Chisel Confession

[Downwindtracker2]

I bought a Stanley  720 1 1/2" chisel at the fleamarket for a buck. It might not have been worth it. It was rusty and the end had been made into a 1 3/8" chisel. To remove all the pits on the back took some time (a lot)at the 6x48 belt sander. Then there was the flattening the back on a waterstones, again a fair bit of time. For it's after market handle, I sanded it and refitted the taper tenon on the lathe. Finished it there ,too. After cutting and grinding, the first sharpening took time as well, working the way through the waterstones, getting the angle and the edge.  Sure, it makes short work of end grain pine, but the chisel is what I would only call average. And that was a lot of time.

[Strokes77]

I did this once as well.

Quickly made me realize the $60  that Lie-Nielsen wants for a new one is well worth it.

[Rick F]

I like the feeling of salvaging something that was ruined.

but yeah..

[Admiral]

Having rehabbed my share of chisels, and for that matter other vintage tools, it does take time and effort.  Stories about "finds" for single digit dollars don't take this into account.  But good for you, its a worthy tool.

[MattP]

A year or three back I went on a minor chisel buying binge on ebay. Got maybe 10. I started by rehabbing two old Sargents. One took about 10 hours to rehab, the other about 30. Most of the rest of the chisels are sitting untouched in a drawer, lol. Some bargain.

[EricU]

A $1 chisel doesn't owe you anything, I can see sharpening it just enough to throw in a carpenter toolbox.

[Skip J.]

A $1 chisel doesn't owe you anything, I can see sharpening it just enough to throw in a carpenter toolbox.

I have one exactly like that...... except it was 5 bucks....

[Downwindtracker2]

That's what those metal capped black and yellow Stanley #60 clones are for.  I have set of Japanese made Fullers that I purchased at a buck  a time. Besides a butt chisel works better. And believe me, they have never seen a waterstone.

[hbmcc]

No pic's, didn't happen. Ya' gotta show the sweat! ....


O.K.!!! I'm ducking.

[wmickley]

I bought an early 19th century chisel at a woodworking show for $5 in September. It probably would have been $10 or $15 but the handle was in poor shape. I replace all handles with 18th century style handles. I might have spent an hour and a half getting the edge in good shape. It was just fabulous steel; fine grained, much easier to sharpen than O1, long lasting edge. I used it today on some white oak.

The next week I was at a Lie Nielsen event. They have a display with all of their chisels. All dull. I looked at each with a loupe, and all were chipped on the edge. Later one of the demonstrators sharpened one of the chisels and I got to try it. Some of the onlookers marvelled at how well it cut, but it was not the standard I am used to and not as nice as the $5 chisel. It is hard to evaluate stuff like this where somebody else is sharpening a chisel on different media than I use.  Hard to know whether to fault the steel, or the heat treatment, or the sharpening media, or the person sharpening.