Chisels

[Alanbach]

In my experience a Japanese chisel would only be touched up on the back and at the tip of the bevel or microbevel. If you are doing a full regrind of the bevel often then Japanese chisels may not be for you.

 

[Alanbach]

[member=13588]Runhard[/member] - Do you have a way to contact Dave at Blue Spruce. I have sent a note through their website but I have not heard anything back.

 

[Runhard]

[member=13588]Runhard[/member] - Do you have a way to contact Dave at Blue Spruce. I have sent a note through their website but I have not heard anything back.

[member=66185]Alanbach[/member] pm sent with email address and phone number.

 

[Knight Woodworks]

I ordered the Blue Spruce round mallet. Is that the one you recommend?

Yes. Been very happy with mine.

John

 

[McNally Family]

I did order a selection of LN chisels and 1 long handle. I later visited Highland Woodworking and handled a couple of Blue Spruce chisels.

My impression is that the LN chisels are excellent general purpose tools. The Blue Spruce chisels feel much smaller and, perhaps, better for finesse work.

I subsequently ordered a few Blue Spruce chisels.

It will be fun trying them back to back although I don’t know if I want to hammer on the Blue Spruce chisels. They are too pretty.

I have purchased the Blue Spruce Bench Chisels primarily because of the wonderful handles.  Dave is certainly an artist with wood.  Mine are all fitted with the African Blackwood, which is very hard.  The steel is A2, which is identical to the LN steel, and I could see an advantage to being able to switch to a longer handle, but I can't get enough of the African Blackwood, which is also available on other Blue Spruce tools,  Including the handle that came with the round mallet I purchased.

 

[ALI Construction]

… but my favorite users are. SWAN socket type, (long and skinny, but surprisingly very strong steel that stays sharp for a while)
for a shorty i'd check E.A.Berg (Swiss made) wonderful steel as well. usually short tang types around, but you may find an odd socket one in a while.

E.A. Berg is (was) a Swedish company & their chisels are of exceptionally high quality. AFAIK they made chisels for some other European brands, like Nooitgedagt in the Netherlands — so you may want to include those in your search parameters.

I did mean sweedish, not swiss, just a typo. my bad.
indeed sweedish steel was popular for its quality, while the town of Eskilstuna seemed to have the best blacksmiths.
only thing is that E.A.Berg didnt make much socket types (they exist, just very rare) and they're mostly on the shorter side of bench chisels, while lately i've bin picking up a few longer socket paring chisels made by Jernbolaget (also Eskilstuna sweeden) arguably same superb steel as Bergs, just more of a style that I like.

and a little cheaper too, as many collectors try to pick up longer Bergs for absurd prices

but seriously, to the OP, consider grabbing a E.A.Berg, just one perhaps to keep it as a beater on your bench, and compare it to your Lie Nielsen's. should cost you no more then 20-25 bucks for 1

 

[ALI Construction]

I’ve looked at the Japanese chisels. I noticed the backs are concave except for maybe 1/2” behind the cutting edge.

After the chisels have been sharpened many times, the concave surface would affect the cutting edge.

What’s the secret?

that's no big deal, Japanese makers slightly hollowed their chisels backs just so it would be easier to flatten, if you sharpen it back far enough towards the hollow, you would just need to flatten it down a bit more, and all is good again.

Imagine a typical Japanese woodworker and their chisels:
they would get up in the morning, grab all their tools (chisels/planes) and touch them up on their water stones before the work day every day, both, back and bevels. just a quick touch up and its good for the day, all sharpening was done by hand, no power grinders. Blacksmiths hollowed backs as a feature just to save some time for sharpenings later, and touching their tools up daily also kept them from going completely dull.
they're also the ones that designed a simple block with a slot cut out, a wire pin stuck thru it across, and a blade with a chip breaker. you adjust the depth and blade position by lightly tapping on the wood body in/out and sides for alignment. then they called it a PULL TYPE PLANE.
simple yet effective, they still produce the finest shavings today.
there's even competitions for the thinnest shavings in japan today

 

[Birdhunter]

Thanks for the explanation on the Japanese chisels. I think I have bought all the chisels I can justify to my wife.

