Excellent review of this great little chisel. I've owned Marples chisels since I started over 30 years ago. I recently bought a set of these for a second toolbox. The set came in a basic wooden box comprising 5 chisels for £30 in the UK. Now, that's a lot of chisel for your money. Are they any good? Yes! As your demo illustrated, once flattened and sharpened, they happily work with and against the grain on softwood and hardwood. I've used mine on mahogany doors and frames without difficulty. They do need regular sharpening, but once you've set things up correctly, it takes no time at all to get an excellent edge and be back in the game. Best of all, at £30, you won't be too much out of pocket when they get pinched on a job.
The new Irwin Marples chisels are made in China. The original Marples was made in Sheffield England with a more rounded handles. I have a set of Marples and they retain their edge very well. I have not compared to the new Irwin Marples. Everyone should expect to sharpen before use as factory edge will only be machined sharpened; not as sharp as sharpening on stones.
So this guy is flogging Chinese goods which after copying western stuff have reached some kind of parity. Nice one donkey, can I invest in the invasion of Taiwan…..
A family member got me the large set of marples and I like them for doing my woodworking they are better then the free set I got fro north American handyman and their price value was higher then the Irwin set. Thanks for your review and video I enjoyed it.
I have an older set of Irwin chisels. The handle has a little different shape but mostly the same. I still use them for rough work so I dont mess up my good ones. They hold an edge pretty well and they can take some abuse!
I've had a set of marples chisels for over 25 years and have been quite happy with them. I understand they've been recently acquired by Irwin and both are owned by Stanley.
Your 100% correct, but today’s “ marples “ doesn’t compare to your original marples, you would have to be a pretty serious woodworker to justify buying a set of the same quality of your 25 yr old marples. I have a set of these Irwin’s Marples and right out of the box you need to prepare these chisels, lots of tool markings, the edge is not that sharp and because of the lower carbon content they need frequent honing to keep a sharp edge. Over all they serve my purpose
Rockwell hardness is a test using a press and a cone of some sort. the cone depends on the scale and range of pressures youre working with. but essentially its a measurement of how much the metal displaces under a given load. the less it displaces, the harder the material. But you have to understand that the measuring system isnt just for metal, so thats why there are the different scales for rockwell hardness.If youre good with a center punch, you can almost do the test with a center punch. Harden a couple known samples of steel and temper accordingly and then punch each piece as a visual reference. then punch the piece you have in question and you should be able to compare and figure out the hardness range. But there are also files that you can buy and a lot easier to use. just keep picking files until one slides rather than biting in and youll know how hard the steel is.
Just found your channel looking for thoughts on the older English Marples Blue Chip chisels. That chisel was amazingly close to flat out of the package. Nice review. The Irwin Marples are much more affordable than what people are asking for new old stock real Marples. I found this to be an excellent quality production and subscribed so I'll come back and see more. Thanks!
Holds edge pretty good. Softer than vintage Marples, but not especially so. I restore old tools and I don't feel like this is any less useful than a vintage Marples firmer chisel. These wouldn't really be considered bevel chisels. You will hit the stones a bit more often but it's easier to touch up as well. Similar to modern sorby in steel quality, albeit less comfortable with the odd handle shape choice. I think they are wanting these to be used with mallets more? But I feel like the older carver style is much more comfortable.
My experience, Irwin is good in a pinch but you get what you pay for. Burrs all over my forstner bits from them, and the cutting teeth on the outside weren't symmetrical. It loves to wander
Rockwell hardness scale being upward be around 60 is pretty high on the scale I'm certain it's got to be some form of tool steel I not sure exactly what they made it out of but I'm thinking 4140 maybe that sounds like an awfully higher grade of steel for something I cost $10
Looks good. Didnt seem to take that long to sharpen it well. Its better than a Harbor Freight set which is what I have. Disabled, fixed income...so have to go with what I can at the time. Cheap steel, takes a while to get flattened and sharp, doesnt take long to wear out the edge. What you have shown here will be something I can look into at a later time. I would love the more expensive ones but, for no more than what I do this would be long lasting.
How you sharpen has an effect on tool performance. There's sharp then there's sharp. A burr feels sharp. But a burr won't stay sharp. So how you hone and strop makes a big difference. It can take some gear and technique to get the best sharpness too. I like diamonds for roughing but I'm not keen on how they polish. There's better out there. Though getting that can be expensive.
I have never gotten the back flattened on my 3/4 marples, spent an hour on 200 grit diamond plate. I just replaced them with Woodriver chisels for the same money. They came flat, the Pfeil chisels I use now came flat and sharp for the same price as Stanley 750's
I guess it depends on what your willing to pay and what your using them for, these type of cheap chisels are good for rough work when banging them with a mallet all day lol
Do you have a video covering your slick and framing chisels? They look like Barr brand but maybe not. Love the leather covers too and make them for my chisels that are not part of sets and go in my tool chest.
