Some 'new' chisels

**IanW** · 24th October 2009, 09:57 PM

Many moons ago a friend gave me some New Haven chisels (wish I had more friends like that!. He'd picked them up in a job-lot of tools at a clearing sale (for $2, he says!) and wasn't interested in the chisels, just the gardening tools that were bundled with them. They didn't look all that flash at first sight - all had been abused & one was missing a handle. That didn't worry the previous user who had just bashed away with a hammer on the top of the empty socket.

Anyway - after a bit of cleaning, a new handle, and a lot of elbow grease lapping & sharpening, I had a set of chisels that are not only good to look at, they are a pleasure to use. They see action every day I'm in the shed, and I would never part with a single one.

For some reason, there is always a missing person, & in this case it was the 3/4". I substituted a new Henry Taylor to fill the gap, but it was never a happy match. It didn't look right, and doesn't have the same elegant profile. The NHs have their sockets cranked up so that the bottom is flat, and are shaped down to a very thin blade at the tip. The HT, though an excellent bit of steel, is clunky by comparison - a good heavy-duty bevel-edge, but not a comfortable paring chisel.

So when I stumbled on a bunch of chisels similar to the NHs, which included a 3/4 with plenty of blade length, I was over the moon. It is a mixed bag, two James Swans, A Sampson, an unknown and the 3/4 is an Essex.

As you can see - they were a bit of a rum lot - not one had an original handle as far as I could tell (pic 1) . So off they came & a new set of Mulga handles turned up, except for the 3/4 - it got Apple because it's the closest match to the original handles on the NHs. The Sampson had been handle-less for some time, & some clown had beaten the cr*p out of it with a hammer & flared & burred the end over very successfully (pic 2). That took a lot of filing & scraping to clean up. I filed a bit of flare off it, but it would have thinned it down too much if I'd straightened it out. It's remarkable that the forge weld of the socket holds up under that sort of punishment! (pic 3).

Since all the handles were very rough fits in their sockets, and each socket is a slightly different size, I had to turn each handle from scratch. I measured the outside diameters of the sockets at two points & subtracted an amount roughly equal to the wall thickness to get a starting point, then snuck up on a fit. By twisting the spigot in the socket, I got nice clear marks to indicate the high spots (pic 4), so it was a simple matter to keep removing small amounts until a good fit was achieved. I have left a couple of mm gap, so that there is enough to bed-in with use.

And so, here they are (pic 5) - looking a bit more like someone loves them again. Unfortunately, there is still a LOT of work to go to lap the backs flat on a couple of them. A good job when I want to do something mindless for a few hours......

**IanW** · 24th October 2009, 10:00 PM

And while we're at it - here is the Essex nestling happily with its New Haven cousins. Doesn't look at all out of place!

Cheers,

(Edit: The ring-in on the right is a Sorby patternmakers' - nice tool, used rarely, but sometimes it's just the right one...)

**Virgil** · 24th October 2009, 10:34 PM

Beautiful work Ian.

One question, how do you get them so shiny? No, I'm not being facetious I am interested in how you polish them?

Cheers,
Virg.

**Wongdai** · 24th October 2009, 11:50 PM

Lovely stuff. Makes my rag-tag bunch of chisels look, well, rag-tag.

**Scribbly Gum** · 25th October 2009, 07:09 AM

A fine job Ian.
These are particularly good and have an excellent reputation.
I have never owned a New Haven Edge chisel but they come highly recommended. The James Swan and Samson I have and like a lot.
Interestingly, I have found that many of the older US chisels like these are superb in their steel but not always perfectly flat on the back.
The resulting flattening session can take a long time, but well worth the effort .
Yours look great
Five stars from me!
SG

**IanW** · 25th October 2009, 10:21 AM

Originally Posted by Virgil

Beautiful work Ian.

One question, how do you get them so shiny? No, I'm not being facetious I am interested in how you polish them?

Cheers,
Virg.

Virg - I bought these from a dealer who had given them a pretty good going-over on a fine wire-wheel, by the looks. Scribbly - dunno what these were like new, but a couple look like they've been used as cold-chisels, so a good case of RSI coming up! After I finish flattening the backs I will clean them up lightly with W&D, then give them a polish with jewellers' rouge on a cloth wheel. I won't be after a flawless surface (except for the back, up at the pointy end) - just make 'em look loved again.

The old New Havens were in a surprisingly good state when I got hold of them, & have had little attention other than flattening the backs. I think it's the type of steel in them more than anything - it doesn't rust, but pits in strange worm-like marks. These pits are a b*gg*r, because they can be quite deep, so if they form at the cutting edge, it takes a deal of lapping to get rid of them.

I've seen similar wormy (or hair-like) pits on some old plane blades, so I presume it's to do with one of the elements in the alloy. Would love to hear an explanation of it, if any metallurgy types are lurking out there.......

Cheers,

**Scribbly Gum** · 25th October 2009, 10:40 AM

I have seen these swirls as well.
I think it is as a result of the steel making process.
It seems that steel making in those days was not as precise, and was as much art as science, depending to a large extent on the steel makers abilities and instincts for the process.
So even from the same manufacturer there would be variations in quality.
One thing for sure, those swirls can be a royal pain to eliminate from the back to form the cutting edge.
Nice chisels though
SG

**Pops** · 25th October 2009, 09:59 PM

Hi Ian,

Great job there mate. Restored tools with a new lease on life just have that something special about them, and they are very nice chisels to boot.

I really like that Sorby, beautiful, and pretty rare. Thanks for sharing.

Cheers
Pops

**Woodwould** · 26th October 2009, 11:21 AM

As per usual, your work is exemplary Ian.

Those are very nice looking chisels indeed.

I have big hands which requires me to make larger handles for my chisels too, but I'm afraid my knowledge and experience of Aussie hardwoods is lacking.

DJ very kindly sent me a pack of handle-sized blanks a while ago which I turned some chisel handles from. In the right hand picture below, of the three 750 series Stanley bevel edge chisels, the left one is Osage Orange, the centre one is one of DJ's timbers (which I've forgotten the name of already) and the right one is European Walnut.

For my mortice chisels and 720 series Stanley chisels, I've used Ash which is the customary timber for tool handles in Europe and the UK.

I've polished some of my chisels, but I've still to clean up the majority of them - it's time consuming and I'd rather chop wood!

**IanW** · 26th October 2009, 11:43 AM

Those look very spiffy, WW! And we have seen that they are occasionally put to good use.

Would the dark ones be some sort of Acacia? A few Acacias make excellent handle material, IMO. I favour Mulga for chisel handles these days - a beautiful fine-grained wood that turns quite well (which some of our hardwoods don't!) and seems to take bashing in its stride. I have a fair bit of White Ash I brought back with me from Canada, which I was going to use for chair legs, but it has slowly been used for other jobs like handles. Doesn't finish quite as nicely as some of the other traditional woods (Box, for e.g.), and is so bland, but it certainly does the job.

I notice you favour the simple, hand-friendly style of handle. I've finally decided I don't need to show off what a clever chap I can be with a skew chisel when making handles, & have evolved to the same simple profile myself, but a slightly stubbier version, to suit my smallish hands. One of the beauties of socket chisels is that it's so easy to whip up a new handle, so you can try various styles 'til you find what suits best. Uses up those silly little scraps that are too good for the fire, but too small for furniture parts.....

Cheers,

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