Maintenance
Unlike other hand tools such as hammers, a chisel needs care to produce consistently good results. The edge must remain razor-sharp, so it’s worth investing in the tools you’ll need to resharpen your chisels. While you can use a standard bench grinder and a tool rest set to 25 degrees to grind down and recreate the bevel, most woodworkers prefer to grind and resharpen chisels by hand to avoid damaging the temper with heat from the grinder. Though some use oilstones, exacting woodworkers prefer using Japanese waterstones because they produce a sharper edge faster.
Safety Tips
- Counter-intuitively, a dull chisel is far more dangerous than a sharp one, because it’s more difficult to control and so more likely to slip. Keep a good, clean edge on yours.
- Always use the tool pointing away from your body as well as your other hand.
- Keep chisels capped or in a storage box when not in use.
- Never use a chisel that has a chip or crack in the beveled edge.
- Use the chisel for its proper purpose and never as a screwdriver or pry bar.