I have an original set of Marples made in Sheffield England and these are no where close to the real ones. I very seldom have to sharpen mine and they are a sharp as razors. Getting very hard to find the originals. If you can find the original buy them, you won't be disappointed.
Thank you for your informative video. I purchased the 3/4 inch Irwin marples chisel and had a different experience. The one that I purchased was very flat on the back, and extremely sharp right out of the packaging. I did the shaving test as I do with all my new chisels and it shaved like a razor. My only other chisels that were like this straight from the manufacturer are my Pfeil chisels. This tells me, and something that you might be interested in, that the Irwin marples probably differ in quality from batch to batch, or maybe I just got extremely lucky.
I think if you use a motorised sharpener then hardness is an advantage. I think the cheaper chisels are often softer as it’s safer not to be brittle. Made in Sheffield was an indication of quality before globalisation. I find big box store chisels are often good enough as long as you don’t buy the cheapest. I am a fan of Marples vintage made in Sheffield. I sometimes buy chisels in junk shops. You know when you sharpen them that if the edge frays they are too soft. I have to say I don’t see the point in spending a lot on the best. It’s only a chisel and two seconds in my Worksharp or on the buffing wheel and they are plenty sharp. For softwoods I sharpen to 20 degrees. My favourites are Sorby with box wood handles. My Narex are fine but I will put box wood handles with decent ferrules on them one day.
Here are my 2 cents on a set of them after a few years of ownership. 1. Decent starter set where if you damage them you don't feel bad. 2. Sharpen very quickly and to a very fine point, but also require frequent sharpening because they dull quickly too. 3. Quality control is all over the place. Some of mine are definitely harder than others and hold an edge better, some the edge simply rolls after a little use. 4. Several tips were not square out of the package but visibly skewed. As I was new to chisels I didn't know better and should have returned them. 5. Something to keep in mind for almost all chisels: keep the bevel at about 30 degrees for durability. This makes the single largest improvement you can make for any chisel, but especially these. The difference is edge durability @ 30 degrees is significant and obvious with these chisels. 6. Handles are okay, just like what said in the video. The extra length is a little cumbersome. A little shorter would be a sweet spot. 7. Construction is a molded handle on tang. That makes them cheaper to manufacture. If the handle breaks, it's not really worth fixing.
Got 4 sets (8 in each) of Marples for our school. They are slightly different than yours (steel on the top). The steel is way better against corrosion than the Bahco set I bought 2 years ago. During my apprenticeship in the late 70's I had one marples. Lasted 15 years
@@lastingbuild1373 Actually you can replace the handles with wood handles if you ever choose to. Inside is a tang that would fit inside the new handles you make. I've been collecting a full set of Stanley 60 series chisels just to cut off the plastic handle and replace with wood. Paul Sellers and others have videos on doing this. Thanks for your videos. Enjoy them! Scott
It may be a decent tool, but I have philosophical issues with buying anything from Communist China that has over a million people in forced labor industries not any different from what the Nazis did to the Jews and other “undesirables” in mid-20th century Europe. I would rather pick up a used tool from a pawn shop or eBay, and spend time putting it back in shape. (My brother just gave me three older, Pre-China Marples chisels that he picked up from a pawn shop for $5.00 for the lot. I needed a silicon carbide “green” wheel for my bench grinder for sharpening carbide tools; all the big box stores, and most on-line tool dealers only sourced wheels from China. It took about 20 searches to find what I needed, one that was made in the Middle East. If you need the tool, and have no other choice, you may have to buy from the CCP, but do the diligence and try to find an alternative. I do appreciate that new wood workers have strict limitations on the amount that they can spend on tools, and sometimes the choice is between China, and no tool at all. Nice review on the tool.
Excellent review of this great little chisel. I've owned Marples chisels since I started over 30 years ago. I recently bought a set of these for a second toolbox. The set came in a basic wooden box comprising 5 chisels for £30 in the UK. Now, that's a lot of chisel for your money.
Are they any good? Yes! As your demo illustrated, once flattened and sharpened, they happily work with and against the grain on softwood and hardwood. I've used mine on mahogany doors and frames without difficulty. They do need regular sharpening, but once you've set things up correctly, it takes no time at all to get an excellent edge and be back in the game.
Best of all, at £30, you won't be too much out of pocket when they get pinched on a job.
Is investing in the Chinese economy self defeating? There r other options…..
@@benconstruct whatever, I rather invest in the Chinese economy then the US one if it's cheaper for me
The new Irwin Marples chisels are made in China. The original Marples was made in Sheffield England with a more rounded handles. I have a set of Marples and they retain their edge very well. I have not compared to the new Irwin Marples. Everyone should expect to sharpen before use as factory edge will only be machined sharpened; not as sharp as sharpening on stones.
