 Hi all Wanted to let you all know about the Bahco 1031 bevel edged chisels I picked up from workshopheaven recently. I have only ever owned a cheap (£20) set of chrome vanadium chisels from B&Q before. I managed to do some alright work with them including chopping some 1" x 3" x 2" deep mortices in pine but the ends would chip really badly and they were a pig to sharpen. I have only had time to sharpen a few of the Bahcos since I received them, but they are great to use. They slice through end grain of pine and some pippy oak I have like it was butter. They all came in individual holders that clip on your belt. Might look a bit of a charlie with 15 chisels strapped round your waist. But they are all well protected. I have pretty average / small hands and they are easy to hold and with the oval shape offer really firm grip. The 4mm in particular will help clean out very small dovetails. I flattened the back and got to work on the bevel. They have fairly deep milling marks and and my 1000/6000 waterstone took a while to get through them, but the steel just feels right. Like the good old tools I find in antiques shops. I'm going to have to pickup a courser grit stone to sort them out, but I needed one anyway for some other bits. If you read this matthew would you recommend the 240 stone you do? or would that be too course? I've only ever used my 1000/6000 and an old oil stone before. I was really thinking about getting a set of Asyley Iles Mk2 butt chisels but got these pretty cheap on matthews ebay auctions so couldnt resist. And I'm really glad I did. I'm sure these are going to last me for a long time to come and cant wait to get to my next project with them. Got 9 out of the set and will certainly pick up the rest shortly.
Finally they came quickly and superbly well packed and I wouldn't hesitate to purchase from workshopheaven in the future. Hope someone else finds this useful Paul
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 I'll second that, I got mine a couple of months ago and although the milling marks were more than I would of liked on a set of top quality chisels, they tuned up in no time at all. They feel very comfortable in the hand and the edge stays noticeably sharper for longer than my marples set.
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Hi Paul Do you use a grinder or stones or other?? What grit did you start with to get the marks out? My 1000 grit stone does it, but it takes a while and I've got 8 more to do.
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I did mine on the Tormek witch give a 1000 grit finish very quickly, then I polished them on the leather wheel. The milling marks look worse then they are but maybe start with 600 grit to get them flat and then proceed with 800 and 1000 or more if you want. The scary sharpening kit sold on http://www.workshopheaven.com would be perfect for this.
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 Hi Guys, Sorry, I only stumbled across this thread today. 1000 grit is mainly intended for honing secondary bevels, which should take a dozen or so strokes maximum, it is much too fine for initial back flattening. I've been experimenting with some 100 micron lapping film for this job and it's taking about 4 or 5 minutes to remove the grinding marks from the back of a 40mm 1031. It lasts for ages, so one sheet should be plenty to do a set of chisels. The only downside is that it has quite a pronounced curve to it, so the usual spray mount isn't man enough to hold it flat. I stuck mine to an offcut of MDF with weldbond and then clamped another sheet of MDF on top to squish it flat whilst the glue went off. Result; a very cheap, sufficiently flat, smooth, yet very fast cutting surface ideal for preparing chisel backs (and primary bevels for that matter). I'm using Honerite Number 1 as a lubricant, but i'm sure camellia oil, baby oil or water will work too (there's no hard and fast rules for lubricants with lapping film). If you are going back onto waterstones afterwards you are probably best sticking with water to minimise the chances of cross contamination. I'll pop a sheet in the post to both of you and you can let us know how you get on, if you give it the thumbs up, I'll list it on the website. Cheers, Matthew www.workshopheaven.com
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Hi Matthew Thats very kind. I'm certainly interested to see what it can do. Thank you. I'm intersted to see what you think about using the 240 grit waterstone to achieve this? Do you think it would be too agressive? I often pickup tools that need some major correction so was thinking about getting one anyway. Kind regards Paul
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Hi paul, A 240 grit waterstone would also be an excellent choice for this job. Cheers, Matthew www.workshopheaven.com
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Hi guys, Just wondering if you had a chance to try the 100 micron lapping film yet? Cheers, Matthew
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Hi Matthew I must apologise for not responding sooner but I've been leaving the house at 4am and ariving back at about 10:30 pm these last few weeks in order to get a shop fitted out for the 11th. I did recieve the lapping film and I glued it to a piece of mdf as you suggested. I'll give it a try on Saturday morning and post a report straight away. Cheers Paul,
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Matthew I've been back in the workshop today and experimenting with with that 100 mircon lapping film you so kindly sent me. So far I've done a 50, 40, 38, 32, 25 and 18mm chisels that I never tuned up before and they were long over due a sharpening. If I'm honest my previous experience with flattening planes and chisels by hand on wet and dry paper has left me thinking that the whole process is very slow, very hard and very boring. The first thing I notiticed about this stuff is it is much faster than wet and dry and you can see the results with little effort. The second thing I noticed is that it doesn't clog up half as much, witch will certinley make it last longer. Overall I was very impressed with it and I would definitley reccommend it aswell as buy it myself. So its two thumbs up from me Matthew.
