I paid , IIRC , around $ 130 for that set of carbide chisels , they ' re pretty damn niceespecially for a beginner because you won ' t need sharpening gear just replace the inserts when they get dull . I ' d just grab the Rockler kit . The cheap HF chisels won ' t do anything for you unless you have a way to sharpen them $$. You will also need some other stuff besides the rockler kitpen mandrel , barrel trimmer , drill bit , that can be done with a drill press , a jacob ' s chuck in your lathe , or , carefully , with a handheld drill , and some method of finishing themCA is popular for pens if you like that smooth , plasticky finish . That starter kit looks fine , as long as the mandrel fits your lathe . <| sep |> i was sure i ' d hate game of thrones . it sounded stupid . she sold it to me as ' titties swords and dragons '. i ' m fundamentally a simple man . Anyway , dragged my ass through the first couple of episodes . then binge watched the rest at every opportunity .