Blue handled Stanley bevel edged chisels.

[Mike G]

What are they called? They'll be "Stanley 4-digit-number", and I'd like to know the number, please.

 

[AJB Temple]

5002

 

[Mike G]

Thanks Adrian. That helps my search.....

 

[SamQ aka Ah! Q!]

Just for reference Mike? The black 5001's are thought by many to be superior steel, holding an edge better. I only have one, the dreadful "ergonomic" handle version; they're a one-word oxymoron.

 

[Mike G]

I've got the black handled jobs. They may be 5001, but they are butt-chisel length. They've been my bench chisels for 30+ years, but more and more these days I find myself going and fetching a blue-handled alternative. Now you mention it, I had noticed that the half inch one has needed more sharpening than I'd expect.

 

[AJB Temple]

There are quite a few on eBay. I have the very similar red handled footprint ones that my dad gave me aged about 10. Still fully usable.

 

[SamQ aka Ah! Q!]

I've got the black handled jobs. They may be 5001, but they are butt-chisel length. They've been my bench chisels for 30+ years, but more and more these days I find myself going and fetching a blue-handled alternative. Now you mention it, I had noticed that the half inch one has needed more sharpening than I'd expect.

Yes, I have two blue ones, ditto thoughts.

Some time ago AndyT (I think) recommended the yellow and black Footprint ones. Now, this is mature, 20 or 30-years-ago Footprint,not the modern *** Footprint. I found a set for a fair price and I'm (on limited use so far) reasonably happy they hold an edge well. The handle profile is a little odd though, squaroid you might say; good for those of us with hands like childrens' car seats....

***Comment adjectives withdrawn in the light of a post below from Trevannion,who has more experience of FP woodie tools than I do.

 

[Trevanion]

not the modern garbage Chineseium Footprint

I don’t think that’s particularly fair Sam, I believe Footprint still produce most of their tools in house in Sheffield with some like their saws outsourced to other manufacturers in Sheffield. I don’t think they make bench chisels anymore though and I can see why they don’t bother, it’s a very saturated market.

I actually bought a few bits off Footprint a few weeks ago for an ongoing project involving a bit of block-laying, all very good quality for a very competitive price.

 

[SamQ aka Ah! Q!]

Fair enough Dan. I had a couple of poor non-woodworking tools from them and there was no way they added up to the quality of my 40-year-old "footprints" plumbers' pipe grips.
I was out of order to extrapolate that to other genres of tools and I accept your correction.
I'll see if Alasdair's software tweaks will allow me to edit the above post.

Edit: done. Teach me to over-generalise.

 

[Mike G]

I rather like the blue Stanleys, but I am curious if any one has any views on the lookie-likey Marples blue handled range.

 

[AndyT]

I rather like the blue Stanleys, but I am curious if any one has any views on the lookie-likey Marples blue handled range.

I have some blue Stanleys that I bought new in the 70s and 80s. They are excellent. Right degree of hardness. Consistent quality, as you'd expect when they were still being made in Sheffield, by long established firms with good reputations and skilled metallurgists.

I also have a couple of Marples blue chip from the 90s, which are just as good.

Where it gets iffy is the time after about 2000, when manufacturing in Sheffield had stopped but the new owners were exploiting the brand names. I've just avoided anything from that period, to be on the safe side. (I do have one recent "Irwin Marples" chisel, made presumably somewhere east and cheap. It looks ok for rough work but it's not a cabinetmaker's tool. It was passed on to me.)

Incidentally, I was using those nice black and yellow Footprints on my oilstone box the other day.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Pretty sure the saws from Footprint and Crown are Thomas Flinn. Nobody else makes them in Sheffield.

As I understand it - I think a bloke from Crown told me - their chisels, Hamlet ones and Henry Taylor all source the forged parts and handles from the same makers. Dunno about Sorby.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Oh, I have a set of the blue handled Marples chisels, were my Grandad's. They are pretty good, but I do tend to reach for the older ones - Fuluse (mark of Cooper & sons of Sheffield, defunct) and old- more often, probably because of the wooden handles.

 

[sammy.se]

I just don't like the handle texture on the blue 5002.I find it slips