I trusted a $15 chisel over my $200 set, still confused about it

Last month I was doing a kitchen remodel over in Maplewood and forgot my good chisels at the shop. Ran to the big box store, grabbed the cheapest chisel they had, figured I'd just use it for the hinge mortises and toss it after. That thing stayed sharp for the entire job, 14 doors worth of hinges and it barely needed a touch up. My fancy set, the one I've had for 5 years, needs sharpening after every third door. I ran the same tests when I got back home, same wood, same technique, and the cheap one still held an edge longer. I'm starting to wonder if I've been babying the expensive ones or if the steel quality really is just luck of the draw now. Anyone else had a budget tool that outperformed the name brand stuff, or did I just get a freak batch?

1 comments

1 Comment

hunt.nora6d ago

Test that cheap chisel on some gnarly grain with knots and see what happens. Expensive steel is usually harder and tougher, but the heat treat on budget stuff can be surprisingly good. Ive had a $12 wrench outlast my Snap-On once, so it happens more than people think. If it works, keep using it, just carry a file in your bag and dont overthink it.