Narex Richter Bevel Edge Chisel Set of 5

Product Information

For reasons I won't drone on about, I recently exchanged many of my chisels of long use for Narex chisels. In truth it was partly to drum up some tool-buying cash by selling some rather expensive items (such as Blue Spruce) the cash from which bought about 10X Narex items compared to what the equivalent Sprucers would cost. Don’t get me wrong; the finishing is superb. But if you’re a perfectionist woodworker, you would most likely prefer that the finishing was slightly smoother than it is. The hardness spec provided with the richters is what I'd refer to as medium-hard temper. It's specified as chrome vanadium steel (there are tons of specs for chrome vanadium steel, at least as wide as 0.5% carbon to 1.5% carbon, so that doesn't tell us that much other than that it's probably fairly plain steel, which is good for chisels). That leather ring on the Richters (and on no other Narex chisel) seems to be part of the pretty-look marketing. However, there is blurb that claims the steel is significantly better as well; and is comparable to Veritas PM-V11 for both resilience and ease of sharpening. Timber Frame Chisels VERITAS Mortise Chisels Stairmaker's Chisels Jap. Cranked Paring Chisels Corner Cutting Chisels

I have three Narex mortising chisels. Reading this thread I hurried off to the shed to make sure the handle flats and oval were properly aligned with the blades. Happily they're all perfectly aligned. This must be why I never noticed the handle orientation when chopping with them, eh. Perhaps MJ's moan about his prompted those Czechs to improve their production process? :-) Don't get swept into believing there's anything more in the Richter chisels than relatively common steel and a slightly harder temper than some of the other chisels. Myself, I think their standard stuff is more than good enough. Perhaps the Richter steel is more performant. But do you need "more performant" than their less expensive chisels? I can’t recommend a catalog anymore, and nor do I recommend a magazine either. I can’t. I make a point not to copy anyone anywhere and when you write and ask me whether I watch this or that youtuber, blogger or vlogger I should tell you this and then ask you not to ask me: If I have watched 30 minutes of woodworking guru output since YT came into being 15 years ago I would likely be exaggerating 10 times". Meanwhile I have a 1" cranked Narex chisel and two 1/4" skew-bladed paring chisels on the way. I expect them to be as good as the other 8 Narex I have now.Sadly, after a few months of usage, they’d start to blur and eventually succumb to rust. Then, you’ll have to go chisel hunting again- that’s exhausting! For starters, the handle is carved from European ash, responsible for its beautiful grain, toughness, and strength. The choice of wood shaped this handle into an ergonomic one. My own Narex chisel collection is slowly growing as whenever I want an additional kind of chisel to those I already have, standard Narex has become the first choice. They are inexpensive - less than Crown, Sorby, Henry Taylor and others of that price point - yet much better made in terms of the much smaller amount of fettling required and the ability to take and hold an edge. Iles is their only competitor at lower price points. Ash hardwood handles have solid stainless steel ferrules and leather washers. Individual chisels are supplied with plastic edge protectors.

That's arrogant, solipsistic and something of a jarring cognitive dissonance, given that he portrays himself as a "woodworking guru" outputting his stuff largely via Youtube and other on-line channels, a lot of it paid-for "lessons" for which the free stuff appears to be the PR. And the "I make a point not to copy anyone anywhere" is such obvious nonsense. Did he make up all of woodworking by himself, then, like an Ayn Rand "hero" with a motor? Although the blade’s edges are ultra-thin, there won’t be an incident where you sustain an injury from using it. It is sharp enough to perform its functions. This chisel passes as a dovetail chisel thanks to its structure. The manufacturer devoted time to polishing and fine-grinding the surface of this blade. Personally I find FWW still the benchmark for detailed, meaningful and usually well-supported WW information. It does have a touch of the PR-advert blurbs here and there but generally this can be easily spotted and winnowed from the extensive good crop of high quality guidance and advice. Narex fits the chisels with a stainless-steel ferrule that strengthens the connection between blade and handle. A leather washer sits between the ferrule and the chisels’ stout bolster to aid in seating the blade and absorbing harsh blows to the handle.There's an idealized test where these came out on top, but the test provides a bias for a chisel in the medium hard temper range, so it's not a surprise to see they'd come out on top.

Beyond boosting the chisel’s wear and tear resistance, the cryogenic treatment also altered the toughness and strength of the blade. When shopping for the right chisel for your woodworking applications, you could easily invest in the wrong chisel set.

Blades

Named after the founder of Narex Bystrice, Vaclav Richter, and launched to celebrate the centenary of his company, these superb bevel edged chisels bring Narex's signature blend of high quality and low price through clever engineering to the super premium end of the chisel market. The handle is made of European ash, an excellent choice for this purpose because of its hardness, toughness and beautiful grain. The handle has an ergonomic shape and is ground to a fine finish. A stainless steel ferrule prevents the handle from splitting and there is a leather disk to dampen hammer blows. The largest diameter of the handle for all chisel sizes is 31 to 32 mm. Bladewidth So, without dismissing his findings or opinions about chisels out of hand, I wouldn't assume that what he says is particularly objective or reliable. It might be but it might not and how would we know?