Who said Marples chisels are good??

Unfortunately for me, I bought a set of regular (not turning chisels) made by these guys because they were suuposed to be so good. These were going to be my "supersharp" set for hanging doors, mortising locks, etc.

The ones I had sucked... the whole set. Wouldn't hold an edge, no matter how I coaxed with different bevels and honing devices. I will take my 20yr old Craftsman set over these any day.

Sounds like their turning tools are no better than their chisels.

Robert

Must be a bad batch or two - All my Marples Blue Chips work just fine. I'd expect that a reputable dealer would replace them.

Same with mine. I also have some expensive, boxwood-handled, hand-made English chisels, and some excellent Japanese chisels, but I seem to rely on my workhorse Marples Blue Chips for most jobs. They hold their edges as well as the Sheffield steel tools, and almost as well as the Japanese, which are nothing short of legendary.

Max

I would wonder how old yours are. I was disappointed and since I bought them a few years ago and was "saving" them I never really tried them out until last year.

Who knows, maybe indeed just a bad batch.

Robert

Mine are roughly 15 years old. I set them aside when I first bought them, as I already had other, more expensive chisels. After a year, I finally took the time to hone them, subsequently using them for hinge mortising and mortising the strike plate on a mahogany door. They impressed me, considering I bought them on sale, and they weren't particularly expensive prior to the markdown. I've used them often since, but hone them about once a year, or after a particularly big job.

The Marples Blue Chips I've seen in the stores recently appear identical to mine, but who knows. Perhaps the metallurgy has been altered.

Max

Mine (which work well) are from about 1997-98, or so.