Chisel Handles and the Inspiration

[Jim Koepke]

Almost all of my chisels have been bought off of the great auction site or have come from garage/estate/yard sales.

Often they come with broken handles or no handles. Some come with replacement handles that are kind of yucky. So having recently bought an old lathe dirt cheap, I have been experimenting with making my own paring chisel handles that are sized for my hand.

The rose wood and the wood that I do not know what it is was given to me by an old friend who left things to me when he passed on.

One is made of iron wood donated to me by a fellow Creeker, Thanks again.

The red heart was bought for me by my wife for the purpose of making handles.

She also let me have some purple heart, but I have to cut and rip that before it can be turned. The unknown wood was hard enough to rip since I only have hand saws currently. Hope to try and get current applied to an old band saw in the shop, but that is another story.

The first picture is of the handles made, the second is some of the handles that inspired this shape to be chosen. From left to right they are Buck Bros, Marples, file handle, Buck Bros. File handle and a G&D Cinn. I forgot to include the Swan chisel that has a similar shape handle and the last image is of a witherby handle from some witherby stationary.

The wood on the home made handle second from the right is unknown, but very hard, cuts nice on the lathe. It had a brownish patina before being cut, but a light blond look when fresh wood was exposed. In the picture, a coat of oil and wax has been applied and it darkened a little. It has a nice look to it. All the other handles have one or two coats of a tung oil mixture.

Soon, my plans are to start making some for the chisels that get hit with a mallet. Anyone have suggestions on what kind of glue to use for the leather washers?

jim

[Alan DuBoff]

Jim,

I spotted your chisel handle in another thread, and glad you started this thread.

I really like your handle a lot, it's funny...reminds me of a large mug I turned for my Mom when I was a kid, out of cherry (I love working cherry, it's great wood). She still has it, and it has 2 large rings to hold onto, not made to hold really, it was a big huge mug/bowl.

I haven't turned in years, with the exception of a pen I did a few years ago at a friends, but I do use it all the time and like it a lot. One day I'll get my treadle lathe going possibly...

I'm going to do my handles in the octogon and/or trapezoid style that I see those 18th century chisel handles done like, AdamC had some he made. I'm going to use a draw knife and some shaves for those...

Nice handles, that's a real classic design, it just screams out at me. Very nice design you came up with.

[Gary Herrmann]

Nice job on the chisels, Jim. Haven't made any out of exotics yet. The one on the far right - cocobolo?

[Roger Bell]

I use ordinary barge cement, glue up the washers and then return to the lathe to final shape and sand the handle and apply the finish.

[Jim Koepke]

Thanks all for the kind words.


Nice job on the chisels, Jim. Haven't made any out of exotics yet. The one on the far right - cocobolo?

The one on the far right is red heart as is the one in the middle. The one on the far left is made from a piece of rose wood given to me by a friend who traveled a lot when he was young. He told me it was from a table top. It smelled like perfume when it was being turned.

Thanks for the cement suggestion Roger.

Turning is quite enjoyable. Even with an inexpensive lathe that is about 60 years old and vibrates at times.

jim

[Mike Henderson]

Those look very nice, Jim. I've always said that people should make custom chisel handles - ones that are the best "fit" for them. You've done that and made them good looking.

One thing I've found, however, is that you continue to make changes to your handles over time. I don't know if your tastes change, or your feel changes, or what, but the chisel handles I make today are different than the chisel handles I made a year ago.

Mike

[Jim Koepke]

Those look very nice, Jim. I've always said that people should make custom chisel handles - ones that are the best "fit" for them. You've done that and made them good looking.

Mike,

Thanks for the kind words.


One thing I've found, however, is that you continue to make changes to your handles over time. I don't know if your tastes change, or your feel changes, or what, but the chisel handles I make today are different than the chisel handles I made a year ago.

Mike

My first handles (not shown here but are in the turners forum) were made just getting adjusted to using a lathe and finding the best size for my hands. Of the latest handles, the red heart on the right was the first. The piece of stock used to make it was a bit on the short side. The rest of these are pretty much in the same size range with some detail differences. The handles get a little bigger as the chisel gets bigger. The other four in the picture are pretty much the same compared to my earlier handles. Some of those earlier models will likely be replaced in the future.

The other thought that comes to mind is I have a lot of old Buck Brothers chisels with original handles, which I like. My thoughts are to make as close of a copy from the originals as my ability will allow. Then all the replacement handles can be sold or used on future acquisitions.

Eventually, a rack will be made to hold most of these. My two main sets are ground with different bevels for the various tasks to be performed. The Bucks are ground shallow, about 15-20° for pairing. The Witherbys are ground at a more standard angle of about 30°.

The handle I made for one of my mortice chisels is mostly just a barrel shaped cylinder with a leather washer at the bolster and on the top to protect the wood.

I have not yet decided on a shape for my firmer chisels. They will get some mallet blows so there will be leather on top. My thoughts are leaning to sort of copy these only make them longer with washers on top.

jim