Hello.
I recently bought some old «quality» chisel from a collector of woodworking tools in Norway.
I am fairly new to woodworking so I didnt check on the chisels when I went to pick them up. I noticed when I got back in the shop that the chisels were slightly bent forming a slight curve. I asked the seller if this was normal and he told me that this was the case. «Its supposed to be like this so that when you the chisel on the wood it helps with the fingers, pretty logical»
I want to ask is this normal? Or is the seller just trying to get away?
The brands names for the chisels are: L & I J White Buffalo NY and the other one is Cut Keen Baldwin & Co (Limited).
Replies
Post some pictures so the experts here can comment on your particular chisels. But yes, bent chisels are a thing. Check out the Woodcraft.com site - you'll find several versions.
Here is one video showing a bent chisel used for carving a spoon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W90bTEtNoww
Thanks for your reply. I saw the video. I will post som images as soon as I get home. The chisels I bought are long and «straight».
I added some images to the main post.
If you are going to use them you want the backs straight and flat. Whether or not those particular chisels were made that way is beside the point. Get your money back if you can.
I added some images, you can see both chisels bend in each direction.
Are they bent like the chisel in my picture?
Mike
Hello, I just uploaded some images on the main post.
I was thinking either a bent paring chisel or something like a #1 sweep carving gouge. All chisels are useful sometime for something even if you end up opening paint cans with it! Keep it!
Yes, but if that was the case I would have spent my money on some "cheap" chisels. I bought these chisels because I was told they were premium quality used chisels that just needed sharpening. I still not sure they are supposed to be like that.
They aren't supposed to be that way. What brand are they?
The one on the right is easier to fix. You just need to remove a little off the flat face near the tip to make the back flat. The one on the right is a little more problematic. You have more steel to remove to get the back flat.
For what it's worth, I have never seen an old chisel with a perfectly flat back. They all need some sort of work, and time, to get working. Many new chisels are the same. The only ones I've seen that only need a little polishing are Lie Nielsens and Lee Valley.
The brands names for the chisels are: L & I J White Buffalo NY and the other one is Cut Keen Baldwin & Co (Limited).
I am no expert, so I want to hear what other people with more experience have to say. I am guessing I can still use them anyhow to some extent, but as I said before, the seller should have pointed this out in my opinion. I was aware that the chisels needed sharpening, but not bending back.
Neither of those are supposed to be bent like that and probably aren't worth the trouble to fix. IMO. It would take a tremendous amount of effort to and remove a tremendous amount of steel.
It looks to me like the former owner has been using them like mortising chisels and has bent them in the process. You might be able to bend them back to nearly straight, but might also break them. I would get your money back if you can.
Noooooo. They get bent slightly during heat treating. That's not the fault of a user. Any attempt to bend them straight will surely snap them.
It’s not normal and the seller is trying to get away.
The OP said the chisels are from Norway. Is he from Norway also?
Really, this is about average for 120 year old chisels. Folks didn't put a straightedge on them back in the day. It would take me less time on a beltsander and stones to put those to work than to communicate with the seller, box them up, and ship them back.
If someone asks me about chisel recommendations, I always tell them the choice is to buy new premium or buy new cheaper or antique and put a bunch of time and elbow grease into working them up. I've bought maybe 100 old chisels and all of them had faults like those above. I don't think the seller was trying to pull a fast one. It's just the nature of buying old stuff.
Thanks for your reply.
“[Deleted]”
This is NORMAL.
Being familiar with older chisels, I have seen this quite a lot.
In the first photo, you can see that the socket is angled to allow a lower cutting angle. Many will also have this slight curve as shown. For those who think "the back should be flat", this is not always true, and you only need a small portion as a reference, so a gentle sweeping curvature does no harm.
You achieve as low as possible cutting angle without your handle or hand interfering with the cut.
Does this bow affect sharpening?
NO, not unless you're referencing the jig from back at the socket. Most sharpen jigs are clamped just a 1 1/2" back or so from the edge. If you're sharpening by hand, no worries.
Here is an example, it was made this way, it is not bent.
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