Kim Malmberg
01-24-2014, 3:53 AM
I was fortunate enough to win an auction lot containing three E.A. Berg mortice chisels.
These are tanged chisels like every other Berg chisels found in Finland. Two of them have shop made handles made of (ordinary) birch and one came without a handle.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/finnberg68/sets/72157640076157735/
I'm no newbie when it comes to making handles for chisels but I still wonder if you people would have any advice on what shape of handle would be the best for heavy chisels like these.
You don't see a lot of tanged Berg mortice chisels and most I have seen have been fitted with shop made handles. I believe that Berg originally made these chisels with round handles, just like they did with the ordinary bench chisels.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/finnberg68/10940528135/in/set-72157637833119463
Pictures I have seen shows round Berg handles fitted with a ferrule at the tang end of the handle. It seems like the tang is actually fitted inside the ferrule.
There is a important difference between Berg mortice chisels and what I would call American pigstickers. The tang is much narrower and will not provide the same kind of support to the handle as the pigstickers do.
SInce I don't own a lathe, I do struggle with making perfectly round handles, and I'm also unsure if a round handle is suitable. So my preference is this.
1. Elliptic and slightly tapered handles shaped with a puukko, spokeshave and rasps. Leather washer between tang and handle and possibly also at the striking end of the handle. My preferred wood would be birch as it is is easily available although I am aware of the potential risk of splitting. Birch would also be typical for the era and the culture.
2. As above, but ferrules added at the tang portion and top and top leather washer possibly removed. But this would decrease the striking area and would probably lead to the ferrule chewing on the handle.
3. As either of the above alternatives but with handles made of something more durable. But what kind of wood? Please bear in mind that I donut have exotic wood and I strive as much as possible to use local species. Domestic wood would be maple, oak, apple, lilac, elm, juniper and possibly plum if I can find anything thick and straight enough.
Also, these chisels have gigantic, deep and heavily tapered tangs. I'm thinking of using a 3 mm auger bit to reach far enough inside the handle, But this might be a challenge if the wood is too dense. My drill bits aren't long enough to reach and the same goes for my Forstner bits. Does anyone have experience with using a long, headless nail, possible filed at the corners or twisted, as to allow for waste removal?
I know a lot of you heat the tang, and then burn the hole, and that is not out of the question. But I'm not too worried about making a exact fit. I have seen enough chisels in my life to know that a hole too narrow will eventually split the handle and a hole to wide can be remedied with the addition of newspaper or aluminum foil. So my aim is to make a hole deep enough and then worry about the rest.
Any advice would be appreciated.
These are tanged chisels like every other Berg chisels found in Finland. Two of them have shop made handles made of (ordinary) birch and one came without a handle.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/finnberg68/sets/72157640076157735/
I'm no newbie when it comes to making handles for chisels but I still wonder if you people would have any advice on what shape of handle would be the best for heavy chisels like these.
You don't see a lot of tanged Berg mortice chisels and most I have seen have been fitted with shop made handles. I believe that Berg originally made these chisels with round handles, just like they did with the ordinary bench chisels.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/finnberg68/10940528135/in/set-72157637833119463
Pictures I have seen shows round Berg handles fitted with a ferrule at the tang end of the handle. It seems like the tang is actually fitted inside the ferrule.
There is a important difference between Berg mortice chisels and what I would call American pigstickers. The tang is much narrower and will not provide the same kind of support to the handle as the pigstickers do.
SInce I don't own a lathe, I do struggle with making perfectly round handles, and I'm also unsure if a round handle is suitable. So my preference is this.
1. Elliptic and slightly tapered handles shaped with a puukko, spokeshave and rasps. Leather washer between tang and handle and possibly also at the striking end of the handle. My preferred wood would be birch as it is is easily available although I am aware of the potential risk of splitting. Birch would also be typical for the era and the culture.
2. As above, but ferrules added at the tang portion and top and top leather washer possibly removed. But this would decrease the striking area and would probably lead to the ferrule chewing on the handle.
3. As either of the above alternatives but with handles made of something more durable. But what kind of wood? Please bear in mind that I donut have exotic wood and I strive as much as possible to use local species. Domestic wood would be maple, oak, apple, lilac, elm, juniper and possibly plum if I can find anything thick and straight enough.
Also, these chisels have gigantic, deep and heavily tapered tangs. I'm thinking of using a 3 mm auger bit to reach far enough inside the handle, But this might be a challenge if the wood is too dense. My drill bits aren't long enough to reach and the same goes for my Forstner bits. Does anyone have experience with using a long, headless nail, possible filed at the corners or twisted, as to allow for waste removal?
I know a lot of you heat the tang, and then burn the hole, and that is not out of the question. But I'm not too worried about making a exact fit. I have seen enough chisels in my life to know that a hole too narrow will eventually split the handle and a hole to wide can be remedied with the addition of newspaper or aluminum foil. So my aim is to make a hole deep enough and then worry about the rest.
Any advice would be appreciated.