20 Best Wood Carving Chisels (2022 Updated)

I now have all 4 sizes of these gouges and I think they are great With one big reservation. They come with a terrible bevel grind! All four that I bought are ground close to 50 degrees. I can’t imagine anyone using such a grind and I don’t understand why the manufacturer grinds them like this.

I doubt they could cut much like that. I wouldn’t think it would be any more expensive to improve this. Once reground and sharpened, they are great. They take and hold an edge fairly well. They are very comfortable to hold They are fairly inexpensive.

I would have given 5 stars but for the original grind. ( It takes a long time to regrind when doing it by hand! ) If you don’t mind regrinding, this is very good value. If you want to use it straight from the box, don’t bother with this.

Good value tool that does what you expect. Appears to be reasonable steel to sharpen. Did need fine honing to shape and sharpness before use. This tighter V tool is often missed out of the 12 piece sets available elsewhere so a good extra tool profile shape.

I have recently bought one of these and I regret ever parting with 6 for this rubbish. The steel doesnt hold a sharp edge sharp enough for carving cleanly. It just hacks the wood away, I tried it on softwoods like pine and it just made a mess and didnt even scoop much wood away.

I wouldnt bother buying one of these, these tools should carve wood with relatively easy efforts but this requires great amount of pressure to do anything. There is a reason why this is only a cheap product.

I did a lot of research on chisels before I decided to choose these. I really liked the value for money that you get with these, especially at Home Essentials Direct prices, but I kept getting put off by ‘experts’ that claimed they were no good.

A lot of people recommended Narex instead, but a lot of those same people complained that the QC done by Narex was inconsistent at best. It didn’t really look like you could pick a winner at this price range.

I decided to pull the trigger on a set despite the negative remarks from some of the experts, and overall I’m really happy that I did. I’ll preface this with the fact that I’m using these for fine joinery and that I have high expectations for end results.

Initial impressions: Out of the box these are good looking chisels. There are plenty of machine marks on the steel, but overall everything looks clean and flat. The cutting edges out of the box leave something to be desired.

Do not expect these to be honed when you get them. Don’t even expect them to make good cuts out of the box. They are mediocre at best, and about as sharp as I can get them with 220 grit sandpaper. Honing impressions: these were dead-flat out of the box, which is seriously impressive for the price.

Honing the back 3/4″ or so on each to flat and smooth took no longer than about 15 minutes total. Sharpening impressions: These sharpen well, far better than I expected given the overall bad reputation that these have in the online woodworking communities.

Using 400, 600, 1500, and finally 2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper brings these up to ‘pretty sharp’. I can pare end grain cleanly with them at this point. Adding 2 final polishing stages with green then red polishing compound impregnated on a piece of balsa gets them to ‘absurdly sharp’ to the point that I’m afraid of leaving them out on the benchtop.

A mirror polish finish is definitely possible with these and a bit of effort. Edge retention: These chisels do their job really well through each project for me. I usually sharpen everything up at the end of a project so that they’re ready for the next use.

I haven’t found a need to sharpen these mid-project just yet. Maybe a quick run on some polishing compound here and there for touch-up, but definitely no need to go back to the beginning. Handles: This is my biggest con for these chisels.

The handles are fairly small in diameter and not very long. What this means is that my large hands have a hard time holding these for paring or body-weight chopping for an extended period. They’re not socket chisels, so you’re stuck with what they come with.

The material of the handles is a durable plastic. I have no doubt they’ll hold up to being driven by a wooden joiners mallet or a rubber hammer. Using these with a steel hammer is asking too much in my opinion, and you really shouldn’t be doing that to your chisels anyways.

Overall: I’m happy with them for a good set to get started in hand-cut joinery. For the price I don’t think that you could find much better. My intention is now to slowly upgrade the most-used chisels from this set to some socket chisels, but those are running around $30/each.

I don’t imagine that I’ll need to upgrade inside a year. I would suggest these for anyone interested in fine woodworking, but are working on a budget. I wouldn’t suggest them for carpentry though, I’ve seen what those guys do to tools, they should stick to the through-tang Stanely’s.

