chisel thoughts

[Ken S]

I have a couple plastic handled "butt" chisels dating back to the late fifties.  They have a Fuller brand on the handle, and may have been made by Buck Brothers.  They certainly qualify as "garden variety" utility chisels.

I recently ground the bevel on one (1" width") to thirty degrees instead of the usual twenty five degrees.  (New Lie-Nielsen chisels come ground to thirty degrees.)

I have since used that chisel for a couple jobs which would scare off a finely tuned top drawer chisel.  The last job was removing some long dried caulk on a flat window surface.  I have also used it for some mild prying.  Sorry if I offend the purists on the forum.  We all have those jobs to do from time to time.

I was surprised how well the edge has held up.  With the old twenty five degree bevel, I'm sure i would have needed a regrind by now.  A gentle rehoning might be in order, but the edge is still very functional.

By the way, I only ground the first third of the old bevel to the new setting.  Butt chisels are short enough without overgrinding.

Any thoughts?

Ken

[Jeff Farris]

30 degrees provides a durable edge that will hold up to cruddy materials and the use of a mallet. 20 degrees provides a very fine, hair-splitting edge. 25 has been adopted as a compromise of the two.

[Ken S]

Exactly, Jeff.  "Cruddy materials" hits the chisel on the handle.  "Utility" doesn't quite capture the flavor of the work.  life is more than handcutting dovetails.

Ken

[Ken S]

No other chisel users on the forum?

[Ken S]

I used that same poor chisel this week to help widen the opening in my new kitchen for the refrigerator.  The builder had cut the Corian and particle board under layer unsquare.  Also, I had to remove the part of the front oak board.  That valiant chisel did trooper service on particle board, glue, Corian, and oak before becoming dull. Actually most of the work was done by two routers, but the chisel did assist.

It's time to return to the Tormek.  I plan to keep the bevel at the new 30 degree angle.  For the nasty parts of real life, it works very well.

Ken