizes
- ⅜” (10mm)
- 1¼” (32mm)
Some chisels come with a plastic handle and some have a wooden handle, this is down to personal preference. If you choose to go for plastic handles, ensure they are made with impact resistant, unbreakable plastic only, not the ones with a rubberised grip. Some come in boxes, leather or cloth wraps, it is not necessary to get these if you already have a place to store them. Places such as Amazon and eBay sell the Faithfull brand and they should cost you between £20-30 for a set of 6, slightly more if they come in a box/wrap. Some are described as bevelled edged butt chisels, these are just a shorter version of the bevel edged chisels and are less balanced in the hand than full-sized chisels.
Here are some things you should look out for when buying chisels:
- Metal capped chisels are made for heavier carpentry work where carpenters generally use steel hammers, some with pyramid patterns forged into the hammer face. This geometric pattern will damage both plastic and wooden handles and so the steel cap was introduced to protect the handle. The combination of steel caps and steel hammers can be noisy and less pleasant to work with.
- Chisels with rubber gripping on the handles have a tendency to disintegrate after even a short time of use and you can end up with messy edges on the rubber grips, making them difficult to work with.
Suggestions:
🇬🇧/🇺🇸We purchased a Set of 6 MHG Chisels in paper box (click on the link and scroll down to find them) for €62.65* (excl. VAT) and in addition the size 2mm and 4mm (both €10.10 (excl. VAT) ) in August 2021. They are also suitable to order from the US. The chisels are great quality and had the ground bevel of the cutting edge fully ground all the way to the edge. Paul often recommends the ‘Aldi Chisels’, however, we cannot recommend these as the stock is seasonal and inconsistent. Paul thinks these are very similar in design and quality to the Aldi chisels he so highly recommends.
We also purchased this Faithfull Bevel Chisel Wooden 6 Piece set from Amazon for £93.96* in November 2017, and found that the ground bevel doesn’t go all the way to a developed cutting edge which resulted in a steep second bevel. The bevels on the Faithful chisels are ground to the correct angle (25°), however they will need some extra abrading work before they can be used, the steep, square secondary bevel needs to be ground to a 30° angle as shown in the picture. This can take up to 15 minutes per wider chisel using abrasive paper (it will be quicker if you have diamond stones). You can read more about Paul’s findings on this set of Faithful chisels here.
Update March 2022
We purchased Werkzeyt chisels from Amazon for £10.45*. The handles were short and small. On the handle the ferrule which binds the wood together is loose. It has an overly thick blade and the bevel does not taper at the sides. In the photo below you can see the Werkzeyt chisel next to the MHG chisel.
*Prices checked October 2022
Further Reading
To read more on chisels, we recommend the following from Paul’s blog:
Questions on Chisels- Japanese, Western?
Buying Good Tools Cheap- Starter Chisels UK
Relevant Guides
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Buying a Chisel
When buying chisels, you will usually find a set of 4 or a set of 6. The set of 4 includes the 4 most common sizes listed below and the set of 6 includes the two additional sizes: and 2 additional sizes Some chisels come with a plastic handle and some have a wooden handle,…
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Setting Up and Sharpening a Chisel
Note: Be careful when sharpening as the tools will become very sharp, always face the blade away from you when sharpening. This guide will show you the process of how to sharpen a chisel using diamond stones and the process of how to sharpen a chisel using abrasive paper. Paul recommends diamond stones, however if…
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Using a Chisel
When chopping paring or splitting, you should ensure the chisel is presented to the wood at the appropriate angle. PARE When you are paring wood you should rely on hand pressure only and use both hands to present the chisel to the wood. With your dominant hand on the handle and the other wrapped around…
Hi Paul and Lizzy,
I finally found a set of Aldi chisels and would like to replace the ferrules like Paul has done. I looked on the blog about them and Paul said he bought brass tube on the internet. Could you please forward the source and diameter/size of tube that will work?
Many Thanks,
stephen
H Stephen,
Paul says any brass ferrules will work, the diameter will depend on the chisels you bought (Paul’s Aldi Chisels are 10 years old and manufacturing production may have changed).
Kind Regards,
Izzy
Thanks Izzy,
Makes sense. I did find ferrules at Workshop Heaven as well in different sizes.
Thanks so much for all of the help,
stephen
I went to the link for MHG Chisels and they have standard MHG chisels and MHG chisels with side bevels ground down to the chisel face https://www.fine-tools.com/mhg.html . Two types sold separately. Which one should I get? Thank you!
Hi Sergey,
Paul recommends the ‘MHG Regular Chisels‘ which are the 4th ones down on this page.
Kind Regards,
Izzy
Hi!
I bought a nice set of chisels but the “3/4” inch one is 20mm and the largest one is 26mm should i buy a 3/4 and a 1 inch or can i make these work?
Hi Jeffrey,
Paul says:
You can make them work because there’s so little difference between the two types and you will always set your gauges to the chisel anyway.
Kind Regards,
Izzy
I clicked on the link to buy a set of MHG chisels. I wanted the standard chisels with the ash handles. I had the 6, 10, 12, 18, and 25mm sizes in my cart. It seems that the company won’t sell to the US if the total bill is less than 100,00 EUR. I realize you can’t control what other companies do. Just letting you know that you can’t buy these chisels if you live in the USA.
I recently came across this listing on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/CPT861000-Firmer-chisels-set/dp/B00CFY1WI8
The description says they are from German supplier Conmetall Meister.
Are these the same as the famous Aldi chisels? They certainly look it. For £10.65 they might be worth a shot…
Paul just bought a set in the last few days. He wasn’t that impressed with them but we will be writing a post on them soon.
I may have found a cheaper alternative to the MHG chisels, manufactured in Poland. They appear largely identical to the MHG chisels and seem to be of good quality, but I can’t directly compare them to the MHG or Aldi/Lidl chisels as I’ve never used those. One thing the photos don’t show is that the blade thickness tapers slightly towards the tip like with traditional chisels.
https://www.solmer.co.uk/hand-tools/hogert-flat-chisel-with-wooden-handle.html
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/153437277614?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ud1WgWjtRom&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=n8_B0tu8S0G&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
They’re ~£3.50 each with £5 shipping or ~£5.50 each on eBay with free shipping.
I looked quite a while for an alternative to the MHG chisels here in the US because after shipping, the price was high for my taste. About three months ago I found a set on Amazon from a brand called Grebstk that had good reviews for the most part, so I bought them as my first chisel set. They looked ok out of the box, the backs weren’t too out of flat and they had mediocre edges. I flattened the backs and honed the edges, but the chisels wouldn’t cut the wood. It was tearing the wood instead of cutting in most cases regardless of how often I sharpened. Just a few days ago, I found a second-hand set of 8 Marples chisels on eBay that I was able to get for $81 USD. The difference is astounding. They appear to have never been used. First cut right out of the shipping package without sharpening, it shaved through hickory like butter. I fought for months with that first set of chisels, sharpening every 5 minutes to no avail. No matter what I did, they wouldn’t make clean cuts. I almost convinced myself that maybe I wasn’t cut out for woodworking. Buyer beware, avoid the Grebstk brand (I’m guessing there are several similar brands out there) and be patient looking for second-hand vintage chisels. They will be your best bet (in the US at least).