The October 2008 issue of Fine Woodworking has and article on the Best chisels on the Market. The article in on Bench chisels and does a test on the most popular chisels on the Market.
They test 23 brands and picked the Lie Nielsen at the best overall western style chisel on the market.
The runner up is the Pfeil Swiss Made brand. I have a set of the Swiss Made chisels. I not only have the bench chisels but also have the carvings chisels as well. I think these are the best chisels out there, but have never tried a Lie Nielsen chisel. I do have other Lie Nielsen products like planes and saws and do fine them to be exceptional good.
In the test of 6 categories the Lie Nielsen chisels got 2 excellent, 3 very goods and 1 good. The Swiss made got 2 excellent and 4 very goods. The price of the Lie Nielsen is $50 and the Swiss made is $31.
So for my money the Swiss made is a better chisel. If I some day have a chance to try the Lie Nielsen , I might change my mind but for the time being,I will continue to use the Swiss made. I like the way they feel in my hand, they stay sharp. They do not take much work to keep them sharp and they cut true. I use the bench chisels for cutting dovetails, mortises and for general trimming work.
Please visit my web site at http://nokeswoodworks.com
