IRWIN Marples Chisel Set for Woodworking, 6-Piece (M444SB6N), Blue

I did a lot of research on chisels before I decided to choose these. I really liked the value for money that you get with these, especially at Amazon prices, but I kept getting put off by 'experts' that claimed they were no good. A lot of people recommended Narex instead, but a lot of those same people complained that the QC done by Narex was inconsistent at best. It didn't really look like you could pick a winner at this price range. I decided to pull the trigger on a set despite the negative remarks from some of the experts, and overall I'm really happy that I did. I'll preface this with the fact that I'm using these for fine joinery and that I have high expectations for end results. Initial impressions: Out of the box these are good looking chisels. There are plenty of machine marks on the steel, but overall everything looks clean and flat. The cutting edges out of the box leave something to be desired. Do not expect these to be honed when you get them. Don't even expect them to make good cuts out of the box. They are mediocre at best, and about as sharp as I can get them with 220 grit sandpaper. Honing impressions: these were dead-flat out of the box, which is seriously impressive for the price. Honing the back 3/4" or so on each to flat and smooth took no longer than about 15 minutes total. Sharpening impressions: These sharpen well, far better than I expected given the overall bad reputation that these have in the online woodworking communities. Using 400, 600, 1500, and finally 2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper brings these up to 'pretty sharp'. I can pare end grain cleanly with them at this point. Adding 2 final polishing stages with green then red polishing compound impregnated on a piece of balsa gets them to 'absurdly sharp' to the point that I'm afraid of leaving them out on the benchtop. A mirror polish finish is definitely possible with these and a bit of effort. Edge retention: These chisels do their job really well through each project for me. I usually sharpen everything up at the end of a project so that they're ready for the next use. I haven't found a need to sharpen these mid-project just yet. Maybe a quick run on some polishing compound here and there for touch-up, but definitely no need to go back to the beginning. Handles: This is my biggest con for these chisels. The handles are fairly small in diameter and not very long. What this means is that my large hands have a hard time holding these for paring or body-weight chopping for an extended period. They're not socket chisels, so you're stuck with what they come with. The material of the handles is a durable plastic. I have no doubt they'll hold up to being driven by a wooden joiners mallet or a rubber hammer. Using these with a steel hammer is asking too much in my opinion, and you really shouldn't be doing that to your chisels anyways. Overall: I'm happy with them for a good set to get started in hand-cut joinery. For the price I don't think that you could find much better. My intention is now to slowly upgrade the most-used chisels from this set to some socket chisels, but those are running around $30/each. I don't imagine that I'll need to upgrade inside a year. I would suggest these for anyone interested in fine woodworking, but are working on a budget. I wouldn't suggest them for carpentry though, I've seen what those guys do to tools, they should stick to the through-tang Stanely's. The one key note that I would take impress is that no matter the brand you will need to hone and sharpen your chisels out of the box, these are no exception, but if you're willing to spend a bit of time and effort on them these can be fantastic chisels.

After doing some research into this set and reading reviews this 6 Piece Set of Woodworking Tools are what I landed on to buy. Being Made by Irwin they were of course of superior quality leaving nothing to desire in a product that will give you years of use if properly maintained. With sizes in 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4 and 1 inche, this makes for the perfect starter set. Accompanying the 6 Wood Chisels were 6 appropriately sized sheaths for each blade and a nicely made wood case. After conduction my reseach this particular set was chosen for the following reasons: - Irwins reputation for quality of their tools. - Makes for the ideal "Starter Set" with the range of sizes. - Shape of the handles, which I learned was huge as they must be comfortable to use for long periods or be able to use a mallet on. - The quality and materials used being Solid Forged High Carbon Steel that has been hardened to 58-HRC for durability and blade retention. - Protective blade covers matched to each piece. - Warranty - Wood Case The recipient of this Chisel Set absolutely loved them immediately putting them to use. She has only had positive things to say about them. They have been used for long periods being comfortable while used as they kept their edge requiring little if no sharpening. She has used these on many projects both little and small with stunning results while being consistent with both her style and the finished piece. Being priced in the middle of the pack the balance of cost and quality is perfect. This is a 5 out of 5 Stars product that has nothing more to desire. I hit the nail on the head with this gift choice. I most definitely put this in my "HIGHLY RECOMMEND" Category.

Irwin's wood chisels for D.I.Y. These are not $90/chisel. They need honing. Great for weekend woodwork. But, not what I'd purchase for a production shop. These require nylon or wood mallet. I've purchased other sizes in this series.

This is a great set of chisels for the price. Well sharpened out of the box, and hold an edge reasonably well. You could buy these fully intending for them to be your beginner set and planning to buy a $$$ set of swiss or german or japanese chisels...and if you never did it would be totally ok, since these are made of quality steel and can take a beating if you are the type of person who drops their edged tools on the concrete floor. If you know an aspiring woodworker or boat builder, I know they would be overjoyed to get a set like this for a gift. I had to buy my own, but I like to pretend they were a gift.

