Bench Chisel Handle Shape – what things to consider and which to choose when beginning?
Hi all,
Buying my first (mid-range) set of chisels for common tasks like mortice and tenons and dovetails in small to medium sized furniture.
I’m wondering what things should be considered when choosing between different handle shapes.
For the top of the chisels, I’ve read that handles with flatter tops are better for gettting a good strike with a mallet.
For the sides of the chisel, I’ve heard that having a place to grip, rather than a completely round side, is better for holding the chisel and developing muscle memory when starting out.
I’m wondering what people think of these two considerations, and whether there may be other things to consider.
The point about the sides, made me think I would purchase a Narex Richeter set:
Narex Richter Bevel Edge Chisel Boxed Set of 5 (workshopheaven.com)
Over a Henry Taylor set:
Henry Taylor Bevel Edge Chisel – 1/4″ – F55 – Classic Hand Tools Limited
Any thoughts on this choice would also be appreciated.
Thanks!
Replies
A chisel needs to be comfortable in your hand. Everything that comes after that, material, color, etc, is just secondary.
Wooden handled chisels with hoops are for striking, as are some plastics.
Whatever you buy, you'll get used to the shape. It's really not an issue.
If you want tools for specific tasks, it can be a little different. For dovetailing, I like a shortish blade, and very short overall chisel. For paring and work without a mallet, I like a longer blade and longer handle. For really heavy chopping and mortising, I like a handle with a much larger diameter.
I still get irritated when I see those stupid leather washers on the Narex chisels.
second edwardxweber's comment on comfort being the main thing. Comfort is also very subjective and personal.
I once got a real good deal(next to theft) on a 3 chisel set of Anton Berg tang chisels in the original tool roll. I loved the way the chisels sharpened easily and held a great edge. The grind on the blades was thinner and more elegant than comparable stanleys. However I hated, hated, the way the handles felt in my hand when I used them. The handles still had the fish stickers on them, so I wrapped the chisels up in their tool roll and sold them on fleabay. I bought three similar Witherby's and put handles on them that I liked. Both the Berg purchaser and I were happy and I had money for a nice english back saw.
A fun thing about socket chisels is you can turn your own handles, and use different woods.
Buy some used beaters of different blade & handle styles to see how they feel before you commit. If the round one fits your hand best, a small flat is an easy thing to add. The beaters are handy, and ģreat sharpening practice. Mine get a ton of non-precious work done.
If you plan to cut mortices by hand buy task specific chisels. I busted a coupla nice bench chisels going down that road. They get stuck in places with zero wiggle.
Thanks, that's a really helpful tip.
I've made a fair number of handles (from dogwood) for tang chisels, mostly carving tools. I make them octagonal and tapered toward the chisel, shaping by hand. I also have turned a number of handles for socket chisels, having purchased a fair number at flea markets, yard sales, and auctions. Many were abused, the sockets hit and mushroomed out by hammer blows. I got most of them back into service, but usually use a set of socket Stanley 750s that I bought as NOS back in the 1970s.
For purchased new chisels, how they fit your hand is important, but chisel quality is paramount.
One rather minor point to supplement the above, handles with a squarish or oval cross section will help to keep them from rolling off the table.
Both Narex (ordinary, not Richter) and Henry Taylor chisels hang about my shed. I found that even the inexpensive Narex tended to have less problematic backs than the Henries. Although both needed smoothing and flattening, the backs of the Henries needed a lot more as they had a slight bend (hollow) along the blade. All four of those I bought were that way. Easily made right but took ages.
The only chisels I ever bought that needed no significant back flattening were Blue Spruce and Veritas - both now gone from the shed as they has other aspects I found less than ideal; and they could be sold for as much, or more than, I paid for them.
As some others mention, you can get used to any handle shape. Well, I do. :-) On the other hand, some folk are more sensitive to the size and shape whilst certain chiselling operations benefit from more or less handle grip, a shape that signals blade orientation and so forth.
It's like bicycle saddles - there's no universal suits-all shape. You have to experiment to discover what suits you personally.
I rarely hit a chisel with a mallet when using them to refine furniture shapes, the main exception being mortise chisels, obviously. Bench chisels are generally used to make small planing, slicing, digging and chopping actions, all with hand pressure only.
Some folk chop out dovetail waste but personally I'm wary of the force from a mallet blow in such delicate work and prefer to slice out such waste with hand pressure only- slower but safer.
If you did use a mallet for such work, you'd be tapping not hammering, so even an unhooped chisel handle end will likely not suffer.
Thanks for the really comprehensive response! Also good to know about the Henry Taylor chisels.
Over the years, I have acquired chisels with different shaped handles - profiles that are round, oval, round with flats on them, octagonal, rectangular with soft corners, hooped and rounded ends, tanged and socket. I have never really thought much about the shape of the handle, for the most part, they fit my hand and are comfortable. Most of them also have decent steel (I have avoided bargain basement brands, however). I have used paring chisels with a mallet (tapping, not pounding), and since I use a flat faced mallet, a round end has not been an issue.
I would focus on chisels that come ground at least fairly flat (this is where you get what you pay for) if you can afford to do so. With most chisels, you can expect to spend a little time flattening the back - exceptions as noted above being LN, Veritas and a few other brands. I have the Narex Richter chisels and I really like them. They hold an edge better than any other chisel I own, but I did spend a bit of time flattening them. I also love the Veritas chisels with the PM-V11 steel, which also takes and holds an edge very well. The veritas are quite expensive, so the Narex Richter are the better buy. I also think the Stanley Sweetheart chisels are pretty good. you can get a large set for a decent price, they hold an edge, but expect to spend some time flattening the backs. They do have small handles that work well for me in the narrower sizes, but I turned new and larger handles for the 3/4, 1, and 1 1/2 inch sizes.