A Swan Reborn...

[Tom LaRussa]

I've had the flu for the past several days, and haven't done much either in the shop or online. (My brain is too clouded with medications.) But this morning I managed to forgo the meds long enough to make a handle for an old Jas. Swan Co. chisel.

The techniques used were gleaned from Leif Ericson & Bob Smalser, and the design is a takeoff on the one Bob uses in his tutorial.

The wood is Cocobolo from http://www.anexotichardwood.com/ and the ferrule is heavy brass tubing from http://onlinemetals.com/ . The finish is a three step process: first plain BLO, then a BLO/Carnauba wax mixture, then straitght Carnauba.

So, whadda y'all think?

[Richard Gillespie]

It's beautiful. Great Job!

[Terry Hatfield]

t,

WOW!!! That turned out great!!! Nice job.

t

[Tony Sade]

That sure looks pretty, Tom, but I gotta wonder. . . How does it feel in your hand? That "bulbous" shape just doesn't look like it would be very comfortable. What's the verdict? Cheers.

[Herb Blair]

Nice Job Tom!

[Jerry Olexa]

Beautiful work!!!

[Tom LaRussa]

That sure looks pretty, Tom, but I gotta wonder. . . How does it feel in your hand? That "bulbous" shape just doesn't look like it would be very comfortable. What's the verdict? Cheers.
Tony,

When I first saw Bob's tutorial -- http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=11538&highlight=chisels -- I thought the same thing, i.e., Gee that looks kinda uncomfortable.

But the reality is just the opposite. That big round bulb snuggles into the palm of your hand just as comfy as can be. :)

[Roger Nixon]

The handle is very pretty but I have to question its design. It puts a lot of weight up high which is not a good thing for a bevel edged bench chisel where balance is important. IIRC Bob put this type of handle on some framing chisels which have a much heavier blade and would balance out.
If the bulge fits in your palm, it looks like that will put the top of your hand too close to the top for malleting. For most operations your guide hand will be down on the blade somewhere. The Stanley 750 (similar to your Swan) handle shape provides really good balance and hand positions for a bench chisel which is why LN copied it. If you have one, notice how the thumb/index finger "ring" of your guide hand falls naturaly around the small waist as you hold the chisel upright. You can either use a mallet or place your strong hand on top for paring. For vertical paring, I will often put my chin on my top hand. This gives a very controlled, strong push.
You might want to try to incorporate similar proportions on your bench chisel handles.
Chisels with heavier blades that are used exclusively with a mallet (framing , registered , corner , mortise, etc) can incorporate a heavier handle with a hoop nicely.

[RichMagnone]

Looks sweet - has me thinking I might start looking at lathes on the "bay".

Can you post a picture from the back end so I can see the ferrule straight on?

[Tom LaRussa]

The handle is very pretty but I have to question its design.No you don't! You're just doing it to be mean, you vicious brute! :p :p



It puts a lot of weight up high which is not a good thing for a bevel edged bench chisel where balance is important.
I think that's an optical seclusion. Take a look at the pic below. That's a 1/2" Stanley 720 at the top, a 3/4" Buck Bros next, then a 1" Stanley 750 with a handle I made, (which I messed up on and which does not have its leather buttons yet), and finally the Swan in question. The center of gravity on the Swan is at about the same place on the socket as it is on the 720, lower than that on the Buck, and a tad higher than that on the 720 -- which is a bigger, heavier blade after all.



IIRC Bob put this type of handle on some framing chisels which have a much heavier blade and would balance out.The one I referred to was a former firmer that was made into a butt chisel.



If the bulge fits in your palm, it looks like that will put the top of your hand too close to the top for malleting.For some, perhaps, but this is sized to fit my hand, which just barely overlaps the bottom of the ferrule.



The Stanley 750 (similar to your Swan) handle shape provides really good balance and hand positions for a bench chisel which is why LN copied it. If you have one, notice how the thumb/index finger "ring" of your guide hand falls naturaly around the small waist as you hold the chisel upright.For me, the one I made works exactly the same way. In fact, the widened part just above the socket is an exaggeration of the one on a Stanley 720. (I don't have a 750 with an original handle.)



You might want to try to incorporate similar proportions on your bench chisel handles. I did, in the first two I made, (see pic below), but for this one I felt like doing something different.


I guess you've probably got the idea by now that I disagree with you? :D :o

In fact I really don't, in general -- just in terms of this particular chisel.

For those chisels I plan to resell, which is the large majority of the ones I've gathered up, I will definitely take your points into consideration.

:)

[Tom LaRussa]

Looks sweet - has me thinking I might start looking at lathes on the "bay".
UGH! Don't do that! Those pirates will charge you more for shipping than for the lathe!



Can you post a picture from the back end so I can see the ferrule straight on?
Oh darn, I guess so. But everybody is going to see that I didn't bother to polish the end of the handle. :( :o

[Roger Nixon]

No you don't! You're just doing it to be mean, you vicious brute! :p :p

<SNIP>
I guess you've probably got the idea by now that I disagree with you? :D :o

In fact I really don't, in general -- just in terms of this particular chisel.

<SNIP>



Certainly no intention of being mean or disagreeable just another POV. :) I appreciate the amount of effort you've put into these as I've been working on a set myself for some time now. I started out looking at a bunch of classic handle styles and turned several out of oak and maple as prototypes (the final handles will be some honey locust that I am drying now) but I couldn't come up with a style that felt better than the classic 720/750 handle. For my bigger chisels, I've just used a simple barrel shape with a steel hoop.
From your pictures, it sure doesn't look like the "bulb" handle would balance the same as those others. :) Aesthetically, I much prefer the lines of the other chisels as well. One trick I came up with to make the taper on the lower part of the handle match the angle of the socket taper is to make a photo copy of the chisel and draw the handle shape on the paper. Then you can set your calipers or contour gauge right off the drawing.