Am I the only one who thinks premium chisels are overrated?

I dropped $180 on a set of fancy Japanese chisels last year and honestly my old $30 Stanley set does the same job. They hold an edge a little longer but for day to day work on pine and poplar I can't tell the difference. I've talked to a few guys at the supply house who feel the same way but say they'd never admit it online. Has anyone else gone back to basic tools after spending big?

2 comments

2 Comments

lane.cameron1mo ago

Respectfully, that's a pretty hot take. The difference really shows up when you're working with hardwood like maple or oak all day, not just pine. Premium steel holds that fine carving edge way longer on dense grain without constant trips to the stone.

dixon.spencer1mo ago

Yeah, that part about "dense grain" really hit home for me... I had the same realization a few years back when I switched from always using pine to trying my hand at some walnut. I was sharpening every hour, it felt like. Actually, @lane.cameron, since you brought up the maple and oak thing, I found that a good VG-10 steel made a night and day difference for me on that walnut. It just held the edge so much better that I could actually focus on the shaping instead of stopping to touch up the blade all the time. I think a lot of folks who only ever work with softwoods just don't see the point, but once you hit that hard stuff, you get it.