Which Chisel Set Should I Buy?

I often see this question posted in internet forums (fora?) from beginners who want to get started in woodworking and were told that they should invest in a good set of chisels that will last a lifetime. More often than not they are trying to decide between a set of eleven Lie-Nielsen knock-offs and a set of 13 plastic handled beauties they found at the home center.

I've been there, in fact I started off this way. Here is what I learned:

Nobody needs a set of thirteen bench chisels.

That's it.

I've written about  this before. I think a set of more than three chisels is a marketing gimmick (that most of us have bought into) that puts more tools than you need in your toolbox, separating you from more money that you could use for nicer tools.

Here's why:

If you have a nice box with a graduated set of chisels from 1/8" up to 1 1/2", the one you will inevitably reach for is the sharpest one. You'll eventually feel guilty about not keeping them all of them razor-sharp, but at the same time you won't have time to sharpen them all.

One doesn't often need a specific width of a bench chisel. Mortising is different, but let's put that aside for a moment. I find I use bench chisels on every project I build, but only occasionally need a specialty tool like a mortise chisel.

You can get away with two chisels: a kinda big one, and a kinda small one. My favorite sizes are a one inch chisel and a 3/8 inch chisel. These two chisels work for about 85% of all my chiselling needs.

Here's my current set of chisels in my tool chest. The ones on the left are 3/8" and 1".

The biggest advantage with starting with only two chisels is you can really learn to sharpen them. With two chisels to sharpen instead of eleven, keeping them perfectly tuned is no problem. Over time you'll get better and better at getting them sharp and in less time.

Once you are happy with those, then you can (slowly) collect some more chisels for different uses. Sometimes you need something extra narrow, or sometimes you run into a wood that needs a lower angle honed on the edge than your daily beaters. If those happen to be around and tuned up, great! However, nine times out of ten, I could have gotten by with one of my two main chisels.

I would recommend in buying a premium chisel to start with, unless someone can show you how to tune an old chisel up to perfection. I've previously recommended Lie-Nielsen chisels, and I still do. Stay away from the ones that just look like Lie-Nielsens.

As far as my own personal preferences, I have moved away from the A2 steels in my chisels in favor of older O1 steel. To me it just "feels" better. It's hard to explain otherwise.

I also like to put a new handle that I've made on chisels with unsatisfactory (or missing) chisels.

This style of handle is very comfortable in my hand, easy to make, and if it breaks I can always make another one.

I've chosen to use a different wood for each of my chisels. The one on the right was a replacement handle I had, and the next one was given to me.

With a different colored handle on each chisel, it is easy to pull the one I need right out of my chest without looking at the blade.

My chisels live here in my chest.

If you have a big set of really nice chisels, try this. Take a big one and a little one out of the box and keep them at hand. Put the rest away for one year. After a year, see if you have missed them.

What are your thoughts about the "perfect" set for the beginner?