Teensy chisel

[Trafalgar]

I've always found it convenient if nothing else to be able to reach the burr by registering a regular bench chisel flat on the stone. It hasn't seemed that difficult over the years to put together a group of chisels that allows just that, either 'out of the box' or with a very minimal amount of lapping. Even Buck Bros. sold in big box stores over here are delightfully consistent in having the concave side opposite the side on which the bevel is ground, virtually no lapping required.

Not sure what the big deal is. If a bench chisel has a pot-belly let somebody else fool with it or save it for your carving or some other odd circumstance where pivoting off the hump might be useful.

 

[Jacob]

..... If a bench chisel has a pot-belly let somebody else fool with it or save it for your carving or some other odd circumstance where pivoting off the hump might be useful.

If a chisel is a bit convex it will make very little difference to anything anyway.

 

[Trafalgar]

Probably not, but for me it's just convenient to have bench chisels flat enough to reach the burr without lifting. I doubt I'd be able to keep the angle from growing without jigging of some sort, like David C's ruler. Mostly a nonissue since my Blue Chips bought new, and the few I've replaced, were all within fifteen minutes or less striking distance of flat, if not already flat. Same with a few vintage Marples straight firmers and Marples boxwood handled mortise chisels. Based on my experience it seems that this is how Marples supplied them or perhaps the previous owner did the heavy lifting. Not sure about other companies.

 

[Jacob]

All the new chisels I've ever had (good ones and nasty ones, not that many either way) have been slightly concave on the face and hence easy to sharpen.
All the old ones I've ever had have been flattish to convex, due (I presume!) to years of slightly lifting (or edge pressure) to remove the burr.
It makes little difference in use.
Luckily I never cottoned on to the flattening craze, which is relatively recent. Though I was briefly suckered into the idea and ebayed some perfectly OK chisels on the mistaken assumption that they were too bent to use. Shouldn't listen to the "experts" they just make it up any old rubbish as they go along!

 

[Trafalgar]

I guess the oldest chisels I have are likely the Marples boxwood handled mortising chisels. They came flat and polished which I assume was at a minimum work from the previous user though they may have shipped new in pretty good condition, whenever that was. I don't know the vintage of these chisels. My Blue Chips as previously mentioned were fine (bought new) years ago and required hardly any effort at all to polish right down to the edge, and my ash-handled straight firmers were in good shape as well, though purchased used so the backs may have been the result of a previous owner's efforts.

In all honesty there are likely lots of paring jobs where the shape of the back, one way or the other, would probably matter very little.

 

[David C]

I have never seen a bevel edged 1/16" chisel.

Has anyone else?

David

 

[Trafalgar]

No, but I have seen dovetailed doll house furniture and I wonder what sort of chisels those guys use to make it. Seems like there was an old article in Fine Woodworking and the joinery was real, not just mocked up to look real.

 

[bugbear]

I have never seen a bevel edged 1/16" chisel.

Has anyone else?

David

The geometry against you - even with rather steep sides, forming an equilaterlal triangle, it's only (just over) 1/16" thick as well, so very fragile, if made to any great length.

BugBear

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I knew a guy 50yrs ago who used to make very accurately reproduced model wagons and carts, and he used to grind his own chisels out of darning needles and masonry nails.

 

[AndyT]

I have never seen a bevel edged 1/16" chisel.

Has anyone else?

David

It's not what you would first think of as bevel edged, but the sides of the one I showed on the first page are angled in at about the sort of angle you would cut on a tiny dovetail. So it would cut all the way to the internal corner.

 

[Jacob]

I have never seen a bevel edged 1/16" chisel.

Has anyone else?

David

The geometry against you - even with rather steep sides, forming an equilaterlal triangle, it's only (just over) 1/16" thick as well, so very fragile, if made to any great length.

BugBear

I doubt you'd find 1/16" wide DTs except on models. I've seen them as narrow as 4mm on drawers. For small DTs the bevel needn't be that steep. 1/8, 1/10, common.
Can't say I've seen one either - but I guess they may well have used something similar on steep sided single kerf DTs.

 

[Biliphuster]

I have never seen a bevel edged 1/16" chisel.

Has anyone else?

David

Ashley Iles sell a 1/16 dovetail chisel (the one with the rounded back). Certainly easier than grinding your own.

 

[JimB]

This is my smallest apart from carving tools. I picked it up at a tool sale. The handle is a type of casuarina I think perhaps sheoke.
Marples of course and it could have been altered from an 1/8" to a 1/16" bevel edge but, if so, whoever did it made an excellent job of it.

 

[Jacob]

I've got a 3/16" similar but the bevel is only ground on the first inch. Long enough for DT housings. Mine also looks perfectly done - perhaps factory ground and not DIY.

 

[bugbear]

Marples of course and it could have been altered from an 1/8" to a 1/16" bevel edge but, if so, whoever did it made an excellent job of it.

If it's 1/16" all the way up, and stamped on the side, it must have been made as 1/16", surely?

It might have had the B/E added of course, that's possible.

BugBear

 

[Cheshirechappie]

The 1938 Marples catalogue (available to view on Toolemera, courtesy of our very own AndyT) lists 1/16" bevel edge firmer chisels unhandled at 12/6 per dozen. Interestingly, they don't list b/e chisels smaller than 1/4" handled, though from that size and larger they offer five types of handle options, round ash or beech, round taper beech, carving ash or beech, carving boxwood and London octagonal boxwood.

It would be possible for a craftsman to buy a chisel and loose handle seperately and fit them himself, or he could could make his own handle.

Thus, there was no need for a craftsman to make his own 1/16" b/e chisel by grinding down a bigger one. They were commercially available, up to WW2 at least.

(PS - The currently available Ashley Iles 1/16" chisel is a little beauty - balanced, light and with good edge-holding. Highly recemmended. I wouldn't willingly part with mine. It's not an everyday tool, but when it's needed it's a really handy little chisel.)

 

[JimB]

Marples of course and it could have been altered from an 1/8" to a 1/16" bevel edge but, if so, whoever did it made an excellent job of it.

If it's 1/16" all the way up, and stamped on the side, it must have been made as 1/16", surely?

It might have had the B/E added of course, that's possible.

BugBear

It's wider towards the tang but looks more as if it's for strength rather than an aftermarket grinding job.

 

[bugbear]

I've now dug out and photo'd another small chisel; this is 0.151" (5/32") wide, and is (obviously...) a full on mortising chisel, stamped Sorby.

BugBear

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

I posted this one earlier - a 1/16" Iyoroi ..

It is not as interesting as this 5/64" mortice chisel - it has no name and I wonder who would have made it and for what reason (I bought it for plane making) ...

The smallest regular mortice chisel I have, and use, is this 1/8" ... is this M.OSBORN or MOSBORN ?

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[AndyT]

The smallest regular mortice chisel I have, and use, is this 1/8" ... is this M.OSBORN or MOSBORN ?

Regards from Perth

Derek

It's H (Henry) Osborn, long standing tool seller of Southampton, from 1895 to 1923. Tools made and marked for them, including planes and saws as well as chisels, are reasonably common, over here at least. There were related businesses in Portsmouth and Newcastle upon Tyne.

Edit: Looking again at the picture, there is also a picture of a Palm Tree. This was the trade mark of Mawhood Brothers of Sheffield, who would have made your chisel for Osborns to sell.