The Chisel Off!
Monday, September 28, 2009 at 10:26PM Time for another TBE review, and its two leading wood chisel brands going head to head on an oak frame.
Our competitors are the Irwin Marples facing off against the Stanley Fat Max. Both chisel sets were to be employed on the construction of a traditional English green oak frame.
Admittedly this was a tough test for the chisels, but perfect as the ultimate test of durability and toughness. The best choice for timber framing would be register chisels, perhaps like those made by companies like Robert Sorby but at a starting price of £50 each (more than twice the cost of our chisels) most people will not be using these for the occasional green oak job. This was not a staged test, the chisels were used all day everyday in site conditions, which includes getting dropped on the floor, used to open paint tins (Nooooo!) and butter the bread for lunch.
We had a 50mm, 38mm 32mm and 25mm Marples and a 32mm and 25mm Stanley Fat Max. Both brands are bevel-edge chisels, the Stanley has a through tang design whereas the Marples has a plastic handled moulded around the tang. The Marples plastic handle is very comfortable and lightweight to use, whereas the Fat Max has added some rubber for extra comfort and added a steel end cap to the handle. This was of immediate advantage as the handle of the 50mm Marples was soon shattered when one of our carpenters got carried away and tried to use brute force. Although the chisel was mis-used, the handle was definitely not as tough as the Fat Max. In use the Marples were my personal favourite as they felt better in the hand, and the longer blade was more useful for finishing the sides of joints. For me, the shorter blade of the Fat Max was a bit limiting when used on 8” wide oak beams.
Both chisels maintained their sharpness well but we found that once blunted and re-sharpened the Stanley chisels performed better than the Marples. I cannot explain the reason for this, but it was something we noted.
Choosing between the two chisel sets is not a critical decision because either set will serve you well. There are some excellent deals on the Marples sets at the moment (check out itslondon.co.uk) but individually the Marples chisels are much more expensive. A 50mm chisel costs £27.54 (inc. Vat) while the same size in the Fat Max is much more reasonable at £18.34 (inc Vat). This makes the Marples 50% more expensive and the simple truth from our experience of both chisels is that the Marples is not 50% better.
In conclusion, having used both sets of chisels solidly for a month in some of the toughest conditions they are likely to face, there was little to pick between them in terms of performance. The Stanley is better able to cope with misuse with its steel end cap, and would be a good choice to give to the apprentice. The Marples feels better in the hand and has a longer blade. Totally subjectively, I also think it is a nice looking tool and in the wooden case the set makes even the worst wood butcher look like a pro, at least until the work starts. But we are not only talking about the superficial here. The price of the Stanley is a massive point in its favour and I would say that for a carpenter or serious DIYer it represents better value for money but I suspect people who really like their tools will find there is something about the Marples that is hard to resist.
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