[BZawat]

I love vintage tools, and enjoy restoring them & putting them back in to service. That said, I've come to the point where id much rather be making things from wood than spending my precious time flattening chisel faces & re-grinding bevels.
Has anyone used the latest UK made Stanley "sweetheart" socket chisels? I'm thinking about buying a set, but I'm very suspicious about new hand tools from Stanley.
Any input would be appreciated!

 

[MasterSplinter]

I dont have the new ones and would also be second guessing it. I have mortis chisels from Narex. Love them and really sharp out of the box.

 

[Gilgaron]

I have the lesser Stanley Bailey chisel set and it does me well. The new 750s are supposed to be nice

 

[Tom King]

I just noticed that Woodcraft has them on sale.

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2083093/33725/Stanley-SweetHeart-750-Series-8-Piece-Set.aspx

I have some old 750s that belonged to my Dad. Nice chisels. My users are blue plastic handled Marples, which you can still find on ebay for 10 bucks a piece. The Marples can get at least as sharp, and hold an edge much longer than the old 750s. I don't know about the new ones.

edited to add, while still shopping there, I found a 4 piece set also on sale: http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2083093/33718/Stanley-SweetHeart-750-Series-4-Piece-Set.aspx

 

[BZawat]

Thanks for the link Tom. I found a new 4pc set online for 79.99, and an 8pc for 169.99. I've read some reviews - positive and negative - just need to decide how much I want to spend.

 

[BZawat]

Here is an update for you guys, in case you are at all interested. I ordered a four piece set of the new 750s from Amazon. A few months ago I forgot to cancel my Amazon prime membership before the free trial period ran out. So as a result, I am now an Amazon prime member LOL. That said, I found the chisels for 79.99 and after a $10 prime discount and free two-day shipping, they arrived today for 69.99. Not too shabby.

Overall I have to say they are very nice chisels for the money. It took me an hour and a half to clean the shipping lacquer off, flatten the backs, and hone them all up to 2000x. The steel felt like quality steel in my hand while honing; I could hone my beater Buck Bros chisels to 4000x and still not get an edge on them like I was able to put on the 750s. Dangerous sharp. Time will tell how well they retain the edge.

The flattening went easy; i started at 400 grit and had no problems. 3-4 mins on the 1" chisel, the rest were quicker. In all honesty, the biggest PITA of the whole process was removing the damn shipping lacquer the blades were coated in. But if that's gonna be the deal breaker, go buy some IKEA furniture, sell all your tools, and join a book club where you can talk about your feelings. Lol