Best Chisels For Woodworking - Narex vs. WoodRiver

Best Chisels For Woodworking. Rob Cosman does a head to head chisel review between the Narex Richter and the WoodRiver Socket chisel. Choosing the best chisels for woodworking can be challenging, especially if you are a beginner. Let Rob teach you all about chisels and how to determine who makes the best chisels for woodworking
00:00 Overview
01:30 Narex Richter Chisel
05:33 WoodRiver Socket Chisel
08:43 Flatting the backs and sharpening the chisels
15:15 The cutting test
19:10 Rob's Evaluation
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[SweetTGuitars]

I've bought both of these and I have to say the Narex holds an edge way longer and even though the blade is thinner, that hasn't made a noticeable difference. I like the Narex so much better that I bought an entire set of bevel edge chisels. I personally think for the price, you won't beat a Narex!

[GeeDeeBird]

I'm not willing to say Mr. Cosman is biased. But, has he ever preferred another product over one sold by Woodcraft? Just curious.

[elizabetholiviaclark]

I'm about one week from finally being able to buy the dovetail saw. I was saving for it, then had a set back, but now I'm on track. I'm excited, but I see all these videos where Rob shows every tool that goes into making dovetails, and I'm realizing it's going to be a lesson in patience as I'll have to add to my tools as I can afford. This is one time I really wish I could submit to the primal desire for instant gratification.

[jwayneair]

I’m fussy about sharpening, polishing, and sanding. One tip I would offer is when flattening and polishing, alternate pushing the blade from the right side of one stone to the left side of the next stone, which will create a crosshatch pattern, which will show that when all the marks left by the previous stone are gone, the crosshatch will be gone, leaving only the marks from the current stone.

[glenpaul]

Where is a link to buy the Narex Richter mortise chisels????

[lwschallersr]

I noticed a patch on your apron from the 173rd ABN Bde, I served with them Oct23 1967- Oct 23, 1968.

[slcastner]

Ford v Chevy, isn't it? I have no Wood River chisels, but I have these: Sorby butts, Narex Richter, Lie-Nielsen mortise, Narex standard bench, Narex skew and Narex paring. All my work is hardwood, mostly ash, white oak, and black cherry cut and milled on my farm, plus local hard maple, walnut, hickory and beech. Toss the Narex standard, which I bought for price and barely used because of their thick blades. They were an Amazon impulse purchase. They do hold an edge. The Narex paring hold a good edge, but I find paring chisels awkward in general for dovetails. The Narex skews hold an edge and are handy for fine cleaning inside dovetails (I also love skew planes). I wouldn't use a skew for primary because of control. The LN mortises are great for their purpose (chopping) and hold an edge. The Sorby butts were my primary for dovetails until the Richters came along. Their mortise blades now seem thick, but they are handy little chisels and hold an edge. The Richters are God's gift to dovetailers because of their excellent hard steel, edge holding, thinness and lightness. Of course, I haven't used every make of chisel, so there may be better. I do not chop with the Richters; I pare dovetail walls sawn with a thin kerf Suizan Dozuki or a Highland Woodworking special bandsaw blade, and hogged with a Knew fret. I tap my Richters with a small brass Veritas mallet and a round ash mallet that I turned. I hold the chisel by the blade near the cutting edge when I tap with a mallet or pare. Vibration is not an issue. Flat back? The Richters arrived flat, flat. Working the entire back? A waste of time. Sellers teaches that the back just above the edge is all that matters. He's correct. Scratches on the back above the cutting edge? Come on! I use diamond plates exclusively and keep an 8, 000 grit on my bench for constant edge work with chisels and plane blades, even the Ron Hocks, because sharpness is everything. I've read criticism of the leather washers on the Richters. Supposedly, they are shock absorbers. I suppose they are OK if you shock your chisels but I don't know why anybody would use a sharp, refined dovetail chisel for heavy chopping. So the leather is an aesthetic feature, a kind of trademark. Richters are nice. Ford or Chevy? Your choice.

[roselover]

Rob, I bought a set of Narex richter chisels 1 year ago after . I saw an australian luthier touting them. Most of the work I do with them is paring, So I definitely see your POV. For cabinetmaking a thicker chisel. like the wood river is more appropriate . I replaced a number 6 old stanley blade with a wood river number 6 plane blade. Impressive! . I use it mainly on a skewed shooting board.

