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Penn State chisels

n7bsn

n7bsn

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Has anyone used the Benjamin's Best M2, HSS chisels from PSI?

I hadn't noticed them before, but the prices... like $20 (US) for a 5/8 bowl gouge.

If they are worth the money, they might be good chisels for people to start with... heck, they are tempting me to buy a set of bead-cutters.
 
n7bsn said:
Has anyone used the Benjamin's Best M2, HSS chisels from PSI?
Click to expand...

When I first started I bought a couple Benjamin's Best bowl gouges and other chisels from PSI. They work. The flute on the 3/8" bowl gouge is oddly shallow compared to the same sized Sorby gouge I bought later, but that comes in handy some times. I still use them occasionally. I use the parting tool and the round nosed side cutting scraper regularly. The tools seem to hold an edge okay.

I'd say they're worth the money, especially for people just starting out who are trying to build an arsenal of tools.
 
Would make the recommendation that you chip for one good bowl gouge in addition to any Penn State. A sorby or crown 3/8 is a good choice. Better shape of flute makes a difference, especially the depth.

Also chip for a sharpening rig. Sharp and consistant makes more difference than the tool you buy cause any tool that is dull or has an inconsistant bevel will turn poorly, no matter how expensive.

Dietrich
 
I have several of the PSI gouges, scrapers, etc. Have not had one problem with them. Their 1/2" bowl gouge with the Ellsworth grind is my favorite. I also have some Crown, P & N, and Sorby's. For the money you can't go wrong.
 
Penn State's Benjamin's Best are my experimental tools. I try different grinds on these inexpensive tools before making the decision of transfering them to my "better" brands. This evening a 3/8 gouge Ben's Best was ground to the specs. described in the FWW article. I'll use it for a bit (need practice to smoothly grind a consistant edge) to see if it works for me.
 
I bought several of the Benjamin's Best tools and they are pretty good, especially for the price. I suspect that if you were to replace the handles that some would be hard pressed to tell how inexpensive they are.

These are great for beginners to practice sharpening. You can go at it to test different techniques without worrying about how much the tool costs.
 
pencheff said:
When I first started I bought a couple Benjamin's Best bowl gouges and other chisels from PSI. They work. The flute on the 3/8" bowl gouge is oddly shallow compared to the same sized Sorby gouge I bought later, but that comes in handy some times. I still use them occasionally. I use the parting tool and the round nosed side cutting scraper regularly. The tools seem to hold an edge okay.

I'd say they're worth the money, especially for people just starting out who are trying to build an arsenal of tools.
Click to expand...
PSI`s current bowl gouges have a deep flute and a fingernail grind. They work just fine. 🙂
 
I own the PSI Bowl set, the 6 pieces set, as well as the 6 piece aniverssary set. I have had no problems with them so far. They have been my primary tools since i began in march and have done me well. The price was the biggest factor when i bought them. I did not want to spend upwards of $500 for all the tools i needed. These gave me a good starting point to figure out which tools I would really use often and then I can decide to upgrade each tools as needed. They sharpen okay but don't hold their edge as long as better tools. The avalibality of these sets was hard to come by when i ordered them. They were on back order for 3 months.
 
Thats a problem with PSI, they don`t seam to stock enough. If something is out of stock, it is for awhile. 🙁
 
LandingCrafts.com kudos

CA Savoy said:
A good place to buy is www.landingcrafts.com.
Great service and fair prices.
Click to expand...

I second CA's comments here. I bought my Talon chuck from them. They were extremely cooperative, had far and away the best price at the time, and were selling the chuck with choice of threaded insert, the standard jaws, plus your choice of one other set for less than anyone else was selling the chuck & jaws alone! They don't do that all the time, but they are on eBay, and they do run some inventive sales now and again.

And the price of the Ben's Best tools is indeed intriguing, especially for my forays into teaching little kids how to use a lathe. I can use a couple of other gouges that will hold an edge for those little hands on little lathes.

Good tip. Good reminder!
 
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