The one key note that I would take impress is that no matter the brand you will need to hone and sharpen your chisels out of the box, these are no exception, but if you’re willing to spend a bit of time and effort on them these can be fantastic chisels.

I wanted a chisel set with a box. at least 6 sizes up to 1 inch, from a brand I recognize, but nothing crazy expensive. Well. I got all that BUT. The edges were quite literally no better than butter knives.

I spent 2 hours grinding, honing and polishing by hand. Durability is an unknown as these are definitely not full tang, and using a magnet they appear to have tangs about 1/3 the length of the handles.

Oh well. so many options, so few in brick n mortar shops, you take risks.

I had been cobbling on with super cheap chisels for too long, so I bought these to replace those, and have a complete set of one kind of chisel. I’m not doing fine woodworking, so I don’t need the really nice precision made chisels, I really just needed a decent set of replacement utility chisels.

I did also buy the 1. 5″ and 2″ chisels to round out the set (only missing the 1. 25″ right now). I did spend some time to flatten the backs, but they weren’t too far off from flat. I also reground each bevel on my slow speed grinder with CBN wheels and a robo hippy tool rest to set the angles.

Once off the grinder, I then sharpened on diamond at 1000 grit (The CBN wheel I used was already 600 grit), and then went to the strop. After the strop, each chisel easily shaved hair, and that is how I like to keep my chisels for my use.

The steel does some decently hard based on how they sharpened for me, and how well they have held up so far in use. I primarily use these for chopping and cleaning out mortises as well as paring and cleaning up tenon cheeks.

I will say that this is a mixed imperial and metric set, which means some chisels are slightly oversized, and others slightly undersized. It is not a big deal for me, as I am really just using these to clear out waste efficiently.

If you use your chisels to measure and reference against for width, then you will definitely want to look at a more expensive high precision set though I think these are a great value though, and they are at a point that if I were to completely destroy one for some reason, or lose one, it would be fairly simple to get a replacement and just move on without much trouble.

I have had my on this elegant little tool for some time. I bought the 1mm scoop first but coveted the v gouge, so finally bit the bullet and bought it. It is perfection! The shape and size of the handle fits hy palm perfectly and the blade carves out the tiniest sliver of linoleum with ease.

Just right for out lining or tiny details. So many possibilities! Happy Printing, everyone!.

Fast delivery from Axminster. Great little gouge, comes sharp out the box. Great for small detail work

Far inferior to other brands, the v tool didn’t come sharp, stropped it and still doesn’t cut well.

Very useful for cutting detail and clean edges on linocuts. Easy to hold comfortably due to handle shape. Haven’t tried it on wood yet. (hence only 4 stars) The blade is sharp straight out of the box.

Yet to see how long it retains its’ edge but looks like it should be ok as long as I remember to hone it briefly before use every now and again, (as I should do with all my cutters).

First class tools that work well for small details on your carvings. Sharp and ready to go. Seem to hold their edge so far, but time will tell as I have only had them for a short while. Easy to sharpen on a strop, I would think.

Flexcut micro tools fill many gaps in the traditional carving tool, tool kit. Where small precision cuts are required they are the best choice

Bought this as my first set of chisels knowing that i’d need to spend some time sharpening them. What i wasn’t expecting was it was going to take 8hrs+. On one chisel i just couldn’t, and still haven’t, get rid of all of the striation marks near the tip.

Out of the box they were unusable and couldn’t even cut paper. The stone seemed to wear quite easily and is only really useful for the first honing passes to make backs flat, flatten the bevel and add the microbevel.

you then need finer grits to get them sharp and polish them. Now the good points: i’ve not had the problems others have with the chisels falling out of the box, not often enough to worry about anyway, and the honing guide seems okay, if a little fiddly to make sure the blade is flat.

They’ve sharpened up to a decent but not great edge (finishing off with 1200grit wet and dry) which is enough for the limited use I’ll give them. Would i buy them again?? For a newbie woodworker they are good value for a set of this size and the box is a nice touch.

but you do have to spend quite a bit of time on them before first use.

