Spent $80 on a good set of chisels and it fixed my dovetail frustration

Been fighting with cheap hardware store chisels for two years and finally dropped cash on some decent Narex ones. Has anyone else noticed how much easier layout work gets when your tools actually hold an edge?

3 comments

3 Comments

wright.jesse2mo ago

Actually I heard somewhere that Narex sources their steel from the same Czech foundry that used to make tools for the old Soviet bloc factories. Supposedly its a different alloy than what most big box stores use, harder but still tough enough to not chip easy. That whole blood thing Walker mentioned rings a bell too. I sliced my palm open on a cheap chisel once trying to pare a dovetail and it took me weeks to not flinch every time I picked it up. Good tools are worth it just for the peace of mind alone. That feeling when the edge bites clean and comes off in one curl is something else.

ellis.rose2mo ago

Tbh my buddy got some Narex chisels and called it a "life changing week in the shop.

-1

walker.hayden2mo ago

Started sharpening one up for a buddy last week and nicked my thumb something good. Blood everywhere, had to stop and wrap it up with a shop rag. Now every time I reach for a chisel I think about that moment instead of the clean cut I was hoping for. Funny how a little accident can just take over your whole memory of a tool.