I get um off ebay Whitey. Buck brothers is what I look for.  Theres probly better more fancy brands out there but Buck Brothers have been making tools for a long time and I like them. Dont cost an arm and a leg either. Oh, sorry, I didnt email or PM. 

                            Joe.  

Joe no joke. I am hunting for some good chisles etc. And most of what you see on Ebay and seems to be avaiable at our supply houses only cut butter for a while. And thats about as sharp as you can get them. Good for butter.Or air. Smile Whitey

Whitey, the Pfeil "SwissMade" chisels are as good as it gets in my opinion. Woodcrafters sell them. Many other places do as well. There is an almost unlimited range of shapes and sizes and they stay sharp. They are costly but you get what you pay for.

Sadly, it appears that most of the old, reliable manufacturers of tools now have them made by the Chi-Coms. Many a British and American firm sells on price now, rather than quality.

As far as woodworking chisels go, I follow the advice of my now long gone father, who told me I could do no better, than to seek out old Victorian woodworking tools. They may need new handles, and ferules but the quality of the steel they used and it's heat treatement was second to none.

So I attend auctions, car boot sales, flea markets and closing down sales of old shopfitting and cabinet making companies. I don't find much these days, but the odd items I do buy are real gems.

Sadly, so many things these days are sold on price alone, rather than quality. The best of luck in your search Whitey.

Harry

Harry .Boats Western Bob and everybody thanks for all the information. It's just what I needed. Whitey

Guys I used to sharpen by hand with stones just like my dad taught me.  Now go power for all sharpening Rough shaping use a slow speed white wheel grinder. To get the edge use a 1 inch by 42 inch stationary belt sander. It's a home model Baldor.  Mine cost just over 100 bucks as I recall. Run the tool on the back side of the belt, Pull over the edge rather than push from the front.

With different grits you can put an edge on tools real quick with little lost steel.  Most of the carving guys use them now, few hone by hand anymore.  Got the idea from our local turining club.  Other thing thats important is to get the right angle.  Mostly I use a round brass angle guage, check the result with a magnifier.  Rough work with jigs and to make sure it's cutting were I want black the tool with marker to see were it's cutting away as I grind

Harry re-handling old tools is a good way to go.  I make handles all the the time for guys.  First sharpen the tool and see if it's worth the trouble.  If poor steel sometimes will grind it to some special little used shape. Anything will cut with a fresh edge.

Boats

Whitey, if you look here:- (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

This is what I use, not cheap but very good quality, there must be something similar, if not identical, available from the USA. Try Little Machine Shop, in Pasadena, California, they're pretty good and I buy quite a bit from them.

Harry