Chisel Sets

Buying chisels as a set is the quickest way to equip a woodworker's workshop with a full run of sizes, and because the steel, geometry and handles are consistent throughout, they all sharpen and behave the same way. Everything on this page is supplied either boxed or in a tool roll.

Bevel edged chisels are the general-purpose pattern that most woodworkers reach for first. The narrow lands either side of the blade let them work into acute corners, which makes them the natural choice for dovetails, housings and general joinery.

• Narex 8105 - chrome-manganese blades and lacquered beech handles; the standard first set. Sets of 6, 12 and 17, plus a presentation boxed set.
• Narex 8116 Cabinetmakers - slimmer lands and shapely hornbeam handles in natural or black. Sets of 6 and 12, with a free tool roll on the larger sets.
• Narex Richter - cryogenically treated chrome-vanadium steel for a harder, longer lasting edge. Sets of 5 and 8.
• Workshop Heaven Victorian Cabinetmakers - the classic London pattern with oval bolstered handles in beech or rosewood. Sets of 6 and 12.
• Ashley Iles - forged in Lincolnshire from O1 tool steel with turned bubinga handles. Sets of cabinetmakers, dovetail and carving chisels.

Specialist patterns earn their place once you repeat the same operation often. Ashley Iles dovetail chisels (sets of 6 and 9) have steeply bevelled sides that reach into a tail socket without bruising the pins, while their butt chisels are short in blade and handle for controlled work in hinge recesses. Narex 8112 mortice chisels are thick and deep enough to lever against without flexing, the Narex 8132 paring set of 3 is for hand pressure only, and the ARNO framing chisels bring the reach and mass needed for timber framing and heavy carpentry.

Japanese chisels laminate a thin layer of very hard, high carbon steel to a softer iron body, giving a keener, longer lasting edge and a hollow ground back that is quick to flatten. Fujikawa oire nomi are the everyday bench pattern in sets of 5 and 10. The Japanese Beginners set of 5 is an inexpensive way to try the style.

Narex PROFI carving chisels arrive sharpened ready to use - a set of 6 or boxed set of 8 for relief carving, a detail set of 8 for finer work and a palm set of 5 for seated, in-the-hand carving. The Narex 'Start' set is a modest introduction, and the 8125 firmer gouges handle waste removal and chair seat shaping.

The Workshop Heaven Fine Woodworking Starter Bundle pairs chisels with the other woodworking essentials for less than buying separately.