Great set. Every size most people will ever need. They sharpen easily and hold an edge much better than I expected. Delivery is brilliant and a bargain if you want next day delivery. You’ll probably want to flatten the backs when you get them to get the best out of them but it doesn’t take long on the stone provided.

Go easy on any subsequent sharpening because the stone is fairly aggressive so a minute or two will bring the edge back. Previously only had a set of three blue handled, marples chisels bought from a diy store ( which were considerably more expensive than this 10 piece set ) but the Vonhaus are MUCH better.

These are SO impressive ( and I’ve never done this before ) I stopped a fella in b and q, the other day, from putting a £45 (smaller) set of chisels in his trolley and suggested he buy these. Best tool bargain I’ve ever had.

This is a fantastic set of premium quality steel machined well. The only reason for the 4 stars is that the back is rough enough to need many hours of work to sand down and there is some sharpish corner that needed a file taken to them on the end of the chisel blade.

But for the money this is an amazing deal and I would HIGHLY recommend them. If you are willing to put a bit of effort to tidy them up before first use then you will have a set equivalent to chisels sold at 4-5 times the price.

I suspect this will be my go to workhorses from now on.

As a beginner Luthier, I wanted something that would not break the bank and still be of great quality. Well Erwin Blue Chip chisels is just that. They serve my purpose well and with the right care, I should be able to a life’s time use from them.

I highly recommend the Erwin Blue Chip Chisel for anyone that has stay within a certain budget but still needs a great quality tool.

I have not had a chance to use the chisels much since I bought them, but the edges did hold up trimming the small amount of wood I have worked on. I would have liked to have seen a 1 1/4 inch chisel offered to complete the set.

I found the initial honing of the chisels to be fairly easy. The backs were flat with shallow machining marks that came out with a small effort. This was far less than some other chisels I have had. Each edge was square, and had no gouges in the edges.

The sides of the chisels appear to be 90 degrees to the back, and the sides are parallel the length of the blade.

I received these chisels as a gift. So far they exactly what I needed. The chisels came with a reasonable edge so haven’t sharpened then yet. The quality appears to be very good!

Took two of them out for a test run last night. Was only planning a rough approximation of some 45 degree long and deep (4″ by 3″) finger joints I needed to chop out so didn’t bother flattening or honing.

Have to say I was very very surprised at the results. Effortlessly chopped through the test pieces and very clean edges, also really nice control for paring producing shavings the length of the test piece.

Used the 12mm and 20mm so far, same results with each so really looking forward to trying out the others. The test pieces are deal, will add to the review once I’ve tried them on the mahogany stock.

As a professional cabinet maker, I use these every day. I can quite honestly say they are the best chisels I’ve ever used. Hold an edge very well (sharpened on a Tormek – also recommended) and have a great balance.

Only negatives are though they have a metal ring, best to still keep to the wooden mallet. and the edges are quite thick so are not very good for cleaning out dovetails face on unlike a good set of Japanese chisels.

Would recommend these as your every day set with a few supplimentary chisels (Mortice, Japanese, carving and smaller sized chisel – such as a 2mm).

I have used this chisel for several projects and am very pleased. I mortised a door for hinges and lockset. The edge is sharp and durable. The handle easy to hold with gloves or bare hands. Very easy to position while hitting with a hammer.

The handle shows no sign of damage or mushrooming. I also put the chisel to good use removing some interior door trim which had been painted on and required cutting through the paint and prying off the trim.

The trim came off without and damage to the wall saving me the work of patching and repainting.

The quality is average. The steel holds an edge about the same as other brands I own. The molding of the handle and overmolding is good quality and the handle shape fits well. The lacquer on the blade comes off quickly and offers little corrosion protection.

sadly most other brands use the same finish. the big downfall of this product is the warranty. I cant walk into a big box store and get a free replacement.

I got these a few weeks ago, and have put them through some tough projects to say the least. From hardwoods, to soft pine, they get the job done with precision. The 3 different sizes mean that no matter what project I am working on, I have the right tool for the job.

They hold an edge for long periods, and are easy to sharpen when they finally do need it. I am one very happy user!.

