The Wood Shepherd on  Chisels    

 

   Chisels are one of those perfect examples of form following function.  When I was a kid and my dad directed me to chisel something out (chiseling where we come from is always followed by the word "out,") I was overcome by the same feeling as the third mile in High School Cross Country: abject fatigue, dismal pain, gasping for breath, perhaps even sports asthma.  Later on, I found out that if you actually sharpen your chisels, they work with a lot less effort!  If you choose a chisel whose design actually matches the function you want to use it for, chiseling is actually (dare I say it?) FUN!  It therefore behooves the Galoot to populate his or her tool chest with a variety of chisel sizes for each intended use.  And here are some examples of those forms:

Bench Chisels

   The term "bench chisels" is sort of nebulous, as anything preceded by "bench" infers work done in the workshop by a joiner or cabinetmaker.  To make matters worse, traditional joiners and cabinetmakers didn't just make joinery or cabinetry, so that adds another dimension to the confusion.  We'll use the term "bench chisel" to describe chisels that are simply not ship building or timber framing, and if you feel this isn't proper, email me about it.  First stop:

Paring Chisels

   Paring chisels are used to slice off that thin bit of (usually) end grain in order to bring the joint we are working on into closer tolerance.  They are not to be used with a mallet, but are in fact intended to simply be pushed along with one hand, and steered with the other.  This is, after all, rather fine work we are engaged in, here!  Note that the chisel sides are ground with a bevel (sometimes they are called beveled chisels) and that the metal tang is fitted into a mortise with a ferrule to keep the wood from splitting.  These are important clues that  indicate that this chisel is not intended to be wailed on (we have some wailing chisels coming up!)

Firmer chisels

   How the firmer chisel came to be known as such is cloaked in mystery and intrigue.  Some say the term comes from "former" meaning the first chisel used, and others claim it comes from the French "femior" or (approximately) "hand held."  It seems that these chisels have a handle attachment that is intended to take more abuse, and therefore they are held firmer.  Or something!  These chisels are open to being rapped with a mallet and therefore tend to have their handle bedded in a socket, although that doesn't seem to be de facto.  These Sorby socket firmer chisels  above left also sport a racy brass ferrule. 

   On the other hand, one the right is a set of Marples chisels marketed as firmers, with ferrule but with no socket.  Note that both brands are made with straight sides and little taper to the shank of the chisel.  I would anticipate either set to be up to the job until it comes time to chop some mortises.  Then we turn to the mortise chisel.

Mortise chisels

   Mortise chisels are particularly interesting to the tool historian (or at least, to me.)  The reason for this is that certain techniques for their use have only recently come to light when Christopher Schwartz translated (paraphrased?) Joseph Moxon's woodworking treatise.  Shown on the left is a set of Lie-Nielsen's very popular socketed mortise chisels, and as you can see they sport a very heavy shank that is straight on it's side (to maintain directional stability) but tapers along it's length.  These chisels are intended to stand up to being rapped deeply into the stock, and then being used to lever out the waste.  On the right is a set of Ray Iles traditional mortise chisels*.  Note the beefy elliptical handle, which is a big clue as to their use.  The rounded handle top is not intended for mallet abuse, but rather to cradle nicely in the hollow of the Galoot's shoulder joint!  The Galoot pushes the chisel with the shoulder, which generates more force than you might think, and the elliptical handle naturally suggests to the Galoot's hand the straight direction.  This chisel, in essence, pares the mortise!  Note that the point where the bevel meets the top of the shank, the shank is often ground to a round (especially visible with the largest chisel on the left.)  This is done in order to assist in levering the stuff out.

*Ray Ilse's mortise chisels are available from Gramercy Tools in America.

 

On the next page , we'll take a look at a few specialty chisels.