Woodriver Butt Chisels - A Closer Look

I just purchased this 4-piece box set of Woodriver Butt Chisels from Woodcraft. I provide a closer look, including the flattening and sharpening of the 3/4" chisel. I end with some end grain shaving to demonstrate its effectiveness.

[@labrat7357]

Hi Marty, Thanks for the video. I just want to suggest that you use two hands to hold your chisel while sharpening and lock your elbows into your side. If you do that you will not have as badly rounded a bevel as you are producing with your one handed technique. I know people like Paul Sellers advocate a round bevel for ease of sharpening with lots of stropping but a polish does not mean you have a sharp edge. That end grain cut was not showing a sharp chisel but one having trouble making the cut with out swivelling the handle to force its way through. All the best.

[@MartyBacke]

We all have different approaches to sharpening don't we? Mine works for me.

[@juanenriquez8334]

Los formones parecen obras de arte. Es la parte más relajante de la carpintería.

[@makenchips]

Marty, I have the craftsman set for 30 year now but this butt chisels look awesome

[@GuysShop]

Nice review Marty. It did seem like it was a lot of work to get them tuned up however, but as you said, it was expected. You know, I have a set of those same Craftsman chisels. I think they are about 30 yrs old or so, and they actually are pretty decent.

[@MartyBacke]

+GuysWoodshop They were the first chisels I bought, about 25 years ago. They do work pretty well, but that odor from the plastic ...

[@michaelshelnutt3534]

Hi, do you recognize that you have a rocking motion when you are sharpening your bevels? If you watch the recording and slow the speed down you will see as you push away from your body, your knuckles go down closer to the stone and the raise back up on the return stroke. Just and FYI

[@MartyBacke]

Thanks for the comment. I sharpen my tools per the method promoted by Paul Sellers - creating a convex bevel. So the rocking motion is purposeful and all my tools are extremely sharp 🙂

[@tonyalways7174]

I never really understand why people buy butt chisels with an exposed tang for striking when the whole point of a butt chisel is to use it by pushing it when you’re paring or shaving a joint but these look lovely especially the shape of the handle. I’m sure they’ll be very useful.

[@thomasarussellsr]

Butt chisels? so they're for keeping you crack true? LOL I am used to hearing bench chisels, had not heard the term butt chisels till now. nice name drop. I enjoy Mr. Sellers videos as well, and have learned loads from him.

[@coryboyd7958]

Looked kinda dull to me. Also I can see you rocking your hand when you were sharpening them.

[@MartyBacke]

"Rocking my hand" - it's called a convex bevel. Google it. You have damn good eye if you can determine the dullness of a blade by looking at it. I'm impressed.

[@okieinva1]

Nice Review Marty, I have looked at these also and they do feel good in the hand just don't have the need for more chisels. They do look to be a decent all purpose shop chisel, well after some work as you have shown.

[@MartyBacke]

+Tim Dahn Thanks. I'm still in the collecting phase :-)

[@ron5935]

But the Lie Nielson comes to a point on the sides. This allows getting into corners like the end of dovetails. Comfort factor is great.

[@MartyBacke]

Yes, certainly my Lie-Nielson chisels are better. It's nice to have alternatives though. I tend to use these for cleaning up hinge mortises.

[@anthonymiller8979]

Yes, the Lie Nielsons have a better cross section but one single chisel cost the same as this whole set. I guess it depends on what exactly you plan to do with them and whether it is worth it. For many applications these look pretty good but the LN chisels are more versatile

[@GrahamOrm]

Nice review Marty. I'm disappointed that the Wood River chisels needed so much work. I don't have any WR tools, but always imagined them better quality out of the box. I contemplated buying a WR plane (went Quang Sheng in the end), as they are promoted by Rob Cosman as good quality. Makes me wonder if the planes need as much effort to get them set up?

[@MartyBacke]

+Graham Orm I've read and seen enough reviews of their V3 (Version 3?) planes to believe that they are much better prepared than the chisels. The chisels even have a warning on the outside labeling that "Honing is required before use", so I think they know these aren't prepared to the same standards as the planes. Then again, it's $50 (on sale) for the set.

[@GrahamOrm]

+Marty Backe Fair comment. I'm sure they'll serve you well now prepared properly.

[@watermain48]

I believe the WR V3 planes are made by Quangsheng as well.

[@toddlarsen6215]

Why did your Lie-Nielsen chisel have that divot in the top? I have been using the Veritas bench chisels (which I really like) but the socket style intrigues me.

[@MartyBacke]

That's the result of hardness testing. Some manufacturers (Lie-Nielsen) will test every chisel.

[@tangle70]

It is so light in your shop.

[@Laediin]

Hi Marty, I liked your review but I have a question about something you said near the end. You compared the Wood River 3/4" to a Lie-Nielsen and remarked that the Lie-Nielsen would work better for finer dovetail work. However it doesn't look like the Lie-Nielsen chisel was the same width as 3/4" and it looks like you have a 1/4" Wood River in that set with a very similar profile to that Lie-Nielsen. Have you since had the time to sharpen and use them all? It would be interesting for a comparison after several months of use.

