Narex mortise chisels Good value good tools.

I bought a five piece set of Narex mortise chisels and so far have had an opportunity to actual work with one.
I'm quite pleased with the fit and finish and this steel quality which seems to be just right for my liking. Not too brittle, takes an edge quickly and seems to sharpen without leaving too much curl on the cutting-edge.(Rc59) They have a nice weight to them in a nice feel in my hand and the blades are definitely long enough to be able to hold the blade in alignment while gently tapping the butt to form the mortise.

From narex mortise chisels

I'm a bit short of time this weekend for various reasons so I gave the half-inch chisel a bit of a flattening on the back and re-honed the long bevel edge on the front so I could try the chisel on some wood today.

From narex mortise chisels

From narex mortise chisels

I grabbed a piece of 2 x 4 Spruce stock , flattened the top with a Jack plane, and dropped the mortise with her one half-inch bit in my Triton router.

From narex mortise chisels

As shown in the following picture the half-inch mortise is an excellent fit to the half-inch router bit I am using and it actually took just a few seconds to square a each end of the of the mortise.

From narex mortise chisels

This is a picture of the finished mortise and although it is not a textbook example using a hardwood it has given me confidence to go ahead and finish honing the other four chisels.

From narex mortise chisels

The set consists of a 3/16, 1/4, 5/16, 3/8, and 1/2" chisels.
They come as shown with blade guards but do not include a fancy case which I generally end up tossing out anyway.
They're modestly priced and a pleasure to work with. I found mine at the Valley tools and I do understand that this brand from Czechoslovakia is also available at Highland woodworking in the US.