The Best Wood Chisel Sets In 2023

Top 5 Best Wood Chisels 2023:

• GREBSTK Professional Wood Chisel Tool Set
• VonHaus 10 pc Premium Chisel Set For Woodworking
• Stanley 3-Piece Wood Chisel Set
• Narex 4-Piece Woodworking Chisels
• Morakniv Chisel With Carbon Steel Blade

Wood chisels are tools with a cutting edge blade made for cutting or carving wood. Chisels are a tool mostly used for making furniture. 

Chisels have many purposes in woodworking. Large chisels are used for removing or carving large sections of wood, whereas the smaller wood chisels are used for smoothing the wood or adding fine details to the work.

There are many types of wood chisels, all for different purposes. The most important types are bench chisels, paring chisels, dovetail, carving chisels, and mortise chisels. 

If you’re just starting out in woodworking, you probably don’t know yet what kind of chisels you need yet. This guide will help you find what you need and reveal the best choices for wood chisels on the market!

Check out our list of the best saw horses, too!

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5 Best Wood Chisels In 2023: Detailed Reviews

1. GREBSTK Professional Wood Chisel Tool Set – Best Overall

GREBSTK chisel set is the best set of chisels on the market. This is a great set for beginners and professional woodworkers.

This tool set has four sturdy chisels. These wood carving tools come in four different sizes: ¼”, ½”, ¾” and 1” –  the wide range of sizes makes it a perfect fit for any woodworker.

What is so great about this chisel set is the multifunctionality of it – these chisels will achieve satisfying results in design jobs as well as construction work.

This set is made from chrome vanadium steel. This steel alloy is a light-weighted but very hard type of steel making this set a great buy. The beveled edges of the blade give you better control of wood carving and high precision. The edges are angled at 30 degrees.

All chisels come with caps to cover the blades when they’re not in use. Something to keep in mind is that some customers complained about blades being dull from the start.

The handles are made from beech wood and tightened with a steel hoop, made to give you a good grip on the chisel. A light handle combined with a lightweight blade makes these chisels perfect for detailed jobs.

Another good thing about this set is that it comes with a professional storage bag. This bag will make it easier to store your chisels and carry them with you!

2. Narex 4-Piece Woodworking Chisels – Runner-Up Pick

Narex Woodworking Chisels is a great, imported set of chisels made by a small Czech company. The quality of the Narex set demands it to be placed on the second-best spot. They are as beautiful as they are useful.

The handles are made from European beech wood. They’re ergonomic and the grip is perfect, according to customer reviews. Good wooden handles like these are wonderful to work with, but people still prefer the plastic ones. And why? Because the wooden handles require extra care when working because they can crack or split. A broken handle makes the whole chisel useless.

The blades are made from chrome manganese steel, fine-grained, and tempered to perfection. This is a very hard, durable type of steel. The blades have beveled edges, angled at 25 degrees – perfect for high-precision projects. The chrome manganese steel requires frequent resharpening, which many people find to be a flaw of this alloy.

The set consists of four chisels: ¼”, ½”, 13/16” and 1”. The variety of sizes allows you to do the entire project with this one set. 

3. VonHaus 10 pc Premium Chisel Set For Woodworking – Premium Option

VonHaus Premium chisel set is one of the best chisel sets on the market. Its wider range of chisels combined with a higher price make this set a high-end choice.

This chisel set includes eight different sized chisels. The sizes are ¼”, ½”, ¾”, 1”, 1 ¼”, 1 ½” and a 2” chisel. With this set, you get an aluminum oxide sharpening stone with a 120/200 grit.

There is a honing guide included as well. A honing guide assists you when you’re sharpening edges. The honing guide helps to restore the same angle of the edge when resharpening the blade.

The chisels are made from chrome vanadium steel. The steel alloy is heat-treated to make it more durable and to prolong the time between sharpenings. The blades have beveled edges, angled at 25 degrees.

The handles of the chisels are plastic and rubberized. Plastic handles are more durable and less likely to break when pounding the mallet than wooden handles. The grip of the handle is ergonomic to further ensure ease of use.

This set is perfect to use for hobby woodworking as well as professional woodworking. The chisels and accessories are all stored in a wooden storage case. The wooden case is neat but of poor quality. Some customer reviews stated that the case fell apart very soon.

Keep in mind that you need to sharpen the chisels when the set arrives! 

4. Stanley 3-Piece Wood Chisel Set – Budget-Friendly Option

The Stanley chisel set is a good beginner’s set. It consists of three basic sized chisels to assist you in your first woodworking projects.

Tempered steel is very hard and heavy-weighted. Tempered steel is easier to use when you lack the experience. This type of steel is very durable, but it also requires frequent sharpening. 

The set consists of three chisels in the following sizes: ½”, ¾” and 1”. The blades have beveled edges for easier use. They are heat tempered for durability and lacquer coated to prevent rust. 

The handle is made from polypropylene. The handles are very durable and not likely to get deformed. However, if you prefer to use gloves when woodworking, your fingers might slip from the polypropylene handle and cause an injury. It might be best to avoid gloves when using these chisels. The handles are also uncomfortable for hands, according to customer reviews.

Another great thing about the Stanley chisel set is the lifetime warranty. This is a sign that the chisels are very well-made and that the manufacturer guarantees the quality.

 5. Morakniv Chisel With Carbon Steel Blade – Perfect Gift Idea

The Morakniv chisel is the perfect gift to give to the carpenter or woodworker in your family. This is a fantastic, high-quality tool. 

The blade is single-honed and made from carbon steel. Carbon steel is very hard but lightweight – perfect for an expert woodworker. The blade is very thick and sturdy with beveled edges, so it’s able to tackle all sorts of the woodwork. However durable, keep this chisel away from water or any humidity. It will oxidize and rust will appear easily, according to the customer reviews.

