NarexRichter Bevel Edge Chisel 1/8" (3mm)

In the pictures, left to right: Veritas PMV-11 3/4", Lie Nielsen 1/2", Narex Richter 1/2", Stanley Bailey 1/2".I wanted a new set of chisels to replace my (not much liked) Stanley Baileys, and was undecided between the Narex Richter, the Lie Nielsen, and the Veritas PMV-11. I ordered one of each to try them out. I only did some slight paring with them (since I was going to return the ones I didn't like), and I did not sharpen them.Before you complain about not sharpening: all of these chisels are being used by master woodworkers, and can all be sharpened to perfection and will perform well. The differences in steel are minor. The purpose of my comparison was to get a feel for the handle, the overall shape of the chisel, and the overall look & feel.Let's get the Stanley Bailey out of the way first. This are a much lower class of chisel, and it is only in this comparison because the Baileys were my previous chisels. I've had these for 6 years and I've never really liked them. My main gripe is the handle - it is way, way to big for my medium hands, and it doesn't have a good shape (corners in all the wrong places, just not a well thought out handle). The original handle is also covered in a thick plastic paint which makes them very slippery and uncomfortable. I sanded that off, but the size and shape problems persist. They came so-so flat (required quite a bit of work on the back) and not sharp. Once you have flattened the back, you can get them sharp and they hold an edge quite well. The sides of the chisel are not very thin, so you can't get into corners with an overhang (e.g. if you want to do dovetails).Now about the other three, which is why you are here:- The difference in handle size is significant. The Narex is too big for my hands, and I find the handle too long. Out of the other two, the Veritas fits me slightly better but the LN is good as well. The LN is easier to control when holding it close to the front of the blade because the handle is lighter. The LN has a much shorter handle than the others, but since it's a socket chisel, the iron acts as an extension of the handle.- The handle on the Veritas has two flat spots to prevent rolling. It also gives you a feel of how the chisel is oriented when holding it by the handle. The other two have round handles. I prefer the flat spots.- The fit and finish on the handles is excellent on the Veritas and the LN, and very good on the Narex (very slightly less smooth than the other two - I would not have noticed if I didn't have the others next to it - definitely not a decider for me).- The grinding on the LN and the Veritas is superb and very fine. The Narex is polished so it's hard to say. Due to the polish, the Narex has very slightly rounded corners from the bottom. This will require some work if you want to cut with the corner of the chisel.- The steel on the Veritas and the LN is quite thick (about the same between the two). The Narex and the Stanley are significantly thinner (also about the same). I know from experience that you can feel some flex on the Stanley when chopping/levering, but it's not an issue most of the time. Definitely no problem at all when paring.- The edges of the Veritas are almost uncomfortably sharp. You can definitely cut yourself on them if you don't pay attention. The LN and the Narex have very thin edges but they won't cut you.- In my initial comparison, I did not sharpen them. However, the LN is A2, and the veritas is PMV-11. I have Veritas plane with a PMV-11 iron, and a LN with a A2 iron, and I find that I get a better edge with less work on the Veritas, so I assume that the same is true for chisels.- Since I bought the Veritas, I sharpened it later. The back was very flat (took maybe 2 minutes to hit it with the finest stone) and it took a fantastic edge very easily (as expected based on my experience with PMV-11).- If you must know, but I think that it is not a good comparison of chisels since you'll have to sharpen them anyway: the Veritas came absolutely razor sharp out of the box - I am not able to get it any sharper than that. The LN was acceptable but I could have improved it. The Richter wasn't that great - it did cut but not very well.My ranking: all in all I prefer Veritas, but the LN is coming pretty close especially given the lower price. The Richter did not do it for me due to the large handle. If it had a smaller handle, I would have considered it because of the much lower price.

The NarexRichter cryo chisel is good enough to be compared to the LieNielsen line. NR chisel is thinner, but you would only notice that if you were banging out a mortise with a dull edge. The handle and socket are comfortable but are a different shape than LieNielsen, so just depends on your hand. My hands are average, i have a slight preference for the shorter LN handle with the thicker blade, feels more stable to me. But this NR is a very close second. NR steel is quite hard, I had to sharpen through the grits a lot longer than usual. I did notice that while doing the secondary bevel there was a slight curl on the back side, noticeably more than the LN A2 steel. The chisel came polished with a fair primary bevel. The back needed a little flattening, a challenge with such hard steel. I have used this NR chisel for a few weeks for light work and do not have to continually strop the edge like my old IrwinMarples. So it holds an edge very well, similar to the LN. Overall, not quite as good as LieNielsen, but pretty close. At half the price !Update after several months ..... the NR chisels hold their edge for a long time, even after chopping out a mortise. Edge is easily refreshed by a strop with honing compound, a 30 second operation. I do not use a micro bevel but have not had to re-establish the primary bevel yet. I use Shapton glass/ceramic stones and they work great with these Narex chisels. These NR chisels compare very favorably with LieNielsen.

Buy it/them already, seriously. When I first grabbed the handle I just froze in amazement. I swear the handle was made for my hand, I just stared in complete wonder the first time I grabbed the handle. They were all ground as flat as any verified straight edge that I have, I couldn't find anything that was not flat. My one complaint is that I could not find a 12mm or 1/2" as a single blade...Go add to cart and checkout, you can read this afterward...Wood types make a difference so: I usually work with old growth, storm damaged, fallen trees in Southwest Virginia. I mill and air dry my wood.These were used on:Sugar Maple/Black mapleWalnut (english and black)Cherry.Exotics that I used these on are:BocoteBubingaPurple heartI rarely use a mallet, and keep my chisels as sharp.as possible so they push easier. If you use a mallet your results may differ.Did you already add to cart/checkout? If not, you should do that now.These are the best blades that I have. No hesitation saying that. I cannot say that these are the best you can get now, because my shop does not have the budget to compare these to the likes of Veritas and Lie Nielson. I have some Stanley sweetheart socket chisels, an Ashley Iles 12mm butt, a few regular narex, and a ragged selection of cheap beater chisels. I purchased the 3/4" because I do not like having to constantly stop to strop the stanley in mid project, now the stanley is generally unused. The Ashley Iles has good steel, but does not hold a candle to the edge retention on these. The Richter chisels hold their edge very very well.The shoulders/side bevels and overall geometry on these things is amazing. The Richter's have thinner side bevel than the Ashley Iles 1/2 butt chisel. It used to be my go-to for cleaning out dovetails, not anymore. The Richters will slip in tighter corners. I love these and if I see one in half inch I will be grabbing it asap. Checking for the 1/2" Richter is what brought me here today, then I realized that I had not written a review for these awesome chisels. They deserve a review.This will be posted 3 times... Once for each purchased product. Need to make sure it is seen if someone filters by size.

Excelentes materiales y acabado

Very nice finish, good quality, takes a sharp edge and keeps it, would recommend for workshop use but too nice for site work

The chisel is a good solid tool. Good value for the money I think. 👍

Very nice chisel easily sharpened up and seems to be holding edge very well.

Very good