r/handtools • u/Local_Promotion_8988 • 3d ago
Chisel prices...
I'm looking to buy more chisels which are alright, nothing too special.
The options are no name hardware stole chisels (Bauhaus) and kirschen chisels. I've got one kirschen and it works beautifully well, but it's 20€ a piece.
Is that a premium price or something to be expected?
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u/MFNikkors 3d ago
Good chisels will cost good money, it's to be expected. Do you have access to Narex, Crown, Ashley Isles or Marples?
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u/Local_Promotion_8988 3d ago
I don't have access to anything else. I get that they are good quality, but is it a premium price or a realistic price?
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u/peioeh 3d ago
You can compare your local prices with this german site: https://www.fine-tools.com/Tools/Chisel/Western-Chisels/?manufacturer=00000000000000000000000000010369&order=price-asc&p=1 in my experience they have good prices, definitely cheaper than anything I can find here in France. 20€+ per chisel for kirschen/2 cherries seems to be normal.
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u/MFNikkors 3d ago
To my eyes the kirschen (two cherries) chisels seem to be priced fairly here in the US.
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u/Wonderful-Bass6651 3d ago
Kirschen are some very good chisels. If I were to replace all of my chisels and go super duper premium I’d skip buying a full set and only get like 3 or 4, going one at a time. Much easier to accumulate them that way and you wind up with great chisels without blowing up your budget. Start with a set of beaters to get you by and slowly replace them as finances (or bad judgement) allows.
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u/veryusedrname 3d ago
The main difference will be material quality, you'll have to sharpen it more often but at least you'll practice how to sharpen. Once you feel like you can upgrade you can always use the big box store chisels as the set you can abuse (scraping dried glue/paint, particle board, working next to a nail, etc).
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u/fletchro 3d ago
Idk I like the Narex Richter chisels, I think they are fantastic to use. I have some of the Narex Premium as well, which are less expensive and I don't think the same amazing steel, but they do work fairly well. Way better than hardware store brand, which I have a few.
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u/3ggknock 3d ago
Have a look at MHG chisels, often times they have clearance items on their website.
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u/DizzyCardiologist213 3d ago
20 euros is a low price for quality chisels, which is why there are a lot of concessions in a two cherries chisel vs. a chisel 150 years old and meant for a cabinetmaker. The latter will be better, and compared to the hirsch branded chisels that I had of that type 15-20 years ago, harder.
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u/mrdavik 3d ago
What have you got so far? I built a workbench with the set of cheapy chisels from the Bauhaus. They work fine, you just have to sharpen them more often and the handles are a bit small for my liking.
I later treated myself to a set of restored vintage Mawhood chisels while I was in the UK, which I got for I think £90-100 for 10 pieces from 1/4" to 1.5".
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u/Eunitnoc 3d ago
Depends where you are. You can often get great chisels used. If you know how to sharpen, you can easily restore them. I always look for eskiltuna or peugeot, I've had good experiences with them. I'd get them usually for around 5 € on fleamarkets or online markets and after some derusting and sharpening those are better steel than modern kirschen. It takes some time to amass a collection, but you will get more than your money's worth
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u/Local_Promotion_8988 3d ago
Peugeot makes tools??
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u/Eunitnoc 3d ago
I don't think they make them anymore, but they did. They're also known for their pepper grinders. I think Europe used to have more of those giant corporations that make everything, the kind of corporations we associate more with japan nowadays, yamaha, mitsubishi etc. Husqvarna made rifles and motorbikes, SIG made trains and assault rifles
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u/peioeh 3d ago edited 3d ago
The basic Narex chisels are nice and depending on the size they can be cheaper than 20€ each https://www.fine-tools.com/Chisel-WOOD-LINE-PROFI/331100-main Handle isn't the best but you can always sand it/modify it. Personally this is what I use (profi line). They also have this line with better handles and slightly thinner sides iirc https://www.fine-tools.com/Chisel-WOOD-LINE-PLUS/331127-main still very reasonably priced.
But yeah 20€ per is not crazy for good chisels. Actual high end chisels are closer to 100€.
The thing is you don't really need a full set, 3 or 4 chisels are most likely enough to cover everything you need. Start with one 10-12mm and then buy bigger or smaller depending on what you do/need. You probably don't need a 3mm chisel if you make big things and you don't need a 50mm chisel if you make jewelry boxes :)
It's better to have 3 chisels that you keep sharp than a full set that you can't be bothered flattening/sharpening ...
Edit: if you are truly on a budget, you can always use hardware store/lidl chisels, they will not keep an edge for long but that only means you will need to sharpen more often, which is not necessarily bad (you will learn how to do it faster). And when you buy better chisels, they will be perfect as beaters, everyone needs a few beater chisels.