Re Japanese chisels:

I use 'em. They're pricey. They use a high bevel angle. The metal is REALLY hard. The edge tends to chip and they can be darn hard to sharpen in the wider sizes. Because the backs are hollowed out you may also loose some of the working life. Ya have to take care of 'em. If ya throw 'em around, drop 'em etc. ... the edges will chip like heck and you'll drive yourself nuts sharpening 'em. I hate sharpening so in use I touch up the edge with a power strop ... takes 30 seconds. IMO they work great with hardwoods and good with softwoods ... but I don't care for the high bevel angles when used with soft woods. Frankly ... I hardly use chisels at all these days ... I use fine toothed rasps to do shaping and only use chisels for paring, finish work and mortice & tenons. If I have to do a bit of pounding, prying, chipping, glue cleanup etc ... I use a set of cheap European chisels.

My recommendation would be to get a good set of European chisels and stay away from the Japanese stuff. If ya also have to put some money into a sharpening system ... unless ya use Scary Sharp ... $300 will likely be a bit lean.

Ken Blanton

: I really value the feedback I get here. It has helped me many times
: in tool purchase decisions. I am in the market for a new chisel
: set since (a) my Marples set rusted badly, and (b) it's time to
: step up to a more professional grade set. I have about $300 to
: spend and would like to get a good bench chisel set for
: multi-purpose use. I will probably also buy a few mortice
: chisels for banging out mortices. Mostly what I do with chisels
: is paring work.

: So- I am open discussion here. I have looked at Three Cherries, Lie
: Nielsen, Veritas, Ashley Isles... pretty much all of 'em! I have
: also considered going with Japanese chisels, but I am a little
: worried about spending that much money until I try them out and
: see if I like the Japanese style chisels. I would like to hear
: what you have tried and what you recommend that I could get a
: good set of 6 or more in the $300 range.