Hand Tools: the world of premium chisels
Vložit
- čas přidán 9. 05. 2024
- My collection of premium chisels around the world: Narex Richter bench chisels, Auriou by Chris Pye carving chisels, Pfeil carving/bench chisels, Veritas flushing chisels, Blue Spruce mortise, dovetail, pairing and fishtail chisels, Japanese chisel set.
- Jak na to + styl
Careless whisper!!! (First musical excerpt reminds me of that tune). Nothing beats a chisel!
It’s a really delightful collection. I have some of the ones that you show and they are good to use. If I may, a few opinions:
The quality of the cut is the most important - perhaps the only important - factor. That quality is the result partly of the quality of the chisel but more about the accuracy of the sharpening and your technique
The choice of steel for the blades is quite personal. Softer means sharpening is easier but has to be done more often. Harder steel is exactly the opposite. Personally, I prefer medium hardness.
The quality of the wood for the handles hardly affects the quality of the cut. Nightly figured wood looks nice but is, in itself, no better or worse, than any other hard wood
Chisels with a metal ring at the top or a metal top which is part of the blade itself are designed to be hit with a mallet or small hammer. Other fully wooden handles can be used with a smaller mallet but you will see the effect on the handle after time.
Japanese or western style? For most of us, it is a personal choice which doesn’t affect greatly the end result. I have both styles and, truthfully, I couldn’t tell whether the end result (the joint or whatever) was cut with which style.
The most expensive chisels should come absolutely ready to use. My experience is that is not always the case.
The initial sharpen/hone is critical. The bottom couple of cm should be flat (slightly different for Japanese style). The bottom of the blade should be square to the sides. The angle of the primary bevel does vary from style to style and, in my 45 years of experience, it matters little if it’s 25, 26, 27, 30, 32 degrees or anywhere in that range. Consistency and sharpness are far more critical than a particular degree angle
The secondary bevel idea didn’t exist when I started. I do put secondary bevels of my chisels as I find that it’s quicker (therefore more likely to happen) to touch up a secondary bevel whilst in use.
Honing gauge. I only have about 10. I used the Veritas mark 2 for several years but found that ensuring the squares of the blade to the jig was hard because the smaller locking wheel was…small. About a year ago I bought the Manoo jig through Banggood and that will see me very nicely until I’m finished. In fact, I bought 2 guides - 1 with the wheels set inside for plane blades and 1 with wheels set outside for chisels.
There are many ways of sharpening and I’ve tried them all. I’ve got a Tormek T8, oil stones. Whetstones, scary sharp and diamond stones. I’ve really come down now to just using the Tormek and the diamond. Oil stones and whetstones need maintenance and some preparation (I.e. allowing the water stone to soak up water): scary sharp are good but I damage them too easily. Diamond stones are ready immediately and even I haven’t managed to damage one.
I use the Tormek, fitted with a CBT wheel, to establish the primary bevel or restore one if I’ve damaged it. That takes me to 1000 grit. I then use the Manoo jig to establish the secondary bevel (something around 2 degrees less than the primary bevel). I go through the grits from 1000 to 3000. I then hone on a scrap of leather with honing paste smeared on it.
I have my chisels in trays exactly as shown on the video. Just a personal choice, but I like taking a tray and putting it on my bench and have all the sizes ready there. If I’m using a chisel for quite a few cuts, I will hone the blade on the 3000 grit diamond stone and the strop with them sat next to me on the bench. Frequent and quick - much better for me than seldom and taking longer.
My final observation is that the Blue Spruce ones are the best for opening paint cans. I just find that the thinness of the blade means you can really wedge it into the gap between lid and can.
First of all, thank you very much for watching my videos, and especially for your informative comments. Some of your opinions are actually facts. I completely agreed, it's all bogged down to how sharp the chisels and the techniques of using them. I too prefer medium hardness, it's easier to sharpen and the edge stays sharper a bit longer -- harder steel tends to be brittle and prone to chip. Almost all Japanese chisels I own have harder steel, but I find them easier to flatten because of that hallow back, so re-sharpening them aren't as difficult. When it comes to specific tasks like dowtailinng, mortising, pairing, etc, I almost always reach for Western chisels that are made specifically for those tasks.
That's a lot of chisels - what method do you use to sharpen them? I finally went with a set of 3 Shapton glass stone plates that work well for chisels and hand plane irons. I use a Tormek for my lathe tools... sharpening is not my favorite thing to do, but necessary of course. I discovered the Veritas chisels and hand planes a while ago - marvelous tools.
yeah sharpen tools isn't fun, i usually do a few lapping on 3M lapping films after work so next time when I pull the tools to work, they are already sharpen. And if I need to correct the bevel angle and establish a secondary bevel, then I use Veritas MK II jig on my Naniwa Chosera whetstones. The whetstones are then flatten with my DMT flatting diamond stone after use. Correcting the bevel angle manually takes a long time, so I'm looking to get Tormek in the near future, not really need it for now.
@@HansMasterCraft I don't much care for the Tormek on flat cutting instruments like chisels or plane irons. It introduces a curve to the surface that you're sharpening. Some don't mind that, and some prefer it, I'm sure. I just use the Tormek on lathe tools.
@@LDBecker Can you not use the side of the stone to get a flat surface? I never used one.
Incredible collection. What do you do for a living, if you don't mind me asking? Is this your job?
@mjscpr - woodworking is purely my hobby. I do software for a living. Thanks for watching my videos, you have a nice day.
@@HansMasterCraft to you as well!