Sharpening a Heavy Duty chisel?

[steven c newman]

A while back, bought a big plastic tub of tools and such ($5) and have been putting must of them away....some into the nearest trash can..
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Hmmm, strange looking chisel..
Well, decided to clean it up, and see just what it was..
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Well, I did remove the mushroomed part..
Was able to read the cast names and such in the handle...
"Made by Crescent Tool Co."
"Jamestown, N.Y."
Other side had..
"No. 175 1 1/4 "
"Made in USA"

Cleaned up area used to be red
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Will restore that when done....
Now, about the sharpening..
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Has a skewed edge, and the bevel is at least 40 degrees, if not more.
Back is flat....edge is chipped like crazy....would like to sharpen this thing up, and maybe get some use out of it..

Angle of the "new" bevel?
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Somehow, I think a 25 degree bevel like this, would be too fine.....maybe a 35 degree bevel? After the skewed part is gone...

Made for Plumbers and Electricians.....

[John C Cox]

I think it's some sort of heavy duty "chisel edge" scraper... I doubt it was designed as a proper wood chisel....

But I have no doubt you will have it cutting like a fine Japanese chisel here in no time... Chin-paring end grain white oak and Douglas fir and I will still be here scratching my head wondering how....

[Jim Koepke]

I think it's some sort of heavy duty "chisel edge" scraper... I doubt it was designed as a proper wood chisel....

But I have no doubt you will have it cutting like a fine Japanese chisel here in no time... Chin-paring end grain white oak and Douglas fir and I will still be here scratching my head wondering how....

According to the catalog from the maker it is for use as a chisel:

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At the time many homes had been built before the advent of indoor plumbing or electric light. Electricians and plumbers needed to be able to cut a hole in a floor, wall or other parts of a home's structure.

These likely worked great for people who weren't carpenters or cabinet makers. Looks like the held their own against a hammer. Imagine that, no hoops.

jtk

[Malcolm Schweizer]

It's possible this wasn't made for woodworking, and if so, it may be hardened way beyond what a woodworking chisel would be hardened to. This is just a thought- I am not familiar with it- first time I have seen a chisel by Crescent. The brand would suggest perhaps it's made for some other trade.

[Pete Taran]

Jim is right. I once saw a complete set in wooden box at a NE tool auction. Don't turn up out this way much, but pretty common in NE. Crescent was out of Jamestown, NY.

[lowell holmes]

I have two similar chisels which are timber framing chisels. They came to me damaged and have new handles that I made.

One is a socket chisel, the other a tange. I whittled the handles and made rings out of chrome drain pipes.

[Jim Koepke]

Not sure if the attachment is displaying properly:


According to the catalog from the maker it is for use as a chisel:

Attachment 387170


It was copied here from a different thread. So if it isn't visible, let me know and it can be reloaded.

jtk

[steven c newman]

Got bored...went to the shop for a bit...
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Chisel was 90 degrees to the grinder...removed the "skewed edge", then ground a new bevel, at 35 degrees..
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And flattened the back a bit more...
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Went from a COARSE stone..
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Then a 600 grit stone and the paper routine of 1K, 1.5K, and 2K....and then the strop..
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Peeled some shavings...
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But, since a Plumber would use this to run a pipe through a floor, or a joist..
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Then added some red paint..
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Now it look like brand new. Hammer is a 24oz Vaughn.
May be able to find some use for that chisel....

[James Pallas]

Most of you would faint if you put your Lie Neilsen or Ashley Iles chisels where that one was meant to go. Plaster lathe, with brown coat still in it, floor joists with nails still in them. As I remember Crescent tools except for the famous wrench were mostly found at supply houses. Cold chisels, star drills, bull points, and yes a "wood" chisel. Used more of the previously mentioned than I care to remember.
Jim

[Mike Baker 2]

Very cool. Nice job!

[matteo furbacchione]

Got bored...went to the shop for a bit...

SNIP


Now it look like brand new. Hammer is a 24oz Vaughn.
May be able to find some use for that chisel....


I have a set of steel handled chisels specifically for rough work onsite. They're meant to be driven with a small short handled lump type hammer. The weight of the chisels makes conventional techniques unfavourable. If you were to try and drive one with a wooden mallet, the mallet would be destroyed. And a regular hammer is a bit too light to drive them well without having a fairly big wind up and swing. A lump hammer has the weight that doesn't require much of a hit to drive them well. And being steel the energy transferred from the hammer to the edge and into the wood is quite good.