chisels, industrial vs cold ?

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I was looking to buy a cheap set of chisels and ran into this. http://www.harborfreight.com/12-piec...set-66440.html
http://www.harborfreight.com/12-piec...-set-4885.html
The first set is called a cold chisel and is made of chrome vanadium and the second set is called industrial and is made of carbon steel. I think the chrome vanadium is harder. If it is harder, why would you want the softer ones. Maybe less brittle. Does anyone know of situations in which one would be better than the other?
 
thanks for the info. Besides the actual examples linked, does anyone know the difference between the two types of chisels?
 
Protanium Steel is a proprietary alloy steel.. It is the hardest, most ductile, and longest wearing steel that exists in the tool industry.

8650 is the most common grade in use throughout the U.S. and the Far East. It does not have the hardness or ductility of Protanium® Steel.

Chrome Vanadium is about comparable in quality to 8650. It is used primarily in Europe.

Chrome Moly is similar to Chrome Vanadium, but is somewhat stronger and harder. Because it is fairly expensive, manufacturers generally only use it on their higher grade and higher priced tools like ball head products, and substitute lower grades for their other tools. Europe and Japan are the primary users.

S2 is used by only a small number of manufacturers. It is harder than 8650, but it is also less ductile, more costly, and far more prone to shattering.

1050 carbon steel is low-grade steel that is inferior to those listed above. It is still used by some manufacturers in Europe and Asia.
 
Last edited:
Jstutz,
Cold chisels are just that - used for metalworking when the metal is room temperature. Thus, they are useful for everything. (There are also hot chisels but they're for blacksmiths...)

The industrial chisels seem to be "even cheaper" cold chisels. "Carbon steel" usually is the cheapest softest stuff. Both those sets are probably pretty low quality, but the cold chisel set is probably a bit better for general purposes. Good luck.
 
Thanks guys, very informative. It seems like making punches or chisels out of carbon steel would not be advantageous in most situations.
 
Quote:
Protanium Steel is a proprietary alloy steel.. It is the hardest, most ductile, and longest wearing steel that exists in the tool industry.

You forgot to include...
Quote:
•Protanium® Steel is a proprietary alloy steel developed and used only by Bondhus. It is the hardest, most ductile, and longest wearing steel that exists in the hex tool industry.

http://www.bondhus.com/metallurgy/body-1.htm

From what i have been reading there are other grades that would be more suitable for different tool types, but I'm no metallurgist.
 
Isn't S2 considered "tougher" than 8620. 8620 seems to be similar to 4130 with less carbon and is often used for case hardened parts. Maybe that's desirable for punches and chisels?
 
If you are wanting a cheap set of just chisels (no punches) try this set from Mayhew (USA made) that are harder than anything you will get from HF.

http://www.tooltopia.com/mayhew-tools-60560.aspx

If you want a GOOD set of chisels that will cut like they should and last a long time, try this USA made, top of the line Mayhew set made from S2 steel.

http://www.tooltopia.com/mayhew-tools-15001.aspx

I think these are some of the finest you can buy, have a variable heat treatment along the shaft (the head is softer than the tip and the head is ground in a parabolic curve to reduce chipping and mushrooming.

One thing to remember, never sharpen your chisels with a grinder. Always put them in a vise and use a sharp file to put a 60 degree edge back on the business end. Always keep the head dressed down in a curve to prevent any chips from flying off.

I also think they are the OEM for Snap-on for this set of chisels:

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?...amp;dir=catalog

With the Snap-on set, you have a 7/8" chisel and in the Mayhew set a 1/4" chisel. The rest are the same size but the Mayhew set is 1/3 the price. Some of us still buy the Snap-on sets though just for the convenience of getting a warranty replacement chisel when needed.
 
What are you guys using cold chisels on?

I can recall only pulling out mine when I'm beating mercilessly on something and I want it to break.
 
I use my cold chisels a fair bit.

This evening, I am going to be using it on severe aluminium corrosion. I have to chip away a sixteenth inch thick layer of corrosion and a scraper is just not strong enough for the task.

