Tool History - when was the Bevel-edged Chisel born?

[bugbear]

Hasluck's mega-tome, (1903) shows the Marples catalogue shot, including b/e.

I had a little more luck in George Ellis' "Modern Practical Joinery" (1908).

Ellis differentiates by mode of use, and describes a paring chisel as one used in a continuous motion. He says that "...the better forms have bevelled edges".

Which rather implies the existence of non bevel edged paring chisels, a breed long gone. So I would infer that Ellis was writing in a transition period.

Ellis describes firmers chisels as general purpose tools, shorter, and strong enough to be struck with a mallet. These are not bevel edged.

BugBear

 

[Richard T]

When chopping out a dovetail or any joint/mortise/situation where the corner that the chisel needs to get in to is less than 90 degrees, the corner of the chisel needs to be less too. I guess such work has been going on for rather longer than the above mentioned catalogues seem to provide chisels for.

Does this mean that once upon a time all chisels were made and sold as firmers - wrought iron with a welded on steel cutting plate and that the user was expected to file down the corners (and grind the last bit) himself if he wanted a bevelled edge job?

Seems too simple to be true but maybe that's just what they want us to think ..... 8-[

 

[AndyT]

We're a long way off the original question, but picking up BB's comment about paring chisels, I'll add another crumb of evidence to the pile.

As far as I know, what distinguishes a paring chisel is principally its length. The greater length means that you can get at surfaces such as a housing on a wide board and also means that you can use pressure from your shoulder to push harder. A good example of this is in plane making where I have read that long paring chisels were used to open up the big mortice which is the mouth. (The wonderful video of the old Swiss toolmakers shows this being done.)

I think a plane maker would prefer a fairly robust tool for doing that job, where a cabinet maker might like something slimmer and lighter to handle - ie a bevel edge paring chisel.

As evidence that square edged paring chisels were made, here's one by Marsden Brothers alongside an ordinary bench firmer to show the difference in size. Ignore the wonky handle; it was like that when I bought it - I assume it's not original.

 

[Racers]

Hi, Chaps

Here are my mix of bevel and non bevel paring chisels in the middle box.

Pete

 

[Richard T]

Ward and Pane straight sided paring chisel.

Tapering down to the end

Very similar to the one that Richard Arnold posted recently but I would think a good hundred years later.

It needs rehandling as someone has ignored it's paring lines and bashed it to pineapple. :-x

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Wells and Hooper in 'Modern Cabinet Work' (3rd edition, 1922) state on page 12, "Chisels - For all ordinary purposes a firmer chisel is used. As it's name denotes, it is shorter, thicker and so firmer than the long paring chisel, which generally has a bevelled edge."

Interestingly, they do not mention the b/e firmer at all, though we know from earlier posts in this thread that they were about by this time.

---------

To answer RichardT's point about firmers being used to get into tight corners, the 19th century firmer was quite a subtle shape. There is a post earlier in the thread (by AndyT I think) referencing a blog post by Adam Cherubini, who has studied early tool use extensively. He noted that firmers of that era were not just thin in the blade, but tapered outwards in width from shoulder to cutting edge. The sides were also not quite square to the flat face, but sloped - not enough to be called a bevelled edge, but offering to become one. Each of these features (thin, taper in width, slight slope to sides) would each help with clearance, and the cumulative total of all three features would help quite a bit. It could well be that with a set of such firmers, the craftsman could work such features as dovetails quite acceptably without recourse to bevelling his edges.

(After reading Andy's post, I checked my mid-to-late 19th century thin paring chisel, and the edges do taper inwards a bit. As far as I could measure, one side is at 4 degrees, and the other at 5 degrees. It might be worth putting a small square to your paring chisel, and see if it does the same. Andy - does your Marsden Brothers chisel do likewise? What about yours, Pete?)

Going even earlier, back to the 18th century, the taper in width of firmer chisels was even more pronounced than in the 19th. That would give a cutting edge corner vulnerable to damage, but even more clearance than later firmers.

---------

The square-edged (well, nominally square-edged) paring chisel seems to crop up a lot during the 19th century at least. We seem to have several examples between us. However, as BugBear suggests above, they seem to disappear around the late 19th/early 20th century. This does seem to be the transitional period between thin, square-edged paring chisel, and slightly thicker but bevelled-edged paring chisel. The b/e firmer seems to become more common around the same time, and the square-edged firmer becomes thicker with sides genuinely square to the flat face.

