Woodworking On The Cheap

Irwin Blue Chip Chisels

A few years back I was at a woodworking show in Indianapolis, and saw a deal I couldn’t pass up. A 4-piece set of Irwin Blue Chip chisels at a price I thought was insanely low. At the time I’d been borrowing a set of chisels from a friend that makes a career out of cabinet making, custom built-ins, remodels, etc. He was going to want those chisels back, and I was going to need some for myself. I don’t know what I’d do without my chisels. Read on for my thoughts on these precision ground high-carbon steel chisels.

Out of the Box

The chisels I purchased were pre-honed at the factory. Normally when I see something is honed at a factory my mind instantly reads it as, “we sorta-ground this to almost sharp.” Not the case for these Irwin chisels. These suckers were SHARP out of the packaging. Far sharper than you can get with a cheap-o diamond stone set! Since they were ready to go with a nice clean edge, I put them to use right away.

Experience

I found the Irwin Blue Chips excellent at cleaning up the edges on blind and through mortises in oak. Had I known what I was doing a little better (clamp a block of wood across the mortise to help get a straight edge!) the results on the knock-down plate rack I made for my wife would have had tighter tolerances. In retrospect, the small amount of ‘give’ in the joints can be excused by, “Allowing for wood expansion.”  Even so, the chisels did an outstanding job of cleaning up the corners and edges of the mortises after I hogged out the majority of the wood with a drill bit. All of the mortises in this knock-down plate rack were cut by hand with these chisels, including the really tricky square on a 45-degree incline to the top and bottom edges that locks the middle bar in place.  As a third project in woodworking, I was pretty satisfied with how things came out.

User-error (or inexperience) aside, any problems I had with this project were not the fault of the tool. These chisels are wonderful, solid, and comfortable to hold and use. Sharpening is easy with a diamond stone set and an inexpensive honing guide.

Review Results

Without a doubt, my Irwin chisels do the trick. They stay sharp for a fairly long time, hold an edge well (even through knots in hardwoods), and take a beating from a dead-blow mallet like no one’s business. When it comes time for me to get more chisels (if I need more sizes, or longer shenks, etc.) I’ll be looking at what Irwin has to offer. The fact that they came pre-honed to a razor edge made it great for a beginner like I was to learn to use the tool properly, taught me the value of, and has motivated me to work on my sharpening skills.

Arbitrary Rating Numbers

Comfort In Use: 4/5

Longevity: 4/5

Tolerance for Abuse: 4/5

Price: 3/5

Offical Woodworking on the Cheap review score: 15/20