Socket Chisels: I just don't get it.

Look at a premium tool catalog and you inevitably see a selection of pricey socket chisels for sale, usually based on the collectible Stanley 750 series. These chisels are touted for their robust design and the user's ability to change the handle or make a new one quickly and easily.

Who cares?

In this photo, there are two chisels: a vintage Stanley Sweetheart 750 series and a new Narex tang chisel.

The Stanley socket chisel would sell for about $35 if it were new and over $60 on ebay in its current, vintage state. The Narex is a "cheap" Czech-made chisel and you can get a nice set of four for $25. 

I'll take the Narex every time. I think it's better in almost every way. 

Tang chisels in general are longer and more delicate than socket chisels, which I always find to be stubby, clumsy, and weighted far too much toward the blade. The tang chisel is like a fine knife: it fills the hand with a substantial handle, it's balanced, and it takes thin shavings off it's edge. 

I suppose the socket chisel can take a harder beating, but seriously, how hard do you hit your chisels? 

I know that you can easily change the handle on socket chisels, but so what? The handles on the Narex (and even the blue, plastic handles on the Irwin set I used to use) are lovely. They have a substantial feel and a thick diameter that helps fight fatigue. 

I have re-handled a bunch of socket chisels in my time (and I'll have a video on the process in the next few days). It isn't hard and you can make whatever handle suits you, but the handles also fall out all the time. If I throw a few socket chisels in my tool-roll and let them bounce around in my car for a week, I'm guaranteed to find a pile of chisels and handles rattling around in there. 

This weakness in the handle-design also means that used chisels are often in a sorry state. Craftsmen of yesteryear lost or broke the handles on their chisels and apparently just kept pounding on the socket anyway. I've seen MANY otherwise lovely old chisels with the socket so mushroomed that they're basically scrap.    

I'm currently making handles for chisels for an upcoming class on spoon-carving. When I'm satisfied that the handle is what I want, I just epoxy it in. If I ever want to get it out, a few seconds with a torch will melt that epoxy with no trouble. 

Even if I find them clumsy, the students will have decent chisels to learn with, and they can hit them just as hard as they want. 

I suppose that's something.