Sadly, after a few months of usage, they’d start to blur and eventually succumb to rust. Then, you’ll have to go chisel hunting again- that’s exhausting! I think the fact that you use your chisels every day is a large factor in keeping them rust free, specifically the oils from your skin. But, respectfully, for those of us who don’t use our tools every day 🙂 using them once then putting them away for a week or 2 pretty much guarantees rust. I’ve found wiping them after use doesn’t always help and is sometimes impractical. The metal polish is the only way I’ve found to prevent this. Simply my 2 cents. Available individually and in a set of four (1/4", 1/2", 3/4", and 1" widths) and a set of all seven (1/8", 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 3/4", 1" and 1 1/2"). Blades range from 4 3/4" to 6" long. A key feature to these chisels is their side bevels, which taper to a very fine edge, making them ideal for reaching into confined spaces and angled corners, like those common in dovetailing. But the edges aren’t so sharp they slice you; rather, they’re polished and softened.

Some don't like the fatter-handled version of Narex chisels but they do have other configurations of many bench chisels, with slimmer and more traditionally-shaped handles. Myself, I like the fatter handles because they fill my chiselling grip.The hardness spec provided with the richters is what I'd refer to as medium-hard temper. It's specified as chrome vanadium steel (there are tons of specs for chrome vanadium steel, at least as wide as 0.5% carbon to 1.5% carbon, so that doesn't tell us that much other than that it's probably fairly plain steel, which is good for chisels).

Personally I find FWW still the benchmark for detailed, meaningful and usually well-supported WW information. It does have a touch of the PR-advert blurbs here and there but generally this can be easily spotted and winnowed from the extensive good crop of high quality guidance and advice. My own Narex chisel collection is slowly growing as whenever I want an additional kind of chisel to those I already have, standard Narex has become the first choice. They are inexpensive - less than Crown, Sorby, Henry Taylor and others of that price point - yet much better made in terms of the much smaller amount of fettling required and the ability to take and hold an edge. Iles is their only competitor at lower price points. The handle is made of European ash, an excellent choice for this purpose because of its hardness, toughness and beautiful grain. The handle has an ergonomic shape and is ground to a fine finish. A stainless steel ferrule prevents the handle from splitting and there is a leather disk to dampen hammer blows. The largest diameter of the handle for all chisel sizes is 31 to 32 mm. Bladewidth Of course, the Narex Ritcher chisel feels like a perfect chisel. While it mostly is, we noticed some features that surely could use improvement. If I may, I’d like to add that I use metal polish (Simichrome) as my protective coating on pretty much all my metal tools. I use Boeshield in the little squeezy bottle and it does work nice, but the only way I’ve been able to ward off rust for months at a time is with the polish.

Maintenance

You can read my comparison of Narex and Stanley Sweetheart chisels for better understanding as well! So, without dismissing his findings or opinions about chisels out of hand, I wouldn't assume that what he says is particularly objective or reliable. It might be but it might not and how would we know? Another point of view is that as woodworkers we hope that people appreciate out hand-made creations and the effort that has gone into the work. In some cases machine made dovetails in items from the Far East will be more precise than mine, but mine are hand cut and that counts for something – I hope. In the same respect, I like to buy hand-made tools. i can aford them in small number and I love to use them because I know a guy from, for example, Ashley Iles (who have been mentioned here) ground them by hand. If we only promote cheap mass-produced items then why do we bother doing woodwork at all when it can be churned out by machines – is there any value in hand-made? I find it quite depressing when I shop for tools in large stores to find that its nearly all cheap and mass produced, and i’d argue a lot is rubbish and won’t last a lifetime at all (so I don’t buy it). In addition to all this, buying the likes of Ashley Iles and Clifton planes supports local craftsmen, when the craft has largely died out. If we as craftsmen don’t see the value in the crafft of toolmaking, why should we expect others to value our craft of woodwork?

To mark the hundredth anniversary of Narex, the company launched a new chisel series named after the company’s founder, Vaclav Richter. These chisels are a real credit to this anniversary.

The supplied edge guard should always be used when chisels are not in use to prevent dam- age to the sharp cutting edge and for user protection. Our RICHTER chisel box is perfect for safe storage; however, tool rolls are also available. As with any kind of tool steel, the blades can rust when unprotected. Always protect the blades from rust with oil, wax or other corrosion inhibitors. Lifetime guarantee The older content from Pop Woodworking also seems to have plenty of explanation and justification for what they say and recommend. I can only say this much as a maker of tools (not for sale, an amateur maker) - you can fairly easily make tools and see all of these differences in play as a spec. 62/63 hardness is barely sharpenable on oilstones, but still sharpenable, and on plainer steel, the wire edge falls off more easily. 59 hardness in the more mediocre line will lead to a more persistent wire edge. Narex Richter chisels don’t need a second chance to make a positive first impression. For me, it was so positive that I bought a set after trying out a student’s. I’ve used them now for months, and from day one I’ve liked the way they looked, felt in my hand, and performed. Although the blade’s edges are ultra-thin, there won’t be an incident where you sustain an injury from using it. It is sharp enough to perform its functions.