Replies

1. 
   Peter36 | Jan 20, 2005 02:15pm | #1

   Yes I totally agree with you that you can use the same chisel for chopping and paring. If you are afraid to chop with your good chisel then it is either not a good chisel or it is a paring chisel and therefore, no you should not chop with it. Paring chisels tend to be sharpened close to 25* give or take and bench chisels several degrees higher than this. The angle you choose is usually dictated by the difficulty of the timbers that you work. Harder wood- greater angle. Try posting this on the Knots forum- I bet you will be blasted......

1. 
   mvac | Jan 20, 2005 08:05pm | #2

   Peter,

   Thanks for the info and for the Knots suggestion - I'll do it.

   Given what you've said, if I'm at 32 degrees for poplar, and I'm going to work with Brazilian Cherry - which is one of the toughest species I've worked with, how high of an angle can I have without making it too prone to breakage, very quick dulling, or whatever else happens when you set a chisel angle too high?

   Thanks in advance,

   Mitch

2. 
   cowtown | Feb 10, 2005 08:27am | #3

   I dunno if i'd call ya stupid, but if you get into any finishing carpenters tool chest, there'll be a roll of chisels for every day use, and then a roll of chisels for finer applications.

   The difference in angle, why there may not be any at all. But the difference in sharpness will be immediately apparent.

   Why? the everyday users have been whalloped upon, and that defacto blunts the edge. It may still be reasonably sharp, and will no doubt cut when forced to with a hammer or mallet blow.

   But, when yer shaving the mortise for a butt hinge on a door that may cost more than you make in a month, simple risk management says, you gotta use a primo sharp chisel. IE not one dulled and chipped by everyday use. A keenly sharp chisel suitably protected and only used for hand paring is way less likely to require brute force to shave off a whisper of shaving without slippage and damage to surrounding faces. Incidently, this is also a requirement for MDF blocked doors, the stuff doesn't react well to brute force.

   Go then now to cutting the recess for the striker plate mortice. Use a dull chisel with a mallet and you've got serious crushed fibres, ie a really cruddy edge. Take now the paring chisel from the inner sanctum, and a mere slight tap cuts the cross grain cleanly and looks so much more professional. You gotta experience the sweetness of tapping a 1" "inner sanctum" chisel with yer palm to chip out debris , and the sweetness of sliding it across the bottom of the mortice to even it out.

   So then, grasshopper, ask once again why you should have a paring chisel in addition to a regular chisel, and merely by asking that question means that you have not encountered the need, not encountered the damage that a single slip from a half-dulled work-a-day chisel can produce when the inevitable slip of a dull tool ensues, , nor paid out of your own pocket for such damages,or had to take the time to repair yer damages, or at least encountered the shame and humbilititation that usage of a work-a-day chisel can produce (an unworkmanlike, sloppy and shameful mortice for example).

   Further, should you be so lucky as to encounter the hardened steel of a real chisel instead of the soft steel of current borg-offerings, you will have worked for not an insignificant amount of time to restore the edge to workability. Most folks will value that time, and actually take steps to protect that investment.

   Ergo, a prudent and efficient chiseller will further protect his investment in time and only use his keenest chisels to pare, thereby also reducing his risk of damaging materials. A neophyte will likely use any reasonable facimile of a sharp tool to try to do the same. Sometimes the neophyte will get away with it, sometimes not.

   In a work-a-day world, some carpenters would have their "beater" chisels easily accesible in the tool tote, a roll of keen chisels for finishing work tucked away in the bottom, and yet another roll of keen chisels at the home work-bench. Some folks, particularly if they was doing flooring, might have a chisel that could be best categorized as a " sub-beater" that only saw the sharpening stone occasionally if at all.

   Just as one honkin big hammer will not suffice for all jobs, similarly neither will one set of chisels.

   That is just my perspective on why yu might need more than one set of chisels.

   I hope it makes sense, and I'll further back it up by saying that two generations of carpenters before me have seen fit to follow the practice. I too started with one set of chisels. Now I have more than that. Beides, they are one of the cheapest edge tools you are gonna be buying.

   Eric in Cowtown

1. 
   mvac | Feb 10, 2005 04:52pm | #5

   "So then, grasshopper, ask once again why you should have a paring chisel in addition to a regular chisel, and merely by asking that question means that you have not encountered the need, not encountered the damage that a single slip from a half-dulled work-a-day chisel can produce when the inevitable slip of a dull tool ensues, , nor paid out of your own pocket for such damages,or had to take the time to repair yer damages, or at least encountered the shame and humbilititation that usage of a work-a-day chisel can produce (an unworkmanlike, sloppy and shameful mortice for example)."

   Master,

   Your wisdom overcomes me. How lucky I am to be presented with such a wise and simple justification for using different chisels for different uses. Perhaps now we can try that walking-on-rice-paper test again?

   Seriously, Eric, it quickly became apparent from the many posts to this thread and to the same topic in Knots that even for an amateur like me, it makes sense to have multiple chisel sets for different uses. It wasn't long after I started receiving those responses that I bought a set of Pfiels for my finer work, like dovetails and hand paring. Combined with my Marples, Sorby mortise chisel and Home Depot Buck Bros. chisels, I have the kind  of set you described. The one difference - since I'm not using them out in the field, and once properly honed sharpening can take a relatively short time, I keep even the HD Bucks as sharp as possible. Probably a bit of overkill, but then again I've had good luck with them despite their low cost and relatively low quality. But I appreciate the craftsman's rationale for matching the tool to the task, and see how that easily translates to other tools as well.

   Btw, those dragon burns on my inner arms are still killing me... :-)

   Regards,Grasshopper

   "I'm always humbled by how much I DON'T know..."

3. 
   cicero | Feb 10, 2005 11:05am | #4

   I think a lot of it boils down to the different schools.

   You have the FWW type who has to do everything the hard way and is ultra fussy with all his tools,then you have the cabinet maker who has to make his living at it,I might add the ones that who do best money wise tends to be less fussy which chisel he chooses.

1. 
   mvac | Feb 10, 2005 04:57pm | #6

   "I think a lot of it boils down to the different schools."

   Cicero,

   I agree. That said, I may be an amateur, but I have as much time to waste as you pros. So, the lessons learned from guys like you and ol' Cowtown are valuable, especially when delivered with tongue firmly implanted in cheek.

   Thanks,Mitch

   "I'm always humbled by how much I DON'T know..."