I purchased this Dewalt chisel set as a backup to my wooden handle chisel set. After setting and sharpening the blades, they have turned into my favorite set. The handles are so very comfortable. When cutting a mortise, I can really dig back on the handle with no pain for me or the chisel.

These are very heavy duty — I use them on tough woods like osage orange. The #3 and #10 are the two I use the most (out of a large selection of gouges). Would prefer the #5 to be a half inch wider but it will do what I need.

My last parting tool was a Swiss Made and shattered under heavy use (as had a Swiss Made #5 gouge) The flexcuts cut faster and have never failed. I Got this set for travel. Excellent price compared to buying individually.

Also, the handles are thicker than my originals. I’ve reinforced with strapping tape and added leather to the ends. Will be using 2 1/2 lb mallet — that is a lot of persuasion. Below pieces are Japanese Plum and Macadamia — a lot harder than White Oak.

There was a sale so I bought BOTH the 4 piece sculptor and 6 piece chisel sets after watching reviews on Youtube. They are super sharp and carve excellent! Once I save enough money, I will buy the chisel sharpener next! I highly recommend this brand of chisels #sweepstakes.

Great little box these came in. Nice large chisels for getting rid of the bulk. They are sharp right out of the box. They even include a convenient band aid dispenser with the chisels so you don’t have to ask your wife for one when you chop off your fingers.

I bought this three piece set for two reasons: I wanted some butt style chisels and I was curious as to what quality could Stanley produce for such a low price. It took only a few minutes on diamond stones and then oil stores followed by stropping on chromium oxide green to produce outstanding sharpness (tested by shaving my forearm and paring endvgrain pine, poplar and mahogany).

They performed as well as chisels costing 15 times as much and in use chopping mortise stood up well, requiring minimal stopping to stay so sharp. The handles are genuinely ergonomic. Definitely recommend adding this set to your tool chest.

It would be nice if the set included a 1/4 inch size too.

As an old-time Locksmith as well as a Do-It-Yourselfer, I prefer to make all the finishing touches by hand. I have been doing this since my Father first took me to a Lumber Yard when I was 3. Its funny how you remember little things for so many years.

My Father needed some wood for his store, but requested that the Yard Man make the necessary cuts. As a 3-year old with wide eyes and curiosity, the tool the Yard Man used to measure the lumber was a Stanley Tape measure.

This stuck with me as I grew up and saw more and more professionals using Stanley products. And of course my Father and Grandfather had Stanley tools in their toolboxes and workshops. I tried to help my Father and Grandfather whenever I could, and was thrilled when given a Stanley Screwdriver, Chisel, Hammer or any Stanley tool.

As I grew I started my own tool collection, Stanley of course. My grandparents knew that I would prefer some tool made by Stanley over any toy, and they indulged my wishes. In focusing on Stanley Chisels, as I entered my teenage years I learned how to sharpen Stanley Chisels and Stanley Plane Blades to a “hollow ground” ensuring the tool would remain sharp well through the project and through additional projects.

Recently we had to replace the front door to our house. We ordered the new door which the factory mortised to accept the lock. But since we were using the existing door frame, we had to hand cut and align the strike plate with the newly hung door.

It was literally a thrill to take my Stanley Chisel and gently cut out the necessary recesses for the plate. The factory sharpness was unsurpassed and the Stanley Chisels cut through the trim as if were simply moving through air.

The grip on the Stanley Chisels was very comfortable (which was a blessing in disguise as I recently had hand surgery to repair prior nerve damage). I have not used a finer Chisel then these made by Stanley.

I highly recommend them to all my fellow DIYer’s and to all professionals. The only downside is that Stanley has made these Chisels of such high quality, replacements will be needed in the very distant future as they are designed to be passed down from generation to generation.

First off, let’s begin by saying what needs to be said even though it doesn’t need to be said: Chisels, regardless of the brand, will ALWAYS need some work right out of the box before you start using them.

Let me repeat: CHISELS, REGARDLESS OF THE BRAND, WILL ALWAYS NEED SOME WORK RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX BEFORE YOU START USING THEM. I’m a beginner in using chisels. I purchased these to train myself on how to sharpen chisels and make dovetails by hand without the hideous expense of something like Stanley Sweethearts or Narex.

