Thread: 38mm chisel recommendation?

Hi Dengy,

A couple of thoughts to help you get better edge retention with your current chisel:

• The end of a new chisel can be brittle, so just re-sharpen as needed and after several times you should get to steel which won't chip.
• Make sure you're not chopping out too much wood at time. Remember that the timber needs to be able to lift and get out of the way. If there's no-where for it to go, you'll blunten your delicately sharp edge pretty quickly. This was a revelation when someone mentioned it to me. By taking lighter cuts, a sharp chisel can last me a whole session in the workshop, where before I was needing to sharpen very frequently.

One of the others may be better chipping in but 25° may be too shallow an angle for mortising.

The able is more suited to pairing cuts or the final cuts of the task.

Putting a microbevel of 30 may help the stability of the edge.

Regards,

Adam

Either try a 35 degree bevel (secondary bevel would be quickest), or add a Unicorn profile. A 25 degree bevel, especially in a wide blade, is too low.

Regards from Perth

Derek

I second the advice above about a secondary bevel and not expecting optimal performance from a new chisel until it’s been sharpened a few times.

After that, the performance should be better. I’ve been quite pleased with the steel in my 5-year-old Stanley fat max chisels. They seem to hold an edge a long time for chisels that are tough. I have a few Japanese chisels that hold an edge longer if treated respectfully, but they don’t accept abuse.