I have used this chisel set for more than a year now for a variety of tasks and woods. I have cut/timmed mortise & tenon joints in mahogany, dovetail joints in rosewood and maple, general trim/fitting of joints with poplar and plywoods, and removal of baseboard molding. In all my uses so far, I have found these tools to be fine for my needs. I am fairly new to woodworking as a hobby and wanted to buy a decent, but not expensive set of chisels. I am very pleased with my choice. The handles have held up pretty well, although use of a standard 13 oz. hammer and really beating on the chisel during baseboard removal has caused a bit of damage. Otherwise, the handles remain tight/in good condition and the blades hold their edge reasonably well. I use the Worksharp 3000 to sharpen these chisels and it isn't difficult to get the edges get nicely sharp. When cutting dovetail joints in very hard wood (rosewood in my experience), the blades need to be resharpened after only a few pins or tails, but I found that I could work for a couple of hours in maple, poplar or mahogany before resharpening. Like any chisel, the backs need to be flattened before the first sharpening and they definitely need to be sharpened before their first use. I like the appearance of the blue handles, the fit of their shape in my hand and that since the handles are not round they do not tend to roll off the bench easily. While there are certainly nicer chisels on the market that will take a keener edge or hold that edge longer, you can buy this set of chisels for what a single one of those other chisels cost. Compared to the standard chisels sold by the big home improvement stores, these chisels take a much sharper edge and hold it much longer. This is exactly the choice I was trying to make.

These are excellent chisels despite the opinions of internet forum snobs. They have the potential to perform wonderfully. Out of the box, these are very serviceable. But, if you want to get the most from them, they need to be flattened and properly sharpened. The steel used is VERY hard. That means these are prone to damage if dropped, or even chipping if sharpened and used improperly. The hard steel is great once set up correctly. A very refined edge will protect against chipping and keep these chisels sharp for a very long time after proper sharpening and will only need touch up stropping from time to time. Flatten the back and sharpen the bevel all the way to 6000+ grit with waterstones, or with the highest grit sandpaper you have available (on a flat surface). Then strop and/or polish with a fine compound (green works well). The handle shape and size is very good, and the handles are very durable. If you drop these, the edge will be damaged. I have over 50 chisels in my every day rotation, mostly vintage/antique that are from great makers. These see just as much use as any of the chisels on that wall. Enjoy

The chisels aren't as good as I'd hoped, but they aren't as bad as I feared, given the price point that they are selling them at. They aren't "premium" chisels, by any means, but they seem to be solid. I spent several hours today, flattening the backs and honing the bevels. The steel is sufficiently hard that it should hold an edge pretty well, but you are going to have to work at getting a good edge. That's one of the reasons these chisels are so cheap, The grinding done at the factory is probably the bare minimum that they think they can get away with. None of my chisels were sharp out of the box and all of them required flattening of the back, 3 of them required significant work to flatten. Same with the bevels, in that 3 of them required much more work than the other 3, to achieve proper bevel that was square. I have a Worksharp 3000, Work Sharp WS3000 Wood Tool Sharpener , so I didn't mind the extra work on the bevels, but I flatten the backs by hand on DMT diamond stones. Without the Worksharp, I think I'd have returned them because of the very poor sharpening job done at the factory. I had to spend about 3 hours on the DMT extra coarse/coarse stone to get the chisel backs to a point where I could use a higher grit. That is a lot of stoning..... Hopefully, the chisels will prove to be good performers after I do the final finish sharpening and get to using them on something other than test pieces. If you're willing to put in a lot of work to get the chisels sharp, then you'll probably like this set. Duh! I'd forgotten a very useful technique tip for this type of tune up to flatten chisel flats and plane soles. A machinist scraper, Value ORS12850M 6"flat General Machinist Scraper is designed to remove material much better and faster than using stones. It only costs $4, but would save a TON of stoning on these chisels. I bought one of these scrapers when I learned this tip and stuck it in my tool box. I'll dig it out tomorrow and see how it works on the chisels that I have yet to finish up and take off the high spots that are left.

These arrived astonishingly flat, meaning it took me about 30 minutes to initialize all 6 chisels. They are sharp, the steel is very hard (60rc or so I'd reckon) and aside from machining marks on the flat face, they were ALMOST completely flat based on a granite surface plate I own (grade B). The handles are a slick plastic, which I don't like, but I can tell it's very hard and it transfers force almost like a full tang chisel might. The box is kind of crap, but kind of cute, so I felt lined and flocked it and now it looks really sharp. This is the wooden box that comes with the 6 piece chisel only option.

Très belle ensemble,des ciseaux a bois de qualité, beaux coffret, je suis très satisfait de mon achat, Merci.

Excelente juego de formones, lo recomiendo

Llegaron en solo tres días, mucho antes de lo esperado, vienen en una linda caja de madera, el acero se ve de muy buena calidad, aún no he tenido oportunidad de probarlos, pero se ven muy bien. Sin dudarlo volvería a comprar en Amazon.

Needs sharpening.

Requires some honing but after that work great.