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 What's lapping film? I love displaying my ignorance for the whole world to see !! Mike
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I bought a full set of Narex bevel edge chisels last month, only had time to play with one so far, 12mm. flattened the back ( which was not bad at all!) using 360,420, 600,800, 1200 then lastly 1500 wet and dry for a mirror finish. Took less than 30 minutes for the lot. That was using the sawbench as a base/backing. Today I had the granite guy in for tops and splashback to a kitchen I am fitting and have some great offcuts now, so maybe time to play with the other chisels .and flatten some plane soles again.
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Hi Mike, Lapping film is a very hi-spec abrasive from 3M, it is made in a clean room environment rather than a normal factory. Micron graded particles are bonded to a film backing and then flooded with resin. It works like a waterstone, with the resin holding the particles firmly but gradually wearing away to expose fresh cutting edges. As Paul says, it cuts like a coarse abrasive but leaves a finish like a much finer one, it also maintains the same degree of abrasiveness and lasts for ages. The stuff we sell at the moment was originally developed for polishing fibre optics and is wonderful for honing but is only available up to 50 micron. This new 100 micron stuff is a heavier grade designed to be used as a belt for the first stage of finishing the bearing surfaces of crankshafts. I had some made in sheet form to see how it would work as a media for lapping the backs of chisels, plane soles etc. Unfortunately the 100 micron sheets have a significant natural curve, so you need to bond them securely to a disposable substrate; I stick it to MDF with Weldbond which works fine. I just wanted to gather a few 'second opinions' before releasing it for sale. Wet & Dry may be cheaper, but the job is so much more enjoyable if you feel like you are making some progress. Cheers, Matthew www.workshopheaven.com p.s. If you want to try some Chris, drop me a private message with your address and I'll send you a sample to compare with your current set up.
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Thanks Matthew, I'll look out for that when it goes on general release. Sounds like you could be onto a winner there...... 3M do some fantastic stuff.......I saw a demonstration of a glue they had developed to stick balconies on the outside of buildings!!!!!! No mechanical fastening......just glue! Can you imagine walking out onto a concrete balcony of an 8th floor flat knowing that it was just glued in place??!! Mike
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And I thought that guy it the wallpaper paste and the helicopter in the 80's was a nutter!
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I once met someone at a party who was an Advertising Standards agency bod, and he had witnessed the making of that ad. He said that his job was to check that they hadn't cheated by nailing the overalls in place..........and they hadn't! I would certainly have cheated!!
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 they also stick burger van together with it , my father-outlaw uses alot of those special adhesive in his factory doing stainless work where you can not weld for visual reaosns .
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 Sounds like an interesting sharpening system Matthew...........when does it go on sale? Marc  Talking of sharpening........does anyone occasionally use a magnet to go over their oiled oil stone and have the same results that I do? Its amazing how much metal can be stored in the stone and how clean it looks after going over it a few times......Try it but, make sure you run some oil over it first so that the magnet glides and doesn't scratch it. Marc 
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Great tip, Marc
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Thanks Mike....... One thing I should of added is to put the magnet in a plastic bag of some sort as its easier to remove the magnet without all the filings attached to it..........then all you do it to wipe the plastic bag clean with a paper towel.
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