I understand the utility ofthe flatplane for our hobby, but not of the chisel.
I have a flat plane that is handy for carving the leading edges, for example, but I don't see how a chisel can be useful ?
I haven't tried a chiselin all my life so I don't really know what I am speaking about.

Regarding the violin knife blades, yes that's pretty cool. I found thisbelgian site who sellsPfeil Swiss made blades:
http://www.willyvanhoutte.be/en/catalog/show_cat/1479
Which one do you recommend?

I have not found a cheap diamond stone in Europe so I ordered yesterdaythe German Wüsthof 1000/2000 sharpening stone (equivalent to the 3000/8000 japanese grit)

Thanks again for sharing your experience.