should I sharpen a bolster?

[TheUnicorn]

I've been going through some much abused masonry tools, and I have many bolsters that have seen better days, a lot of the tips are quite beaten up. My instinct is to run a grinder over the tips to bring it sharpen them, but I know that bolsters are relatively soft (softer than a hammer, so the bolster gets damaged and not the hammer as I understand it). Being that they are somewhat soft will they hold a point at all or is it just a waste of time, i can easily imagine a sharp tip just denting up at the first hard bit of rock it finds.

 

[HappyHacker]

I sharpen mine occasionally. It does help stop the chisel skating off when you are not working at right angles and does give more of an impact due to the small surface area. More important is to get rid of the mushrooming on the head. It may only be a physiological advantage but I am happy to take it

 

[TheUnicorn]

More important is to get rid of the mushrooming on the head

Yeah, I cut the mushrooming off one yesterday, then ran round with a grinder which tidied it up nicely. I'm thinking the grinding is something that should be done after every use, just a few seconds to keep it in check, then wipe a little oil over and chuck it away for next time

 

[Lons]

I regularly sharpen mine, have lost count of how many are there, keeping the mushroom under control is important as bits of metal can fly off under heavy use, my brother got a nasty cut on his arm because of that, could have been his face!

 

[TheUnicorn]

keeping the mushroom under control is important as bits of metal can fly off under heavy use, my brother got a nasty cut on his arm because of that, could have been his face!

thank you, I'll definitely have a session of mushroom removal, seems like a job that, once done, should make regular maintenance much easier in the future. wouldn't fancy a shard of metal in any part of my body

 

[Lons]

thank you, I'll definitely have a session of mushroom removal, seems like a job that, once done, should make regular maintenance much easier in the future. wouldn't fancy a shard of metal in any part of my body

TBH I hadn't given it too much thought before that though I had caught my hand on the metal a few times my glove stopped any damage, my brother needed several stitches.
We were dressing a lot of sandstone quoins for a listed building so the bolsters were taking more of a hammering than normal.

 

[TheUnicorn]

very easy to open up your hand on the sharp edges on those mushrooms

 

[robgul]

I sharpen the odd bolster blade from time to time - have to say I hadn't thought of tidying up the other end . . . . job for a winter evening

 

[sammy.se]

- have to say I hadn't thought of tidying up the other end . . . . job for a winter evening

Me neither! Never considered it dangerous, but rather a pride point of how much I've bashed it! I'll clean it up next time I use it .



So, who's gonna show us their finest bolster mushroom?

 

[TheUnicorn]

So, who's gonna show us their finest bolster mushroom?

not me! I spent a couple of hours grinding them off today, quite satisfying if a bit arduous, in the future I'm going to try and just do a quick once over on the bench grinder after each use, should only take a few seconds, hopefully make them a bit safer, I also think having a smaller head to hit might be a bit more effective in use, better transfer of energy?

 

[TheTiddles]

I hardly ever use such a tool, mine is one of my dad’s old ones and is heavily mushroomed. Last week I needed to lift some tiles in a hurry, gabbed said tool, looked at the head and thought that is not good, used it anyway, got a cut on my arm from a piece flying off... self-inflicted idiocy.

Aidan

 

[Lons]

So, who's gonna show us their finest bolster mushroom?

Or finest gash maybe

 

[TheUnicorn]

I hardly ever use such a tool, mine is one of my dad’s old ones and is heavily mushroomed. Last week I needed to lift some tiles in a hurry, gabbed said tool, looked at the head and thought that is not good, used it anyway, got a cut on my arm from a piece flying off... self-inflicted idiocy.

Aidan

We've all done it, it makes it worse when you can see the risks and ignore them anyway. That was the thinking behind todays session of taking the mushrooms off all my bolsters (I have lots, inherited from a tool horder father)