The LN chisels arrive UPS Wednesday and I’ll give them a go and post a report. I have no idea when the Blue Spruce chisels will arrive.

I’ve been “learning” dovetails for the past week or so on scrap. Yesterday, I got the first joint with 2 dovetails to lock into place with the board sides perfectly aligned. I had a tiny gap on one side of a dovetail that I caused when I was adjusting the fit with a rasp.

I’ve been doing woodworking for many years and built some really nice stuff, but this simple dovetail joint was surprisingly pleasing to me.

All this makes me even more appreciate the artistry and skill of the craftsmen who cut multiple flawless dovetailed creations.

 

[yetihunter]

I had no idea that [member=4358]derekcohen[/member] was a registered user on this forum. 
For those not in the know, this man has an epic woodworking hand tool internet presence.  Big fan of the In The Woodshop website, right here.

 

[Birdhunter]

My box of LN chisels arrived today. I only had time to unwrap one before I had to drive to the airport. That one is beautiful! The quality is like that of their planes.... first rate. I can’t wait to use them.

The Blue Spruce chisels are supposed to arrive Wednesday.

 

[derekcohen]

I had no idea that [member=4358]derekcohen[/member] was a registered user on this forum. 
For those not in the know, this man has an epic woodworking hand tool internet presence.  Big fan of the In The Woodshop website, right here.

Thanks YH. You are very kind.

If you are not aware, I have a build in progress on this forum:http://festoolownersgroup.com/member-projects/apothecary-chest/

Some power, mostly hand.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[yetihunter]

I had no idea that [member=4358]derekcohen[/member] was a registered user on this forum. 
For those not in the know, this man has an epic woodworking hand tool internet presence.  Big fan of the In The Woodshop website, right here.

Thanks YH. You are very kind.

If you are not aware, I have a build in progress on this forum:http://festoolownersgroup.com/member-projects/apothecary-chest/

Some power, mostly hand.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Gorgeous work.  Bookmarked. 

 

[Alanbach]

As I predicted six days ago you guys have cost me. My new Blue Spruce Toolworks mallets arrived today and I am stoked!Thanks again to Runhard for the referral and to others here that helped to introduce me to BLue Spruce.

 

[Runhard]

As I predicted six days ago you guys have cost me. My new Blue Spruce Toolworks mallets arrived today and I am stoked!Thanks again to Runhard for the referral and to others here that helped to introduce me to BLue Spruce.

Those look really nice. I’m glad that I was able to be of assistance!

 

[Birdhunter]

Those are beautiful. What are the advantages of the round mallet vs the block mallet?

 

[Alanbach]

Generally I would say finesse vs. brute force. Also I often use a round mallet with chisels that do not have flat ends (with a ring). A round mallet will direct force where your other hand leads the chisel regardless of the precision with which you strike onto the chisel. The larger rectangular mallet will probably be used less and mostly for bigger chopping jobs like larger, deeper mortises, etc.. The larger rectangular mallet also has one mar resistant face to tap things into place with. Lastly, I tend to be somewhat obsessed with things that feel like complete sets to me so there you go.

 

[Alanbach]

I forgot to add that traditionally the round mallet would be considered a carver’s mallet and the larger rectangular mallet with its angled faces would be more of a joiner’s mallet for big chopping and assembly of larger joinery.

 

[Birdhunter]

Thanks for the mallet info. Glad I ordered the round one.

I’ve been using a small hammer with a plastic disk on one side and a brass disk on the other side.

The fancy wood Blue Spruce mallet certainly will “Spruce Up” my workshop.

 

[derekcohen]

It is really personal preference. I find a cabinetmaker's mallet (rectangular) is more direct and may be smaller and lighter for the same force compared to a round, carver-type mallet. I have the Blue Spruce carver's mallet, and it is very nice. I prefer a modified Veritas cabinetmaker's mallet (re-handled and UHMW faces) ...

This is used on non-hooped chisels. For hooped chisels, such as Japanese, I use a gennou ...

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[ryan_k]

As I predicted six days ago you guys have cost me. My new Blue Spruce Toolworks mallets arrived today and I am stoked!Thanks again to Runhard for the referral and to others here that helped to introduce me to BLue Spruce.

Those are gorgeous, what sort of wood is the handle of the square mallet?