They come in useful to finish off splitting a nut after you have cut most of the way with a dremel or angle grinder. i also sometimes use a cold chisel to wedge apart metal parts that don't come apart easily.
 
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Originally Posted By: GeorgiaHybrid
One thing to remember, never sharpen your chisels with a grinder. Always put them in a vise and use a sharp file to put a 60 degree edge back on the business end. Always keep the head dressed down in a curve to prevent any chips from flying off.

I assume you are concerned about loss of temper due to overheating when a bench grinder is used.

i have always sharpened my cold chisels on a bench grinder but I use a low speed grinder and I will only grind for a few seconds at a time and let the chisel cool off in between.
 
I just realized that you copied this off of the Bondus website but you did not cite that it was their information word for word. Not only does it have little to do with punches and chisels (Bondus is a screw driver company) but it's plagiarism. You need to always give credit to information and images stolen from someone else.

Sorry for the lecture.

Originally Posted By: kasedian
Protanium Steel is a proprietary alloy steel.. It is the hardest, most ductile, and longest wearing steel that exists in the tool industry.

8650 is the most common grade in use throughout the U.S. and the Far East. It does not have the hardness or ductility of Protanium® Steel.

Chrome Vanadium is about comparable in quality to 8650. It is used primarily in Europe.

Chrome Moly is similar to Chrome Vanadium, but is somewhat stronger and harder. Because it is fairly expensive, manufacturers generally only use it on their higher grade and higher priced tools like ball head products, and substitute lower grades for their other tools. Europe and Japan are the primary users.

S2 is used by only a small number of manufacturers. It is harder than 8650, but it is also less ductile, more costly, and far more prone to shattering.

1050 carbon steel is low-grade steel that is inferior to those listed above. It is still used by some manufacturers in Europe and Asia.
 
Originally Posted By: George7941
I assume you are concerned about loss of temper due to overheating when a bench grinder is used.

i have always sharpened my cold chisels on a bench grinder but I use a low speed grinder and I will only grind for a few seconds at a time and let the chisel cool off in between.


George, you are correct. I have seen the temper pulled from a lot of tools due to someone heating them too much on a grinder. If you have a sharp file, it is almost as fast as a grinder and a lot safer. If someone does use a grinder, they should either go very slow like you are doing or dip the chisel in a cooling agent (water or oil) every second or two in order to keep the work cooled down.
 
Quote:
You need to always give credit to information and images stolen from someone else.



+1 What bothered me was the fact the first line was changed for some reason.
Copy and pasting info without giving credit is one thing but changing the info to suit your needs or fit your opinion is another.
 
Originally Posted By: GeorgiaHybrid
If you are wanting a cheap set of just chisels (no punches) try this set from Mayhew (USA made) that are harder than anything you will get from HF.

http://www.tooltopia.com/mayhew-tools-60560.aspx

If you want a GOOD set of chisels that will cut like they should and last a long time, try this USA made, top of the line Mayhew set made from S2 steel.

http://www.tooltopia.com/mayhew-tools-15001.aspx

I think these are some of the finest you can buy, have a variable heat treatment along the shaft (the head is softer than the tip and the head is ground in a parabolic curve to reduce chipping and mushrooming.

One thing to remember, never sharpen your chisels with a grinder. Always put them in a vise and use a sharp file to put a 60 degree edge back on the business end. Always keep the head dressed down in a curve to prevent any chips from flying off.

I also think they are the OEM for Snap-on for this set of chisels:

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?...amp;dir=catalog

With the Snap-on set, you have a 7/8" chisel and in the Mayhew set a 1/4" chisel. The rest are the same size but the Mayhew set is 1/3 the price. Some of us still buy the Snap-on sets though just for the convenience of getting a warranty replacement chisel when needed.


Mayhew IS a good manufacturer of American made cold chisels and similar products. I've had good luck with their tools and they are readily available at your local ACE hardware as well as online. Another good US manufacturer is Enderes.
 
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