At any rate, that's what the evidence seems to suggest. Given the closeness between UK and North American practice, it may well be that the same happened there at the same time, and Corneel's researches earlier in the thread suggest that much the same happened in Europe, though the exact dates are not quite so clear (yet!).

Many thanks for all the research and input, chaps. A minor by-way of tool history, but an interesting one nonetheless.

 

[bugbear]

Wells and Hooper in 'Modern Cabinet Work' (3rd edition, 1922) state on page 12, "Chisels - For all ordinary purposes a firmer chisel is used. As it's name denotes, it is shorter, thicker and so firmer than the long paring chisel, which generally has a bevelled edge."

Interestingly, they do not mention the b/e firmer at all, though we know from earlier posts in this thread that they were about by this time.

Indeed - this is why it's no use relying on a single source, be it oral, written, or archaeological. One must draw on all possible sources of information if one wishes to get the closest approximation to truth.

BugBear

 

[Corneel]

Just had a quick look at my Sorby paring chisels. And indeed, taper in length and taper in thickness. So I am happy 8)
And I was allready very happy with these.

No idea how old they are though. On a previous thread someone guessed they were late 19th century or so.

BTW, I think an oldfashioned firmer shape chisel like this is better to get into tight corners then most bevel edged chisel with very thick lands.

 

[János]

Hello,

As all of you know, there is a long thread about chisel backs on this forum. flattening-chisel-backs-with-lapping-film-t68506.html
In this, one side of the dialogue says that, in carpentry/joinery/cabinet making/pattern making handwork, there is no real and well grounded need for flat/plane backed "paring" chisels, as the work can be accomplished just as well and effectively with double bevel chisels and/or slightly "up bent" irons.

This debate reminded me to my readings about woodworking tool history. As far as we know it now, much of the now so familiar woodworking hand tools was invented and developed in Europe.

The other regions of Earth developed their own woodworking tools. But the European tools were much more better in concept, and the technology was "exported" and keenly adopted all over the world.

This process of the spread of European technology is reasonably well documented.

The Japanese, for example, learned the manufacture and use of handplanes and handsaws from the Portugals, after the arrival of Pinto, in 1541.

We are fortunate enough to have surviving written documents, preserved in Japanese libraries and archives, about the building and construction of temples and palaces, and the depictions of workers and crafts people. The Japanese craftsmen built very large wooden structures, to high standards with a minimal array or hand tools: axes, hatchets, adzes, knives, and chisels. No handplanes, no handsaws. It was not impossible, but required extremely large amounts of human labour: the construction of Todai-ji temple (in 752) required 50.000 carpenters.

The chisels in use at the time were based on Chinese/Korean patterns: slightly bent in the length, double bevelled, and splaying. Just like a carver. So, the joints were not chiselled in the modern meaning of the word, but carved out.

The adoption of Potuguese and Dutch methods and woodworking handtools resulted in a "revolution", and wooden architecture aquired a dominant position in Japan. The woodworking tools we admire today are close relatives of our own.

Perhaps tool development is a question of balance between the craftsmen's innate tendency for conservatism and lazyness, and the need for more working comfort, safety, and efficiency.

A bevel edged chisel is not a major step forward, so to speak.

Have a nice day,

János

 

[Jacob]

............So, the joints were not chiselled in the modern meaning of the word, but carved out.......

Interesting post.
But chiselling IS carving. It's not another thing!* There is no "modern" chiselling.

*Bishop Joseph Butler; "Everything is what it is, and not another thing"

 

[János]

Dear Jacob,

As far as I see things, in the context of carpentry/joinery/cabinet making/pattern making, the term "chiselling" has a specific, and quite narrow meaning. And in this meaning "carving" is not included at all. As this latter term is used to describe the distinct work of shaping wood to create sculptural forms and shapes with cutting tools, most frequently with specialised knives or specialised carving tools. Yes, cutting is involved in both, but that is all they have in common. Painting the Sistine Chapel was "painting", and whitewashing your kitchen is "painting" too, but nevertheless, not the same.

Have a nice day,

János

 

[Jacob]

Hi Janos

Semantics can be a slippery slope to infinite nit-picking but I'll risk it. :shock:
Chiselling means using a chisel (for it's designed purpose). A very wide meaning in fact, considering the variety of chisels.
The act of paring off a bit of wood with a chisel is much the same if done by a carver or a joiner. Neither the wood nor the chisel know the difference! Carvers use ordinary chisels if they want to. This doesn't mean they've stopped carving at that point. Carvers "pare", so do woodworkers.

