My dad's old wood chisels vs. the new ones I bought last year...

I was trimming some door hinges on an oak frame last week and grabbed my grandpa's old Stanley chisel from the 70s... it cut clean as butter. My brand new set from the hardware store just chips out and dulls fast no matter how I sharpen them. Anybody else find that older tools hold an edge way better than modern stuff?

3 comments

3 Comments

ruby6596d ago

My grandpa left me a set of Buck Bros chisels from the 50s and I swear they sharpen up in half the time as my new Irwin set. The steel on those old ones is just harder, I think they used better alloys back then before they started cheaping out. I even tried one of those fancy diamond stones on my new chisels and they still dull after a few cuts on hard oak. Its frustrating because you pay good money for a set and it just doesnt hold up. I ended up tracking down a couple old chisels at a flea market and they work way better than anything from the big box store.

olivia_white936d ago

Dude I had the exact same thing happen with my granddad's old Stanley planes. The iron on those just takes a better edge and keeps it forever. I tried everything with my new set too, even sent em back for a refund. Now I just hit up estate sales for vintage tools, way more worth it.

betty_perry246d agoTop Commenter

Is it really that big a deal though... I've got a mix of old and new tools and honestly can't tell much difference in use.

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