Having said that, let’s begin with my thoughts on the business end of this set. The blades will likely need to be squared up, sharpened, polished and flattened to an acceptable level. No – they DEFINITELY need to be squared up, sharpened, polished and flattened.

Be prepared to spend a little bit more for a diamond sharpener (the one at HF will work just fine) and a sharpening jig for chisels and plane irons. Ensuring your chisels are sharpened at the correct angle, polished and flattened will make for a better time in using them.

No ifs, ands or buts. Secondly, the handle. The handle appears to be a very light wood, so you don’t want to abuse these with a metal hammer. Use a wooden mallet or a rubber mallet. I doubt these things will take abuse like the aforementioned brands, so take it easy.

If possible, and as a side project, maybe make a new set of handles for them out of some harder wood. Lastly, and this goes for any chisel, DON’T DROP THEM. These chisels seem especially susceptible to denting or possible bending if they hit metal or hard ground.

I doubt they’re heat treated properly, if at all, so the metal is extremely soft, as is evident by the sharpening process. They’re great for a little light work and some training, but I wouldn’t recommend taking these to hard woods on a regular basis.

I own some very expensive chisels but I needed to take up some ceramic tiles so I got these inexpensive ones, figuring to trash them when done. I was shocked, when I finished the chisels were still in good shape.

I was able to sharpen them and easily shave my arms with them. I will see how the hold up with a scarry sharp edge. For the money these are great. You can pay $100 for some Sweetheart Chisels and get a great chisel set but for $10 these won’t hold an edge as good but I can chisel ceramic tiles and not worry about damaging them.

Wear safety goggles when ever using a chisel.

I ordered this set as a stepping stone to continue practicing my Lino cut work. I have been using the speedball hand tool and these are definitely an upgrade. Someday I’ll be able to move into even higher quality tools but I’m more than pleased with these for now.

The wooden box, I’m sad to say, was very broken when it arrived. I would have liked to keep but luckily none of the tools inside were damaged.

Flexcut tools were recommended to me by a friend who does a lot of intricate wood carving of fish and birds. It is my first carving set. While the blades fit snugly (they better), it takes a little muscle to get them in place.

They are very sharp and ready to use. Do take their advice and use the sharpening strap about every 30 minutes of use. saves having to stone them. I plan on buying a couple extra work handles. the type of carving I’m doing requires switching cutting tools too often; more handles=more convenience.

The only way to really get a better carving set would be to pay MUCH MORE for one of the Swedish sets. If you are a beginner or just an occasional carver, there is no need to look further. This would also be a great set for fine finishing work such as scroll patterns on Kentucky style rifles and picture frames, detailing duck decoys, etc.

Very glad I bought them. best price found was on Ebay. saved $70 over well known supplier’s offer.

Great quality and variety of chisel blades for the price. Flexcut’s tools arrived super sharp, all I had to do was a few runs over the included honer. The well selected variety of tool ends covers what most carvers will need, thus the wonderful advantage of the Flexcut interchangable system.

I was surprisingly pleased with how well the chisel ends change in and out and are sure handed when working with them. Felt no different then using my higher priced Swiss chisels, and Flexcut kept its edge just as well.

For a beginner or advanced wood carver this set is a treat that doesn’t break the bank, you won’t have to waste time sharpening them before using, and the two different handles allow you to use what works for you.

Palm, or long handles both feel great in the hand and so far have had no problems with holding tight tool ends and being able to change them out easily. The first time the wood handle took me a bit to get the blade in but after I took a glop of glue from the corner of the opening I’ve had no problems.

The box the carving set arrives in is well made and the entire kit is a one stop shop for any wood carver, or person who uses these for other arts. Chisels, knives, a fab Honing system with jeweler’s rouge, intro DVD, bandaids, sharpening instructions and genral care all for the price of about 2 of the Swiss made chisels.

As a maintenance man for a disability center, I’m constantly working on doors and windows, etc. There’s always a little “tweek” needed to get things to fit properly, and this chisel has made me look like a champ on many occasions.

