Hot take: my cheap chisel set failed on a red oak stair tread in Denver last Tuesday

I was fitting a new tread on a old staircase in Denver and my budget chisel just folded over on the first strike. The edge rolled right off like butter. I had to stop everything and drive 20 minutes to grab a decent set from a local supplier. Has anyone else had cheap tools totally wreck a job mid project?

2 comments

2 Comments

ellis.felix4d ago

4 bucks for a fresh blade at any hardware store and you couldve been done in 10 minutes. Sounds like you turned a 5 minute fix into an hour long road trip. Ive seen guys finish a whole stair job with a rusty roofing hatchet, so maybe the tool wasnt the only problem.

leo5674d ago

Hold up though, a fresh blade at a hardware store is NOT 4 bucks anymore. Not for a long time. I bought a pack of two name brand blades last week and it was almost 12 dollars. You must be remembering prices from like 2015 or something. Even the cheap no name brands are pushing 6 or 7 bucks for a single blade now. And sure, a guy with enough experience can hack through anything with a beat up hatchet, but that doesnt mean the rest of us should have to. Dull tools make work DANGEROUS, not just slow. You end up forcing cuts and slipping, which is how people get hurt for no good reason.