I had some of the Lie Neilson 750's type, and didn't like my handles coming off all the time so I sold them. I sold them off. New owner loves them, and puts up with the steeenkin hair spray smell it takes to keep the f-ing handles on.
I'm kinda like Splint, and have a hodge podge of older Stanley 750's, 720. 740, a bunch of Narex (they were a thing several years ago, and still pop up all the time, but weak metals = sharpening a lot. A bunch of older Yeller handled Stanley 40's and some older blue handled Marps. Hell I have a LOT of chisels, mostly in 3/8, and 1/2"
My pride and joy are some regular sizes for me the LV PMV's and my best surprise for the $$$$$$$ beside some XYZ Japanese, has been
a set I got from WoodCraft for 70 bux on sale.
Besides the WC set, I have never bought a set, it's rare any more for me to have a need over 3/4", and most is either done with a 3/8" or 1/2" for DT's, and I have a LOT of those sizes. Cause when you are rolling along, who wants to stop to sharpen?
My 2 most eggspensive are a fishtail, and a toothpick I got from Dave Jeske (
Blue Spruce toolworks), across a counter at a Woodworking in America, long ago in Berea Ky. He was custom making some off normal tools. I use both of them ALL the time to clean up chutz when I am DT-ing. Since, I see he has added them to his regularly sold tools. Both do what a lot of others try to do.
I quit buying chisels about 5 years ago, work got to be a lot less, and if I sharpen all of what I have it's the best part of a day, and I can use the sharp ones to get through a lot of DT's, and any more I only really use chisels when I DT, quit chopping mortises when I got the Domino. I mean, why bother doing a lot of
"BLIND" work, when you have the answer right there? You only need to mortise so many hinges, and a lot of that now falls to a router, so a chisel to knock round corners into square. I think they ought to just make hinges round?
My last real M&T's were on a Huey desk I did for my Wife, still not assembled. Since getting the Domino I have made that desk 7 times, and in less than a 1/4 of the time it took to do with M&T's. maybe less time?
Anyhow those really crappy, to me anyhow, LN 750's put me off of reproduction 750's so I was kinda scared to spend the $$$$$ they want for them. Now I am on a hiatus from buying every steenking chisel I come across. I think the LV's in the PMV, or some of Jeske's new Optima chisels would be my suggestion to a new buyer. It only looks expensive, then you find out to get some that actually hold an edge takes some $$$$$$ to obtain.
Chisels are worse than boats. There is not a perfect one to be found. The best you can do is get some you can get along with. :-)))