Henry Taylor registered chisels, my report

[AAvK]

Henry Taylor registered chisels, my report

I recently had the set of four that I bought from Traditional Woodworker. On the

1" I gave it a great and thorough flattening and micro bevel on leather with two grits, blue emery and then LV green 0.5 micron using (as Mr. Lee suggests) rendered tallow in the leather (horse butt).

I got it "scary sharp" enough, no burs there, just extremely sharp... after which I ran the cutting edge over the edge of a block of doug fir to see how smooth it would cut.

I wound up returning the set to tww in exchange for a couple of sharpening stones.

I could not believe how utterly chippy the steel is, just that run caused too much metal to be missing from the cutting edge, to where it was about flat and no "sharp" at all! That was a lotta hard work...

Me thinks maybe Sheffield has become a marketing campaign and not much more than that. Weren't they famous for the quality of their steel?

[nailshooter41]

metal to be missing from the cutting edge

[Patriarch]

[e-mail] wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Having heard the cautionary tale, I'm waiting for the "this is what you should do, grasshopper" part. Every old carpenter I've ever met had a way to do it, or the right tool to find for the job. After messing with the new guy for a while.

I mean, that's the journeyman's job - to mess with the newbie, then teach him how to do it correctly.

Patriarch

[nailshooter41]

should do, grasshopper" part. Every old carpenter I've ever met

[bridger]

the first sharpening or two isn't a good indication of how a chisel will perform down the road, in my experience. Henry Taylor is supposed to be made from decent steel. my guess is that the edge got a bit of shock in the factory heat treatment and once sharpening got through that all would be well- I have seen that with Ashley Isles. I've never used any Henry Taylor, so I can't comment directly about them.

I have a fair number of chisels, probably in the range of 50. I keep a roll of stanley butt chisels for taking to carpentry jobs. they get sharpened on site with a 400 grit or so diamond stone, and when (not if) they get nicked I take them to the knife grinder (1" belt sander) and finish off with the stone. the better shop chisels stay in a drawer and get sharpened to a better edge, variously according to the job at hand. rarely do I test by shaving my arm, and rarely do I need quite that good an edge, but when I do need it, it is available.

Marples are generally seen as a second or third tier chisel anyway, and lately they have been in a bit of a decline.

[Battleax]

I do a lot of shop work, doors, cabinets, and a lot of interior trim work. My cheap blue handled marples serve me well. Haven't used a stone in a decade, just a high quality flat file gives me as sharp an edge as I need. Every once in a while it goes to the grinding wheel to re-profile and square it. Works for me.

[Gordon Airporte]

Isn't it possible that they would work beautifully sharpened at a larger angle? This might make them less effective for paring, depends on your application I guess.

[CW]

[mike hide]

with few complaints . My tools are sharpened to the point that for the most part I seldom use a mallet. For general use Ihave used the plane old marples blue chip chisels and as far as the real dirty work goes where perhaps a nail or two lurk then I use my trusty 1" stanley

The whole scary sharp bit has always amused me, the average quality commercial furnituremaker has hundreds of edge tools ,sharpening these to that degree leaves very little time to do anything productive ....mjh

[Larry Jaques]

--snip--

I have the HT 1/8" veiner and it chips just LOOKING at it. I was not impressed and won't be buying any more Taylors. As worthless as it is now, I may take a torch to it and try a re-harden/temper.

Think "Buck" tools. What once was there ain't no mo.

---=====--- After all else fails, read the instructions. ---=====--- Website Design and Update

[Larry Jaques]

Isn't this where they tell the guy to regrind to 35°? Then comes the "Whatcha using a paring chisel on that mortising work for, boy?"

That's what I've heard.

---=====--- After all else fails, read the instructions. ---=====--- Website Design and Update

[nailshooter41]

him how to do it correctly.

Patriarch

[AAvK]

You do some carving? I have that set of six Stubai bench chisels and they are awesome quality. They hold an edge perfectly well and the steel is superior to HT steel. I swear it, and they make a lot of carving tools.

[AAvK]

Robert, do you know what a registered chisel is? They are not for construction work or carpentry. Woodworking on a classic woodworker's bench for mortising, it is a thicker flat sided chisel, no bevel edge and thinner than German mortisers. I believe they are only made in England.

[AAvK]

Yeah OK, but read my one reply to nailshooter.

[AAvK]

application I guess.

As 'registered' chisels (mortise), they came with an original bevel of 30º, I kept it that way and added a rounded micro bevel which was brought on by the leather stropping. That should be perfectly fine.

[AAvK]

I KNOW! This is rediculous. The word "Sheffield" means much to marketing these days. I don't like being "duped" for my money. Anyone should feel that way.

[AAvK]

part I seldom use a mallet. For general use Ihave used

where perhaps a nail or two lurk then I use my

furnituremaker has hundreds of edge tools

productive ....mjh

So you bought them 20 years ago, but what a lot of folks don't understand is that companies will make decisions based upon reasons of economy and get farther into the use of their good name for the reason of survival as a company while keeping prices down for the customer.

Since then, it is no doubt to me that they lowered the quality of their steel, for the above reasons. So this is what you run into these days.

Personaly I dare you or ANYONE to give Stubai chisels a run for the money, because they use excellent steel, hardened.

[David]

You sure you didn't buy Marples? :) I had the same problem with the edges crumpling. got some Sears (made in England) that hold up remarkably well.

Dave

[AAvK]

No not Marples, these are (were) "registered" chisels, for mortising by hand on a woodworker's bench. I have a 5/8" Marples bench chisel with a boxwood handle, it will take niks super easy, from doug fir! That's pathetic.