 

[János]

Dear Jacob,

In my previous post, I defined very precisely and strictly what I mean by „chiselling” in this specific discourse and context. This is the standard and accepted practice in scientific, and in meaningful everyday discourse as well. You simply ignored the definition...

As you know it very well, the variety of chisels for structural work in carpentry/joinery/cabinet making/pattern making is limited: mortice chisels, general purpose flat chisels, flat paring chisels, skews (in fact a variant of flat paring chisels), and inchanel gouges. And the manner (and purpose) of utilization of these differs from the standard working practice of carvers, who were/are recognized as practitioners of a different craft requiring many different skills.

Every cutting tool (including abrasives) is edge tool, and all of them work on the common principle of the wedge. So everybody, using these means to work wood, is just “carvin’ away”… :?

Have a nice day, :wink:

János

 

[Jacob]

.......

Every cutting tool (including abrasives) is edge tool, and all of them work on the common principle of the wedge. So everybody, using these means to work wood, is just “carvin’ away”… :? ......

Yes. They are all carving away, but differently and often without clear boundaries. If you define 'chiselling' in your own particular way, however precisely, then you can draw your own particular conclusions, but they may be different from mine.

 

[GazPal]

I'll see if I can post images of a few bevel edged chisels I have among the herd.

 

[János]

.......

Every cutting tool (including abrasives) is edge tool, and all of them work on the common principle of the wedge. So everybody, using these means to work wood, is just “carvin’ away”… :? ......

Yes. They are all carving away, but differently and often without clear boundaries. If you define 'chiselling' in your own particular way, however precisely, then you can draw your own particular conclusions, but they may be different from mine.

Differently? :shock:

I have defined "Chiseling" strictly, and shared the definition with you... I could not have done more.

Have a nice day,

János

 

[Jacob]

.......

Every cutting tool (including abrasives) is edge tool, and all of them work on the common principle of the wedge. So everybody, using these means to work wood, is just “carvin’ away”… :? ......

Yes. They are all carving away, but differently and often without clear boundaries. If you define 'chiselling' in your own particular way, however precisely, then you can draw your own particular conclusions, but they may be different from mine.

Differently? :shock:

I have defined "Chiseling" strictly, and shared the definition with you... I could not have done more.

Have a nice day,

János

Er, you haven't quite. You said "chiselling" has a specific, and quite narrow meaning" but you didn't say what this was.
For me "chiselling" means using a chisel (as a chisel). You may not know this Janos but it also means (in slang) "committing petty fraud, cheating, etc" but I don't know why.

 

[János]

Dear Jacob,

My definition has been given here:

Dear Jacob,

As far as I see things, in the context of carpentry/joinery/cabinet making/pattern making, the term "chiselling" has a specific, and quite narrow meaning. And in this meaning "carving" is not included at all. As this latter term is used to describe the distinct work of shaping wood to create sculptural forms and shapes with cutting tools, most frequently with specialised knives or specialised carving tools.

That means, in the "common parlance": any kind of wood cutting work, done by a carpenter, joiner, cabinet maker, or pattern maker in the course of production, with the aid of the standard chisels of his trade, except the work done to create sculptural forms and shapes, and possibly with the help of specialised carving tools.

Have a nice day,

János

 

[János]

Hello,

Here is part of a page from an 1930's joinery book, illustrating chisels of the trade:

No bevel edges.

Have a nice day,

János

 

[AndyT]

Hello,

Here is part of a page from an 1930's joinery book, illustrating chisels of the trade:


No bevel edges.

Have a nice day,

János

Thanks Janos - I've not read back all of this thread to check if this point has been made already or not, but you've reminded me to say that bevel-edged chisels would not have been needed by the ordinary joiner (or carpenter) so not seeing them in a book on joinery is no surprise. They were (I suggest) a more specialist tool for bench work by the cabinet maker or pattern maker.
Given that this site covers the whole span of woodwork - from structural timbers through to tiny carving - it can be easy to lose sight of the different tool requirements of the various divisions of woodwork when looking for evidence of past usage.

The distinction is even less clear-cut nowadays, with bevel-edge chisels being the default sort offered as a general purpose tool for all trades - which is where we came in!