Quick Project

[Graham Haydon]

A welcome distraction from my current project. Giving an I.SORBY chisel I picked up a while ago a new lease of life.

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I had a short piece of beech that proved ideal. The beech was dirty and had honing oil on it and was destined for the burn pile.

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This chisel has a beast of a tang! As we all know, fixing a new handle is pretty easy on a tanged chisel. I just drilled pilot holes of different sizes at different depths. Chisel was then held in the vice and driven onto the tang.

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The blank was well oversize and I cut it back with my D8

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_S4zWkjrGQ/?igshid=14baaqp2oxc2j

Once size was near enough I roughly set out an octagonal section and used a block plane to refine the profiles by eye.

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Once I was happy I cut a small bevel to meet the boster. On a nice old chisel hande the handle goes down to the bolster. However, this used to have a turned boxwood handle (split) with brass ferrule. It was a compromise that gave the handle the feel I wanted and is similarin feel to a large carving gouge I have.

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I shaped the top with a rasp and and rasped the top, I refined this a touch more with a file but left it at that.

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A nice way to spend an evening.

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A coat of wax later, time will add colour. I have a few more to do in time, for when the next distraction is needed!

[Graham Haydon]

With the coat of wax and beside an earlier I.SORBY gouge and modern brand

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[David Silverson]

That shape has always been my favourite for handles, comfortable to hold and use. Esthetically I like the simple shape better than turned.

[Jim Koepke]

Great way to make a handle for those without a lathe.

jtk

[Tom Bender]

And a fine distraction for the rest of us also.
Thanks.

[Frederick Skelly]

Yes, ceratinly a good way to spend an evening!

[Warren Mickley]

I am kind of a late convert to the octagonal handles. I started making them in 2008 after thirty years of making turned handles. One advantage to octagonal handles that has not been mentioned is that it is very easy to alter the angle of the hole to accommodate a tang that is slightly crooked. If you leave the lower portion of the handle a little fat then you can get the chisel lined up and then taper the handle to match the bolster.

Here are two 19th century English chisels. The smaller one has a hickory handle, an indication that it was imported without a handle. The square tang can be inserted four different ways, but it is crooked in every one except this one, so the maker compensated with the hole to make it straight. The larger chisel has a handle I made. I made the handle long to compensate for the wear on the chisel; though it is well worn I brought it back to an optimum length. I do the doming of the top of the chisel on the lathe, very much the easiest way.

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