[patriot_]

I bought a set of Narex based on james Wright's video. I was not disappointed at all. They are fantastic, especially at the price. I don't disagree with the assessment here (blade thickness), but don't disregard Narex, they really are nice chisels.

[billwessels]

Admittedly you have a vested interest in WoodRiver tools. Probably valid points. Years ago I used Footprint chisels which had a hardness equal to the Japanese chisels. Japanese chisels would typically chip out for a few sharpening sessions. until they were worn a bit past the extremely brittle as delivered edge. I have both. The Narex is about as hard as they were. The WoodRiver might be slightly less prone to chipping as it is not as hard. Both of them appear to be good choices.

[hbert]

I am gonna call this Robs "Narex-Bashing-Period"!

[jlmfoy]

James Wright recently did a test of a large number of chisel manufacturers and Narex Richter came out on top.

[JDDupuy]

I have all brands, LV, LN, WR, ST and Narex. Even some German ones with a fruit name. I'm too dam old to worry about feel. If it's sharp it goes in the line up. I guess I am a chisel hoarder. Last count was around 50. I stand back and smile knowing that I will never use them all in the years left ahead. Thanks Rob for your honest evaluation.

[mikestewart]

I have the Wood River Butt Chisel and Bench Chisel sets, and both are okay. Didn't look very hard at the socket chisels, thinking they wouldn't be particularly better. Looking closer, I see the bevel edges are a significant improvement, but I bought a 1.5" Richter thinking I would never buy another set, but just add sizes and types I didn't already have, and maybe upgrade a couple of sizes I use most to L-N, IBC, or Veritas. Two days after getting the Narex, I ordered the remaining sizes. I love them! (Platonicly, but still...) I do like the idea of a socket chisel, and the bubinga handles on WR tools appeal to me a lot, in looks and feel. I also like how their butt chisels fit my hand. But the baseball bats on the Richters feel really good, too, especially on the larger sizes. I can't disagree with any of the flaws you found on the Richters. I haven't actually used them on a project, yet, and haven't done enough chopping to notice a problem with the thickness, but your point makes sense. Getting the backs perfect did take a good bit of work. Still extremely happy with them, though. I think my next project might be a nice ash box to keep them in.

[TankGunner]

On Amazon the narex is $35 amd the wood river is $50. Just something I noticed. I don’t own either, I’d like to someday but for now I’ll stick with my yard sale antique chisels that work good enough for my level.

Having said that; I don’t like how the Rockwell rating on the wood river is so wildly different. 57-63 (if I remember rite) is like a $7 Irwin chisel being around 57 to a top of the line IBC being over 60. That is a wild variation. Does wood river use different steel recipes in manufacturing? If so you may get a good one this time and a cheap on next time. I don’t understand how they can even make that claim, either it’s been tested and a Rockwell level and it’s “x” or it hasn’t. No test will bring back such a varying result and if so either get your money back or send a new set of samples!

[woodpurposedmechanic]

Yea kind of late to the party but here's my two cents worth. I have the Wood River set and love them. Worth every penny. But I also have a Stanley Sweetheart set as well. The Stanley's aren't as beefy as the Wood River and by the looks of your video not as beefy as the Nerex. They were a lot less expensive but the quality was very good. The real test is in the amount of work to flatten the back side of the blade. I use the Wood River for chopping and the Stanley for hand work. I prefer the light feel. Personally I prefer the socket type chisel though I have a set of the less expensive Nerex tang chisels for general work.

[chris-C]

I enjoy watching your reviews, Rob and I find them incredibly informative. What you described about the end of the chisel getting in the way when sharpening is spot on. I got so annoyed that I took a Dremel to mine and removed some of the steel. The loss of warranty and whatever little bit of performance (not that I've noticed any difference) is worth it because my OCD can't handle not having the same scratch pattern across the entire back. 😂

[Tritt-oppe]

Do you use the HC or HR type shapton glass stones?

[scottswineford]

I really like my Narex chisels, just a few minutes flattening and honing and they were ready to go. They feel enough better than my 40 year old marples that I put them back in the box.

[dkbuilds]

Thanks for this review! I have the woodriver socket chisels and I like them quite a bit... though, I have had two handles snap now at the connection to the socket, the second when when I was in the middle of chopping a mortise :( However, I called up woodcraft and they immediately shipped me out some replacement handles, no questions asked... so that's nice!