Wanted Stanley 750 chisels

Good luck! They have gone nuts on Ebay last I looked. I have a few and would like to have a set. But I can tell you where you might find a few. Walt Q. over at woodnet if you don't know him. Top notch guy and I have never dealt with anyone more honest than Walt. http://www.brasscityrecords.com/ Walt has new tools every Monday and you just never know what he is going to have.
 
Hi Russ,

They pop up and are taken fairly quickly from the sources like Walt. Be prepared to pay perhaps even more than eBay, especially as a set which includes the odd and larger sizes.

I don't know how set you are on vintage 750s, but the LN chisels end up working out fairly reasonable compared to the 750s unless you get lucky.

Take care, Mike
 
Stanley 750s are darn good chisel, I have quite a few of them.

I will second Jeff's reccomendation on Walt Quadrato, but Walt's prices have followed the market...the fact is that Stanley 750s are sought out by a lot of folks. I would like to find some more 720s, those are the longer paring chisels, I have a couple of those.

ebay is one of the best places to find them. Even with someone like Walt you will have to wait for him to find a set, and even then, there's a lot of folks huntin' for 750s with Walt. My suggestion is call him on Monday mornings, find out what he has from the weekend. Walt typically gets about $15-$25 per chisel. But to be honest, I haven't bought any from him in a while.

Actually call him, don't send email. Follow up with email though. ;)

The other place is the oldtools list, I've gotten some off there for really good prices, like $5-$10 a chisel for onsey twoseys.

Chisels, you can't have too many of them. Having more than one sharp of the same size is nice, IMO. I like to have at least 2 of the 1/4" size, and 3/8" also, when doing dovetails.
 
russ, i opted to collect (and use!) buck chisels instead of fighting the e-bay market for stanleys........just a thought:) .....tod
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Buck chisels are great, I just don't see them being given away either though. If you can get them cheap, as implied, certainly get them. Just don't get your hopes up, there's a lot of folks that collect all old chisels and Bucks are one of them. Greenlee, Witherby (really through the roof), Swan, older Sorbys, older Marples, Berg, Pexto, Butcher, Keen Kutter, and more are all excellent chisels.

But why are the Stanley 750s so popular one might ask? I believe it is because they're a bit shorter, easier to work with, hold an edge, and were plentiful. They're excellent chisels that cabinetmakers and other woodworkers prefer. Mike's suggestion for the LN is not bad, if you're looking to spend $50/chisel.
 
I haven't paid over 20.00 for any of my bucks.

One I bought for 15.00 and some change.
Beings I am making all new walnut handles for them, I pulled the handle off that one, put it on ebay, and sold that handle back to the same guy I bought the chisel from, for 18.00. Now that was a bazaar incident:huh: :eek: ;)
 
One thought being hey, if your willing to pay close to $50.00 a chisel why not buy the Lie-Nielsons? I've held the line a $30.00. And get outbid everytime.:dunno: I'll start looking for Bucks too! Thanks
 
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I haven't paid over 20.00 for any of my bucks.
Neither have I for my Stanleys, except for one I paid Walt $25 for a while back as it was an odd, harder to find size...I think it was a 3/8".

The prices on ebay for Stanleys are not as bad as they were at one point, a few months ago, IMO. But what do I know, I don't track them all the time and just look once in a while. This set of 6 went for $180, recently. Honestly, $30/chisel is not too bad, especially if you're looking for them.

I really am not searching for any tools to buy, and have plenty of chisels, quite a few Stanleys. I bought a 1/4" Stanley 750 or $5 not long ago off the oldtools list, and it is almost full length! All of our milage varies.
 
I guess if $50 is too much for a 750 how is this for a set of 720's?

STANLEY NO. 720 BEVEL-EDGE FIRMER CHISEL SET OF NINE, 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, 7/8, 1, 1 1/4 and 1 1/2 inch. Full-length between 12 3/4 and 13 1/4 inches. Marked Stanley, No. 720 and Made in USA on the sockets. These are in crisp condition. Many are unused, a few have beed honed, and used slightly. There is some minor stain from 50 years of storage. A very nice set, Fine+ ....... $865.00
 
Fine+ ....... $865.00
Kaching-a-rooni...probably worth it to someone though. Look what the Japanese chisels sell for! If you think about people buying those Tasais at $200 chisel, or more, makes one scratch their head. At least the Stanley 720s are already collectable, if you like collectable 'thangs. :)
 
Some people will tell you some of the Japanese chisels will skyrocket in price once the maker passes away. I understand some of those makers are national treasures.

I got my eye on some Matsumura's some day. Seems to be a nice chisel and while not cheap, not crazy either. I think it's just the allure of them.
 
alan has my handtool buying philosophy down pat! i try to buy handtools that i think will appreiciate in value. that way when i kick the bucket my son will have a nice start on a fine tool collection, or one heck of a nest egg if he hates woodworking.......tod
 
I've been eyeballing the Tasai chisels. So far I haven't bought one since the price is just out of the ball park with repect to my skills. If I wait too long I will never get any, Tasai isn't getting younger.
 
Some people will tell you some of the Japanese chisels will skyrocket in price once the maker passes away. I understand some of those makers are national treasures.
Me and the blacksmith I study under talk about how great the Japanese are at marketing, and how they're the best at pumping up their craftsment into a special status. I attribute some of it to the fact that most of them have been involved in and build some of the temples and shrines in Japan. However they do it, they sure make them look like rock stars...
I got my eye on some Matsumura's some day. Seems to be a nice chisel and while not cheap, not crazy either. I think it's just the allure of them.
I have 5 Matsumura blue steel chisels, they're about $50/each on average...I use my Stanleys most all the time. I like the feel of the Matsumura chisels, small and easy to work with, but the Stanleys seem to be good enough for the work I do. My working set is comprised mostly of Stanley, a set of 4 Pexto paring chisels (these are nice, $35 for all 4), a couple 720s, a couple Witherby paring (just got one in an old tool trade), etc...most all of them paid between $5-$20 each.

I think most Japanese chisels are overpriced. Stu has a decent working set of them that he didn't have to pay through the roof for, that's the type that most people should look for, but we don't have access to many used one here in America at reasonable prices.
 
I just spent some time on the phone with a Japanese customer of mine who bought some shaper cutters. I am trying to find a decent set of Japanese bench chisels and dovetail chisels to sell that are not $100+ per chisel. He sent me some good links now I just need to learn Japanese.
 
I love my Japanese chisels, they work great, and like Alan said, I got them on the cheap, heck SOMETHING has to be cheaper for me over here:dunno:

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Yep, a good set of users!

The old guys making hand tools here are a dying breed, in fact, I think in 20 years there will be VERY few of them around, but, the next generation has not completely gone into IT, mostly but not completly :thumb:

More and more of the younger guys here are just fed up with the salaryman routine and are looking for something more rewarding to do with their lives, thus the woodworking DIY thing is really taking off here, and most of these guys have a bit of cash on hand and are willing to pay for a good set of tools, because of this, there is a new growing market for decent quality chisels at a fair price. This segment of the market will let the younger smiths make some money while building thier businesses, so it is not all bleak on the handmade hand tool front here.

Brian, there is a tool trade show here every year, I'll have to check and see when it is next, I'll try to go and find some more leads for you.
 
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