[@MartyBacke]

When comparing the chisels I was referring to the side tapers not the width of the chisel. The Lie-Nielsen chisels taper on the sides whereas the Woodriver chisels have no taper which will get in the way for dovetail type work. I have used the Woodriver chisels now and they are working fine and hold an edge well enough. Still happy with the purchase. Thanks for the comments.

[@knoxvilleinspector]

Nice video Marty. I've watched alot of Paul Sellers videos too, and have always wondered about his sharpening technique. It looks like you're not trying to maintain a precise angle on the bevel while sharpening. Is this correct? Are your chisel bevels slightly rounded (convex) when you finish sharpening? Thanks for your videos.Dan

[@MartyBacke]

Thanks Dan. Yes, for a few years now I've been sharpening all of my plane irons and chisels with the method that Paul advocates. It has greatly simplified my process which means I no longer put off any sharpening tasks. You are correct; I am not concerned about maintaining a precise angle. As long as I get a burr along the edge I know that I've sharpened it. All my chisels and plane irons now have a convex bevel.

[@mikeylikey6193]

Good video. I got the same set recently, I just wondered where did you purchase your diamond sharpening set? I would like to get the same. Thank you

[@MartyBacke]

Those are 8x3 DMT diamond plates

[@garyvanrheenen181]

Now that you have had them for awhile how does the edge hold up?

[@MartyBacke]

Unfortunately, I haven't used these enough to form an opinion regarding the edge retention. They've been holding up for the paring work that I've used them for.

[@robinalexander5772]

I have a set same as yours but under luban brand, trust me the same. Please use hone guide as it really gets sharp finish. And like any chisel application of use is critical to performance, I polish all over to mirror finish, I am some what f....... in how a chisel feels in the hand again I can't stress enough how things feel I am Tasmanian. But I do like video cheers.

[@jeffhayes4845]

Marty, What liquid are you using on your diamond stones?

[@MartyBacke]

+jeff hayes Windshield washer fluid - it's a bit more slippery than water.

[@jeffforbes3772]

Is there a difference between a diamond stone and others? I thought that 3 in 1 oil was used for the lubricant.

[@MartyBacke]

There's a big difference between oil, diamond, and water stones. But diamond stones can be used with any lubricant. I just don't use oil because it's messier than a water based lubricant.

[@melvinrowe9012]

Me too

[@ureasmith3049]

Nice looking chisels. 70 bucks now.

[@MartyBacke]

Thanks for the update

[@aldenorcia6193]

60.00 for 4 chissels that need that much work is no deal ive found chissels from harbor freight that are great & much cheaper

[@MartyBacke]

+Al DeNorcia If the Harbor Freight chisels look and feel as nice as these then that's a great deal.

[@visakanthiruchelvam5028]

thanks for the video. a lot of good points but the final chisel performance s not sharp enough for me. i need a chisel that will pare on a straight push stroke, without rocking and produce a consistent thickness shaving after biting instantly. from what i could ascertain you did a really good job on that back face. that means the part that let down the performance was the bevel and the honed edge. As they say "an edge is only as sharp as it's worst honed plane". that means if you have the flattest most mirror polished back and a lousy bevel plane then the chisel will perform lousily. i dare say the performance would be markedly improved if you got the bevel conditioning as good as you got the back. i know this level of sharpness is good for you, but it is probably at the level of halfway through my sharpening routine. i want to buy these chisels but it would have been nice to see them perform at their peak sharpness.

[@stevebeck2734]

I happened to have this video show up on You Tube by some sort of way I am not sure of. It is just a confirmation of my great dislike of Wood River branded products that Woodcraft has gone to in the past few years. These chisels are just cheap carbon steel that is not worth the time to spend sharpening. Woodcraft is marketing all of this Wood River junk strictly for profit margin.

[@Hudson4426]

How does the edge hold up?

[@MartyBacke]

I tend not to pound my chisels _and_ I haven't used them extensively yet. Based on the effort required to sharpen them I think they should hold up. But I can't yet definitively answer your question.

[@Hudson4426]

Marty Backe thanks for the feedback. I was looking at this very set for my first set of chisels. Im just getting into all this woodworking stuff and the price is right

[@user-um8zt9vo1w]

Барахло ‼️‼️‼️коробка неплохая.

[@robertv8851]

Guess you don't like getting your hands dirty

[@redsalem7686]

What the heck is a butt chisel

[@s70cas7ic0]

You're butchering that steel

[@MartyBacke]

Thank you

[@Ed-lz4jv]

overrated chisels, two cherrys and veritas much better

[@MartyBacke]

For the price these are very nice. Two Cherry's and Veritas are much more expensive. You shouldn't compare a Chevy to a Cadillac :-)