Wouldn’t be without it.

I use chisels often when making different wood joints and these Stanley Chisels are a fantastic addition to the shop. Durable, strong and very sharp, but also comfortable grip to use them with. These chisels are one of the most essential tools in my shop, great addition for a beginner or a pro!.

My dad gave me some of these chisels. I hadn’t really used chisels before but needed them when making some storage solutions for some tools in my garage and these were quite handy! I they felt sturdy and stable using them.

I was afraid I would slip and they’d chip something I wasn’t trying to touch but they were easy to make fairly precise cuts and depending on the angle you can take off a decent amount of wood at one time making quick work of my project.

Excellent quality and very sharp right out of the package. Already put it to good use mortising a door frame. It feel great in your hand and gets the job done. I accidentally hit a trim nail pretty hard and the edge did not chip.

The nail suffered some damage. DeWalt hit the nail on the head with this one.

This is the first brand new chisel I have ever gotten. I never knew how sharp chisels could make your projects that much easier. The width of the chisel is the perfect size that I have needed for my wood working projects.

The angle of the blade is more aggressive than any other chisel I have used and makes cutting into the materials easier as well.

This is a good chisel for the money if you need a large chisel. It sharpened easily to a razor sharp edge. I have not used it enough to comment on edge sharpness retention. The handle is plastic and although it could be struck with a dead blow mallet, I am not sure about a metal headed hammer.

this is a very good tool. at the price, no complaints. I bought it fill out an old set of chisels that had a cracked 12mm chisel. It took an edge well and quickly.

A Christmas gift for my mother needed a chisel for some detail work and inlay. Not having many hand tools searched online and was overwhelmed by the amount of variety and prices. Below, is what I prioritized after doing some digging.

and why I not only gave this set a 5 star rating but choice this set of chisels from Harbor Freight. I’m new to this hand tool but have always enjoyed the “infotainment” value of watching wood workers (i.

e. Timber framers) and craftsmen (i. e. within the trades) use chisels. Some things I picked up from watching is hand chisels come in many shapes and sizes. require a maintenance to maintain quality.

and the handle size matters. The right size chisel depends on the project, the material being chiseled, and your skill level working with hand tools. If your project is removing a lot of material, you need wide blades.

if your project isn’t, it will need narrow blades. This set from Harbor Freight, is a perfect range for most people from DIYers to hobbyist. Maintaining hand tools is the “key” to get the most out of them.

Keeping them sharp before tackling a project is crucial to actually enjoying working with chisels. So, if your new to working with chisels, keeping them sharp will greatly improve your success LEARNING to use them.

because your probably going to “beat’em up” due to a lack of experience causing them to dull faster than experienced wood workers. Price and quality seem to go hand in hand. however, when you consider the experience level of the person using the hand tool this might not hold true.

Like I said, inexperienced people will probably “beat up” these kind of hand tools. so while learning it probably better to have to replace a chisel out of this set versus an expensive one. Size matters! DON’T get bigger handle chisels unless you’re working with large projects such as timber framing.

Removing material with a chisel isn’t only done by whacking it with a hammer (or mallet) but one of the more common uses is “scraping” along or against the wood grain. Having big handles would impede your moveability and control over the chisel.

Making detailed work hard and frustrating.

High quality, highly professional manufacture tool set. The size assortment covers most job needs. The steel is super strong. The quality is top notch, super durable, and dependable. With this set, the job will surely be finished satisfactorily.

There are no cons to list herein; only pros of the highest quality. A well constructed set of tools, intelligently and conveniently assorted. Discretely priced, this set observably would enjoy little competition.

We strongly recommend this tool set to finish any serious woodworking task.

The handles are durable in normal use. Heavy hammering will loosen them as they are just a tapered post molded into the plastic handles. Out of the package, you may feel a fine lip on the cutting edge.

It is the remnant of a not quite finished sharpening process. It can be easily removed with a fine file or sandpaper. This will give you a very sharp cutting edge. You saved $$, so you can afford a few minutes to hone the edge.