Set of 6 Narex Richter chisels by The Woodworking Club

WoW! Just Wow! I am amazed at the quality of the Richter version of chisels. Narex has been a good alternative to other more expensive tools, but generally need some time spent on them to get them “right”; like flattening the backs of their chisels. These Richter versions are great, right out of the box/bag. A quick honing and they work great and hold their edge. These Richters are a great tribute to their founder and if you can still find them, get them. I am a Lie-Nielson fan boy, but these are my current goto chisels for precision work and are a significant savings from the LN versions. PS: Many like the Sweetheart version of handle attachment, I dont; and these have a full tang that I prefer. Changes in Temp and Humidity don’t let your handles/blades fall apart. Anyway, I actually bought the 1-1/2” chisel just to get a “complete set”. That’s how much I like these Richter’s. Enjoy yours, if you can get some from this limited production run. Cheers!

I own a nice set of Stanley Sweethearts but these Narex Richter chisels are a step above. I saw three different reviews from respected woodworkers praising these before pulling the trigger and ordering. They arrived in good shape in a decent quality leather roll, just needed final light honing and I think they match up to any brand out there for quality, edge retention, ease of use in dovetail joinery. The Stanleys I will keep for hogging out heavier projects and other rough work.

Great tools. A very large step up from the DYI sets found commercially. Keep in mind this is a 5 star review, but one small gripe. I'm a sharp tool fanatic with a shop full of sharpening equipment. Upon inspection, these had a micro bevel on the back side; more than a strop would produce. Once I worked the back flat and micro beveled the top, they work great and are easy to maintain. Save the rough work for Stanley and use these for the fine hand work.

Starting off, These are a great deal. They really don't require much more than a stropping to get using. The backs aren't dead flat all the way, but they are flat enough. My guess is that the machines only flatten the first 1-1/2 to 2 inches from the point. If you put the whole back to a lapping setup you'll have a very shiny hollow behind the tip to about 2" but it is shallow enough that it doesn't take a lot to dead flatten the backs. As for the sharpness, they are shipped sharp. Wiped the oil off, put it to the strop block, didn't get my hand high enough when picking up the never-dull wad and lightly grazed the tip with the back of my thumb... about a minute later, the chisel started receiving it's first blood sacrifice. Didn't think it poked hard enough to break the skin, but the one inch straight line of red says otherwise. So, learn from my mistake, be careful, and use the tip guards when storing or setting aside.As for how they do on their intended medium, They just arrived, so I've only done some initial trying out on a scrap of cedar I had laying nearby. It cut a nice mortise, made a nice dado, and pared nice in the cedar. They look thin enough to handle stuff like hand cut dovetails. The handles are easy to grip, not as bulky as I initially expected. The canvas roll is good, still room to add a couple more but the 6 included should cover most tasks.Decided to go with this set based on You-Tube reviews. My arsenal of chisels thus far is pretty eclectic, cobbled together from old tool chest finds, Mostly Acrylic handled Craftsman and Stanley brought back to life after being used as pry-bars, paint scrapers, and nail pullers in their previous tool boxes. Really just wanted a matching set to use on some of the wood projects, This "mid-range" set does better than expected. All in all, I'd venture to say any hobbyist woodworker would be real happy with these as an all-around bench chisel set.

I am a finish carpenter and custom woodworker, best chisels I have bought in my lifetime. Thank you!

Arrived very sharp, did not require very much to flatten the backs I did all of them in under 30 minutes. Handles are comfortable in my hands. They are well balanced. Overall very impressed with these.

They have a great feel in the hand. Handles are large but not fat (too wide). The weight and balance I find to be near perfect. When I am doing mallet work I hold in front of the ferrel not on the handle. The chisels feel almost balanced with my hand placement there, so there’s a lot of control for Percision placement for mallet wacks.They do have a fairly good grind on them out of the box. But please do yourself the favor and hone them up 25deg. On my second go round I did them to a 8000g wet stone. Afterwards I was hand paring joints effortlessly.i only purchased the inch and a half at first, and was so pleased I bought the inch and three-quarter to follow. Eventually I bought the entire set.These chisels a sneak up favorite maker! I like them more than my two cherries, or my vintage marples. I was not expecting narex to be this well made.

I own Veritas PM-11 bench chisels and very nice Japanese chisels. These Richter chisels are every bit as good as those sets, and the steel might be better for edge retention. I did flatten the backs and found that they all had a slight hollow in the middle which is desirable. Took a few minutes of working on the backs and sharpening to a 30° bevel and they are fantastic. I’m currently doing a project with 18 hand cut dovetails and these chisels performed perfectly and held their edge. Time will tell how they hold up but so far I would recommend them without hesitation. Love the ash handles and the weight and balance. Great paring chisel too with the longer profile. I have a 1/8” standard Narex chisel and the Richters are a step up.