I have an old one and a new one and the Irwin made chisels are rubbish in comparison to the English made
So this guy is flogging Chinese goods which after copying western stuff have reached some kind of parity. Nice one donkey, can I invest in the invasion of Taiwan…..
A family member got me the large set of marples and I like them for doing my woodworking they are better then the free set I got fro north American handyman and their price value was higher then the Irwin set. Thanks for your review and video I enjoyed it.
Thanks for sharing!
I have an older set of Irwin chisels. The handle has a little different shape but mostly the same. I still use them for rough work so I dont mess up my good ones. They hold an edge pretty well and they can take some abuse!
👍👍👍👍👍
I've had a set of marples chisels for over 25 years and have been quite happy with them. I understand they've been recently acquired by Irwin and both are owned by Stanley.
Thanks
Your 100% correct, but today’s “ marples “ doesn’t compare to your original marples, you would have to be a pretty serious woodworker to justify buying a set of the same quality of your 25 yr old marples. I have a set of these Irwin’s Marples and right out of the box you need to prepare these chisels, lots of tool markings, the edge is not that sharp and because of the lower carbon content they need frequent honing to keep a sharp edge. Over all they serve my purpose
Rockwell hardness is a test using a press and a cone of some sort. the cone depends on the scale and range of pressures youre working with. but essentially its a measurement of how much the metal displaces under a given load. the less it displaces, the harder the material. But you have to understand that the measuring system isnt just for metal, so thats why there are the different scales for rockwell hardness.If youre good with a center punch, you can almost do the test with a center punch. Harden a couple known samples of steel and temper accordingly and then punch each piece as a visual reference. then punch the piece you have in question and you should be able to compare and figure out the hardness range. But there are also files that you can buy and a lot easier to use. just keep picking files until one slides rather than biting in and youll know how hard the steel is.
About 15 minutes in the hot air oven and you can pull the plastic handles off by hand.
I don't understand why you don't have more subscribers.
Greetings from germany.
Thank you! That’s a really appreciated comment!
Just found your channel looking for thoughts on the older English Marples Blue Chip chisels. That chisel was amazingly close to flat out of the package. Nice review. The Irwin Marples are much more affordable than what people are asking for new old stock real Marples. I found this to be an excellent quality production and subscribed so I'll come back and see more. Thanks!
Welcome aboard!
Holds edge pretty good. Softer than vintage Marples, but not especially so. I restore old tools and I don't feel like this is any less useful than a vintage Marples firmer chisel. These wouldn't really be considered bevel chisels. You will hit the stones a bit more often but it's easier to touch up as well. Similar to modern sorby in steel quality, albeit less comfortable with the odd handle shape choice. I think they are wanting these to be used with mallets more? But I feel like the older carver style is much more comfortable.
My experience, Irwin is good in a pinch but you get what you pay for.
Burrs all over my forstner bits from them, and the cutting teeth on the outside weren't symmetrical. It loves to wander
Thanks for sharing!
I have the opinion that if you can sharpen it, then it doesn't matter that much who made it.
It’s nice when it holds an edge but you have a valid poinr
Point!
Rockwell hardness scale being upward be around 60 is pretty high on the scale I'm certain it's got to be some form of tool steel I not sure exactly what they made it out of but I'm thinking 4140 maybe that sounds like an awfully higher grade of steel for something I cost $10
Looks good. Didnt seem to take that long to sharpen it well. Its better than a Harbor Freight set which is what I have. Disabled, fixed income...so have to go with what I can at the time. Cheap steel, takes a while to get flattened and sharp, doesnt take long to wear out the edge. What you have shown here will be something I can look into at a later time. I would love the more expensive ones but, for no more than what I do this would be long lasting.
Thanks for sharing Michael!
How you sharpen has an effect on tool performance. There's sharp then there's sharp. A burr feels sharp. But a burr won't stay sharp. So how you hone and strop makes a big difference. It can take some gear and technique to get the best sharpness too. I like diamonds for roughing but I'm not keen on how they polish. There's better out there. Though getting that can be expensive.
I have never gotten the back flattened on my 3/4 marples, spent an hour on 200 grit diamond plate. I just replaced them with Woodriver chisels for the same money. They came flat, the Pfeil chisels I use now came flat and sharp for the same price as Stanley 750's
I guess it depends on what your willing to pay and what your using them for, these type of cheap chisels are good for rough work when banging them with a mallet all day lol
Is the hardness of the steel
Do you have a video covering your slick and framing chisels? They look like Barr brand but maybe not. Love the leather covers too and make them for my chisels that are not part of sets and go in my tool chest.
It is a Barr! Good eye! You might like “A Razor sharp chisel” and my series on restoring a corner chisel and making the sheath!
