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That expensive square chisel set I swore I'd never buy is the only thing I reach for now
Picked up a used set of Japanese bench chisels at a garage sale outside Portland for $80, figured I'd only use them for show. Ended up using them on a walnut tabletop job where my regular chisels kept tearing out grain at the corners. The bevel edge on these things holds an edge like nothing else, and after flattening the backs for an hour they cut like butter. Am I crazy for thinking the price gap between cheap and mid-range chisels is worth it, or has anyone else had a tool they fought against buying that turned out to be the best spend?
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lucast8112d ago
How long did it take you to get used to sharpening those Japanese chisels compared to your regular ones? I ask because I went through the same thing with a set of Veritas bench chisels I put off buying for two years. Kept telling myself my old Marples were fine, then I borrowed a buddy's set for a trim job and the difference in edge holding was night and day. Flattening backs is a pain but once that's done you only do it once, and I've stopped fighting tearout on the same kinds of corner cuts you're talking about. You're not crazy at all, the mid-range jump is real and most of the cheap stuff just can't hang.
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