Arno 467849 Solid Steel French Timber Framing Slick Chisel 5 Piece Set with 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 mm Wide Chisels RC 58-60 PVC Dipped Handles

We build oak log homes. We’ve exploded almost every other brand chisel. These chisels are hands down the best. Stays sharp. Tough, easy to sharpen. The best for timber and log framing

These chisels are OK, but I was frustrated because the edges were roughly ground and needed significant work to sharpen before they could be used. The description read "The cutting edge is ground and then sharpened on a felt wheel and ready to use without any touch up needed." This was just not true as you can see from the attached photo of the top cutting edge, and the back side was worse with deep grinding groves that took a very long time to lap smooth. In addition, the rubberized grip material wraps up around the flat of the chisel, so I had to cut that away in order to cut deep holes in timber...one of the main reasons to acquire a timber framing slick. All this said, they seemed to hold their edge after they were prepared, and they definitely held up to the hammering necessary to cut out a hole straight through an oak log. I'd give these a rating of four or five if they came sharpened and ready to use as advertised, and if they had a better grip that didn't cover the flat of the chisel. A word of advice...there is an advantage to an all-metal tool without the risk of a wooden handle cracking but be sure to use heavy gloves to avoid excessive vibration/shock to your hand while using.

Mostly I am disappointed with the finish of these chisels. I appreciate that they are on the cheaper side, as I have slicks that cost more than this entire set, however I expected more from French made and it wouldn’t have taken much extra to get the finish right.As you can see from the photos, 3 of the 5 have blued during the grinding/honing process due to overheating. This damages the steel, and affects the hardness and durability of the cutting edge. The belly of the blade of the largest chisel is a mess. I always regrind my bevels and hone new chisels anyway but that isn’t the point..It may also be important for framers, shipwrights etc to note, these cannot really be used as a slick as stated by the maker. They have a rubberised handle which is not flush with the belly of the blade, and the handle is not offset to account for this. Therefore, when used as a slick it bottoms out sooner than most small bench chisels would..I think these tools will be very useful, especially as they are steel throughout and the handle is a good old chunk of steel, but overall I am a little disappointed the quality and finish isn’t better. Enough to take the time to write this..

And I generally don't care alot about how flat the backs are as long as I can polish the cutting edge well. Unfortunately with both of these the belly is proud so I will have to remove a lot of material before they become useful. I'm not upset. I'll eventually Lap them into compliance but had I known I had that much work to do I probably would have went another way