Stanley 6-Piece FatMax Thru-Tang Chisel Set Used by Tom Silva

[Toolfest]

I was looking for a set of chisels for general carpentry use. I didn't particularly like what I saw at the big box stores (mostly made in China).

I happened to see an episode of "Ask This Old House" where Tom Silva was using a set of chisels to install a mortise lock. After a time consuming search I was not able to find the exact set Tom Silva used. Tom's had a purple band around them that said Thru-Tang. The picture shown on the Stanley website and Amazon for item 16-971, showed a set whose construction was not thru-tang. After more research I concluded that the 16-971 set is indeed the thru-tang set with the wrong picture.

I ordered them from Amazon for $57.03 and am very pleased. Each chisel is 9" long and are comfortable to hold. They are sharp and like most chisels could use a tuneup. The case is different from Tom Silva's and does not seem very strong. His case has molded plastic elements holding the chisels in place. Whereas the new set has a flimsy plastic insert that is already cracked and pierced by the chisel edges. There are plastic tabs on both sides of the case. They accommodate the removable handle to allow for vertical or horizontal carrying and storage.

One of the main reasons I decided to buy this set was because their description stated they are made in England. Now having received them, the label on the case says "Made in England with Global Components", hopefully the steel is British.

In conclusion, I am very happy with the purchase, you can not go wrong with these chisels for $57.03. They are well made, in England, and look like they will be durable.

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Poor quality picture from "Ask This Old House", showing previous, better case, with black molded plastic holding chisels.

Amazon, set with wrong picture.

 

[justinmcf]

hi toolfest.
these thru tang fatmax chisels are great general purpose chisels.
the thru tang feature certainly stops the vibration issue.
i have stopped using marples chisels onsite as they dont have the thru tang feature.

i dont know if they are made in the uk or china.
to be honest, i dont care.
uk made tools are not what they used to be.
and the chinese made tools these days are getting a lot better. i guess the chinese manufacturers work to their clients specifications.
the clients determine whether or not they want a quality product.
an example of this is apple. designed in california and made in china. very high quality products.

i have also ordered some high quality chisels from harold and saxon tools.
6 heavy duty firmer chisels which are also known as pig stickers!
and 6 x 200mm long blade paring chisels.
unfortunately i cant bring these amazing chisels onsite as they would grow legs and walk out the door very quickly....

regards, justin.

 

[Toolfest]

Hi Justin, its good to hear you like the chisels.

Regarding things being manufactured in China. If possible, I like to support products made in the USA or western countries because they are all losing their manufacturing industries.  As far as the  quality of Chinese made products, I don't have specific information how companies enforce quality standards. I think back to the Mattel toys made in China that contained lead. Mattel is one of the largest toy companies, yet they were unaware their Chinese manufacturer was using lead in toys that children could put in their mouths and suffer lead poisoning. Think how much money is spent in North America on lead abatement and the Chinese were using it in toys.

Also, melamine which is used to make formica, foam, flame retardants, etc was added to baby milk and pet food. This lead to the deaths of some children and over 50,000 children became sick. Thousands of pets died as well. Some of the pet food companies that were affected were Nestle and Del Monte, those are very big, reputable companies.

I am sure these companies did not specify lead or melamine in their products. One of the ways to make products at a lower cost is to use lesser quality materials and ingredients or to substitute the ingredients with toxic, deadly, industrial chemicals.

If Chinese manufacturers added lead to toys and melamine to food products in an effort to cut costs it isn't to far of a leap to think they may cut corners when manufacturing tools and, for example, use a softer grade of steel.

One of the things that helped me justify paying the high prices for Festool tools, in addition to their quality and innovativeness, was the fact that they are made in Germany and I am supporting  German families whose costs of living are much higher than those of Chinese families.

 

[justinmcf]

i agree with you with regards to supporting the local economies.
the harold and saxon chisels i have bought recently are made locally here in queensland, australia.

they are without a doubt the highest quality chisels i have ever seen.
check out trent's website  http://haroldandsaxon.com 

regards, justin.

 

[Toolfest]

Justin, thanks for posting the link to Harold & Saxon. They make beautiful chisels that rival Blue Spruce. Good for you for supporting a local...artisan. 

 

[ajones]

Hi Justin, its good to hear you like the chisels.

Regarding things being manufactured in China. If possible, I like to support products made in the USA or western countries because they are all losing their manufacturing industries.  As far as the  quality of Chinese made products, I don't have specific information how companies enforce quality standards. I think back to the Mattel toys made in China that contained lead. Mattel is one of the largest toy companies, yet they were unaware their Chinese manufacturer was using lead in toys that children could put in their mouths and suffer lead poisoning. Think how much money is spent in North America on lead abatement and the Chinese were using it in toys.

Also, melamine which is used to make formica, foam, flame retardants, etc was added to baby milk and pet food. This lead to the deaths of some children and over 50,000 children became sick. Thousands of pets died as well. Some of the pet food companies that were affected were Nestle and Del Monte, those are very big, reputable companies.

I am sure these companies did not specify lead or melamine in their products. One of the ways to make products at a lower cost is to use lesser quality materials and ingredients or to substitute the ingredients with toxic, deadly, industrial chemicals.

If Chinese manufacturers added lead to toys and melamine to food products in an effort to cut costs it isn't to far of a leap to think they may cut corners when manufacturing tools and, for example, use a softer grade of steel.

One of the things that helped me justify paying the high prices for Festool tools, in addition to their quality and innovativeness, was the fact that they are made in Germany and I am supporting  German families whose costs of living are much higher than those of Chinese families.

the Chinese government did execute the person responsible for the baby milk tampering

 

[ajones]

I use a set of japaneese chisels and a round wooden mallet, I do get some puzzled looks off other chipies on site but they are geat chisels once tuned, and hold a good edge for around three times that of my marples