I have an original set of Marples made in Sheffield England and these are no where close to the real ones. I very seldom have to sharpen mine and they are a sharp as razors. Getting very hard to find the originals. If you can find the original buy them, you won't be disappointed.
What did they cost? If you don’t mind me asking!
Why didn’t you show how to get the packaging off?
Thank you Jim
Hey David!
Just my opinion I guess the Irwin is just for a homeowner a diy person. like your wood stove 👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks
i think bladed tools that are made in sheffield england are the best in the world, the brand does not matter.
Thank you for your informative video. I purchased the 3/4 inch Irwin marples chisel and had a different experience. The one that I purchased was very flat on the back, and extremely sharp right out of the packaging. I did the shaving test as I do with all my new chisels and it shaved like a razor. My only other chisels that were like this straight from the manufacturer are my Pfeil chisels. This tells me, and something that you might be interested in, that the Irwin marples probably differ in quality from batch to batch, or maybe I just got extremely lucky.
So everyone has old Irwin chisels and I have to use the new ones made in China 😞
3/4 inch very good but my 1 inch isnt that sharp
Thanks for sharing!
@@lastingbuild1373 youre welcome bro 😎👍
I have both the original english made Marples and the Irwin Marples. There is no comparison between the two. Original is a much nicer chisel.
Nice Shop
Thank you!
I think if you use a motorised sharpener then hardness is an advantage. I think the cheaper chisels are often softer as it’s safer not to be brittle. Made in Sheffield was an indication of quality before globalisation. I find big box store chisels are often good enough as long as you don’t buy the cheapest. I am a fan of Marples vintage made in Sheffield. I sometimes buy chisels in junk shops. You know when you sharpen them that if the edge frays they are too soft. I have to say I don’t see the point in spending a lot on the best. It’s only a chisel and two seconds in my Worksharp or on the buffing wheel and they are plenty sharp. For softwoods I sharpen to 20 degrees. My favourites are Sorby with box wood handles. My Narex are fine but I will put box wood handles with decent ferrules on them one day.
Thanks for sharing!
Here are my 2 cents on a set of them after a few years of ownership.
1. Decent starter set where if you damage them you don't feel bad.
2. Sharpen very quickly and to a very fine point, but also require frequent sharpening because they dull quickly too.
3. Quality control is all over the place. Some of mine are definitely harder than others and hold an edge better, some the edge simply rolls after a little use.
4. Several tips were not square out of the package but visibly skewed. As I was new to chisels I didn't know better and should have returned them.
5. Something to keep in mind for almost all chisels: keep the bevel at about 30 degrees for durability. This makes the single largest improvement you can make for any chisel, but especially these. The difference is edge durability @ 30 degrees is significant and obvious with these chisels.
6. Handles are okay, just like what said in the video. The extra length is a little cumbersome. A little shorter would be a sweet spot.
7. Construction is a molded handle on tang. That makes them cheaper to manufacture. If the handle breaks, it's not really worth fixing.
Got 4 sets (8 in each) of Marples for our school. They are slightly different than yours (steel on the top). The steel is way better against corrosion than the Bahco set I bought 2 years ago. During my apprenticeship in the late 70's I had one marples. Lasted 15 years
Good info! Thanks for sharing!
You should cut off that plastic handle to see what is underneath. Im not a fan of my Irwin Marples forstner bits, they clog like non other.
Thanks
@@lastingbuild1373 Actually you can replace the handles with wood handles if you ever choose to. Inside is a tang that would fit inside the new handles you make. I've been collecting a full set of Stanley 60 series chisels just to cut off the plastic handle and replace with wood. Paul Sellers and others have videos on doing this. Thanks for your videos. Enjoy them! Scott
Stanley sweethearts are made in China
It may be a decent tool, but I have philosophical issues with buying anything from Communist China that has over a million people in forced labor industries not any different from what the Nazis did to the Jews and other “undesirables” in mid-20th century Europe. I would rather pick up a used tool from a pawn shop or eBay, and spend time putting it back in shape. (My brother just gave me three older, Pre-China Marples chisels that he picked up from a pawn shop for $5.00 for the lot. I needed a silicon carbide “green” wheel for my bench grinder for sharpening carbide tools; all the big box stores, and most on-line tool dealers only sourced wheels from China. It took about 20 searches to find what I needed, one that was made in the Middle East. If you need the tool, and have no other choice, you may have to buy from the CCP, but do the diligence and try to find an alternative. I do appreciate that new wood workers have strict limitations on the amount that they can spend on tools, and sometimes the choice is between China, and no tool at all. Nice review on the tool.
M
Irwins are garbage. If you want a good chisel get the original Marples made in Sheffield, England, If you can find them.
I use it for glue squeeze out, scraping, rough work ex. I use other chisels for the fine work.
It looks a piece of crap