Salvaging Abused Tools - Saving Classic Chisels

Part 1 of 4

Some people should never own quality tools, as they are unworthy of them.

Case in point:

Four chisels came my way over recent times and begged for a chance to perform again to their full potential. These all have proud pedigrees - William Marples and Sons & Ward and Payne of Sheffield - Erik Anton Berg of Eskilstuna Sweden,  and our very own Titan from Tasmania

Looking at them - their current state is an offence to the artisans who crafted these tools, and to everyone who used and cared for them over the course of their lives.

Let's start with the Marples.

It once was a two inch wide fine bladed joinery chisel, suitable for taking the finest of shaving cuts from tenons and lap joints and the like. It shows an extremely fine cross-section, and it wears a brass ferrule - signs of a premium tool.

It has been reduced to a much abused putty knife and paint tin opener.

A survey of the damage brings a tear to the eye. The whole chisel is coated with paint and putty residue.

The corner of the blade has been broken off - presumably from said paint tin lid.

The edge of the blade shows a pronounced back bevel - hopefully there is no pitting under the paint. We'll see how flat it is as well.

The handle is a mess.

It has been pounded with a hammer to the point of splitting and fibre destruction.

A whole billet has been sheared off the side and was re-attached with small nails.

A small billet is missing from the other side as well.

In spite of all of this, I am going to try to preserve the factory ash handle, as it has an imprint of the original owner - one W. H. Miles. Clearly this was not the same person who abused the tool, as the name stamp denotes pride in ownership. I think he would be heartbroken to see it now.

The Restoration

I've started by removing the paint, scale and rust from the blade.

A brass-wire buffing wheel works well.

The blade needed squaring again, and this involved removing about 3/16inch to get rid of the broken corner.

The bevel for the blade was also too shallow at about 15 degrees, and in re-grinding I tried to establish a 21 degree bevel that would finish at about 25 degrees with a secondary bevel. This is somewhat more shallow than standard bench chisels, but not for paring chisels, which this is meant to be.

The cutting edge won't degrade so quickly as would the old 15 degree bevel.

The regrinding also removed the back bevel - enabling easier flattening of the back.

The flattening shows a hollow behind the leading edge, but this will disappear with continued sharpening. It could be that the chisel was used as a lever in the past and this has imparted a slight bend to the blade, but it isn't an insurmountable problem.

The back shows some pitting, but it is a long way back from the cutting edge - closer to the tang than to the toe. 

To show the fineness of the blade, here it is between a standard Japanese bench chisel - Oire Nomi - and a standard bench chisel by Erik Anton Berg - itself sometimes considered a paring chisel.

The extremely fine cross section and slim taper are apparent.

This chisel has decades of life still left ahead of it.

The handle I have spent some time on. The billet and its cavity were cleaned and re-glued with two part epoxy. The nail holes filled with glue and provide a set of tiny keys now that they are dry.

The handle was rounded to remove the crushed wood fibres, and so provide a comfortable grip for the palm. In the unlikely event that this will ever be struck, I will only be using a wooden mallet.  Most often this will be used as a paring chisel, so hand use only.

A clean, and a couple of coats of boiled linseed oil diluted with turps, and we're good to go.

The proof of the pudding is in the paring.

This lovely old chisel really sings. It is nearing a century in age, and is good for another hundred years at least.

I'll show updates on the Ward, the Titan and the Berg as they happen.

Happy shavings to all..................