The handle is rubberized and ergonomic for a perfect grip. This handle combined with a great blade make this wood chisel one of the best models on the market.

The quality of this wood chisel is not to be questioned – overall, this is a great product. Another plus when it comes to the Morakniv chisel is the limited lifetime manufacturer’s warranty.

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What To Keep In Mind When Buying Wood Chisels

1. Type

Before we start talking about important things to look for, let’s start by talking about types of chisels. As we already mentioned, there are six basic types of chisels: bench, paring, carving, dovetail, slick, and mortise chisels.

• Bench chisels are tools for doing many different tasks. Among others, they’re mostly used for chopping and paring the wood. They’re called “bench” chisels because they’re usually on the workbench. Bench chisels can be bevel-edged, registered, or firmed. The beveled edge means that the sides move at an angle, making it easier to move into joints, while the registered and firmed chisels have straight edges. However, don’t use a bench chisel for heavy work like chopping mortises.
• Mortise chisels, alternatively spelled as mortice, are tools for heavy woodworking like chopping mortises. The mortise is a part of a wood joint, used for centuries to connect two pieces of wood. They’re used for heavy woodworking and take a real beating when in use. When buying a mortise chisel, make sure to buy a tough, durable one. 
• Paring chisels are used for paring the wood (obviously). Paring chisels are smaller, delicate tools. These chisels are made from thinner steel with a low-angle, sharpened edge. They’re used for small, detailed work and hand trimming of the wood. Paring can be done with a regular bench chisel, but paring chisels will help create smoother joints. Unlike mortise and bench chisels, paring chisels should never be struck with a mallet. Paring is a fine woodworking task and should only be performed by hand.
• Carving chisel is used for detailed work with an even smaller span than a paring chisel. They’re usually easier to use than a paring chisel.
• Slick chisel is a tool similar to the paring chisel. This type of chisel is harder to maneuver, though. They have a narrow handle. The purpose of this tool is to shave off wood across a long piece. The reason why the slick chisel is sometimes a better tool than a paring chisel is that the slick chisel does the same thing but with less work. It also creates a better end result, but it’s still very hard to use.
• Dovetail chisel is a tool similar to a paring chisel. The difference is that a dovetail chisel has a beveled edge as well, but it goes all the way to the middle of the blade. That makes it easier to enter the tight corners. A dovetail chisel is not used very often in furniture-making, but when it’s needed – it’s absolutely necessary.

2. Tang Or Socket Handles

Chisels have to be attached to their handles when in use. There are two different types of handles – socket and tang. A socket chisel has a handle shaped into a cone that fits into the metal socket of the chisel. On the other hand, a tang chisel has a handle shaped like a mortise and a chisel fits inside.

Socket handles are more durable so they’re way more popular. They can take a beating without breaking, but they are hard to use for precision work. Tang handles can be broken if they’re beaten really hard with a mallet. However, tang chisels aren’t as fragile as many people think. With proper use, tang chisels can be as durable as socket ones. For hobby woodworking, tang handles are the right choice.

Tang handles usually split when beaten too hard, or when using a metal hammer. Remember, always use a wooden mallet for the best woodworking results and stop pounding the mallet when it sinks deep into the wood.

3. Plastic Or Wooden Handles

This is mostly a question of budget. Wooden handles give a better balance to the chisel and they are a bit easier to use. On the other hand, a plastic handle has a few advantages. Plastic handles can be more durable than wooden variants because they can’t break as easily from pounding the mallet. Also, chisels with plastic handles are a budget-friendly option as well as a more durable one.

One more thing to keep in mind when looking at handles is the grip. Look for a chisel, or a set of chisels, with an ergonomic grip. A chisel that sits comfortably in your hand is much easier to use. Uncomfortable handles can give you blisters!

4. Steel Quality

When looking for chisels, check the label or description box for information about the steel. The type of steel determines the durability, how much time there is between sharpenings, will it rust, how it affects wood, how heavy it is, and of course, the price.

Tempered steel is a durable, budget-friendly option. This type of steel is very heavy, and it requires resharpening often. Tempered steel chisels last until they start to rust, which can be decades if kept correctly. For beginner woodworkers, a basic tempered steel chisel set is the way to go. Other types of steel are too light, and a beginner won’t take that to their advantage.

Furthermore, chrome and vanadium steel alloys are the lightest and the most expensive types of steel found in regular chisel sets. They require constant sharpening but are the best option for a master woodworker. The major con for these types of steel is the durability – they do not last very long as they become discolored or deformed, and they can even break.

Carbon chrome steel chisels fall into a price category between tempered steel and steel alloys. They don’t have to be sharpened often, and they’re durable too. They are a bit heavy (lighter than tempered steel chisels), which is the perfect fit for intermediate chiselers.

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The Best Wood Chisels – Conclusion

Now that we’ve reviewed our best wood chisels, it’s time to pronounce the best wood chisels. This was not an easy task, because of so many great chisel sets on the market. So, without any further ado, here are our favorite picks:

Best overall: GREBSTK Professional Wood Chisel Tool Set

• Our best choice is the GREBSTK wood chisel set. The chisels are made from lightweight chrome vanadium steel, and they come in four different sizes. This is a perfect option for a woodworker, no matter the experience they have!

Premium Pick: VonHaus 10 pc Premium Chisel Set For Woodworking

• VonHaus Chisel set is a high-end set for an experienced woodworker. The eight different sizes will satisfy anyone’s needs, and the accessories included will make your woodworking experience even better!

Budget-Friendly Choice: Stanley 3-Piece Wood Chisel Set

• The Stanley set is a great, affordable set of chisels. Blades made from tempered steel are perfect for a woodworker in the making. Three different chisels will help any beginner with their first projects!