Stanley 750 vs. Lie-Nielsen

[Tom M]

I have three Stanley 750 bench chisels which were my grandfather's (don't know why he had them - he was a stone mason).  I absolutely love them.  They are so comfortable and well balanced.

A couple years ago I purchased 5 Lie-Nielsen bench chisels to give me a nice set.  I like the LN chisels, but I find the them uncomfortable when compared to my 750's which the LN are based on.

I find three main differences. 1) the LN are hornbeam and therefore extremely dense and closed grained.  They make a lot of noise when struck with a mallet. 2) Though they are based on the Stanley 750, there are minor differences in the dimensions of the handle.  3) the LN have an almost polished laquer-type finish.

I believe the 750 are less noisey due to the wood and the leather washer (at least I beleive they have leather washer at the striking end.  I find the slightly larger diameter of the Stanley and more pronouced cusp at the tang end more comfortabnle. The stanley finish on the open grain wood (hickorey?) give me a better grip.

Now for my question....  Does anyone have experience making replacement handles like used by Stanley?  Wood type, leather washer (how made and how attached.  How to form the cone shape for fitting into the chisel?

Any help would be appreciated.

Tom

 

[msiemsen]

Go to this page http://www.cianperez.com/Wood/WoodDocs/Wood_How_To/INDEX_How_To.htm on the right side about 2/3rds of the way down are 4 or 5 tutorials on chisel handles. The L-N chisels are also probably A2 rather than just carbon steel. You could strip the lacquer off of the handles and scuff sand them.
You could watch e-bay and check an mwtca or patina meet for 750s.
Mike