Mortise Chisel, sash chisel ..or?

[bandit571]

A $4 mystery....picked back on last Friday...from the sides, it looks just like a "normal" mortise or sash chisel  1/8" wide...

   
Bevel looked a bit rounded, is all....Brass furniture...octagonal bolster.....1/8" was a size I "needed"...however...

   
I doubt if I will flatten the back......may flatten the curved bevel?   

So, who would put a groove along the back of such a skinny chisel?   And....how to sharpen something like this?

[dry heat]

A $4 mystery....picked back on last Friday...from the sides, it looks just like a "normal" mortise or sash chisel  1/8" wide...

Bevel looked a bit rounded, is all....Brass furniture...octagonal bolster.....1/8" was a size I "needed"...however...

I doubt if I will flatten the back......may flatten the curved bevel?   

So, who would put a groove along the back of such a skinny chisel?   And....how to sharpen something like this?

Could be a carving chisel or bead turning lathe tool.

[iclark]

Could be a carving chisel or bead turning lathe tool.

I have a parting tool for the lathe that has a groove like that. It is one of my favorites.

I suspect that that one could be useful for vining or inlay.

[andrewb]

A $4 mystery....picked back on last Friday...from the sides, it looks just like a "normal" mortise or sash chisel  1/8" wide...

Bevel looked a bit rounded, is all....Brass furniture...octagonal bolster.....1/8" was a size I "needed"...however...

I doubt if I will flatten the back......may flatten the curved bevel?   

So, who would put a groove along the back of such a skinny chisel?   And....how to sharpen something like this?

Carving gouge I believe.

[AHill]

I don't think it's a lathe tool since it appears there's not much of a tang. I'm in the carving tool camp.

[Timberwolf]

I don't think it's a lathe tool since it appears there's not much of a tang.  I'm in the carving tool camp.

.................
Not a lathe tool...it's a sash gouge.

[cbygeorge]

Looks to be a carving veiner.  Is that a number on the top?

[bandit571]

No number found....

[Robert1921]

Looks like a purfling cutter that has been (badly) re-handled. The suggestion about a veiner I don’t go with, as a gouge would not need or have the depth. A parting tool is possible, with a user made handle - the two turned hollows are a clue.

Sharpening - depends on use. - either suggestion only needs you to establish a single bevel, and the groove will ensure that you have a v shape with ‘sharp’ edges.
This is not a tool for hogging off material, and the combination of a 90 degree arris and the angle of the tool to the work will do the job. What angle to set the bevel depends on which job you are asking it to do.


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