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Thread: Where do you hold your chisel?

  1. #1

    Where do you hold your chisel?

    Specifically when chopping out dovetail waste - where do you grip your chisel?
    I have seen it done up high (handle in fist) and also way down low (in the fingertips).

    I tend to choke up down low in the fingertips, especially when doing fine work. I always felt there is more feedback and control doing it this way, but sometimes it seems like the trade off is more hand fatigue. The other day I saw a video of a Japanese craftsman who does very fine work, and he was holding handle in fist, so now I'm interested to hear what others do. Thanks

    Edwin
    Last edited by Edwin Santos; 06-24-2019 at 11:01 AM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Austin Texas
    Posts
    1,957
    Fist, but sometimes I have to put the mallet down and use my other hand to carefully position the chisel end exactly where I want it and that slows things down. I am pretty good at positioning from the fist and can use the mallet to tap the end over/around some, but still use two hands to position the chisel end on occasion. I have wondered about moving my hand down to grip the chisel closer to the end, but had not thought of hand fatigue. What helps me most is to elevate the work up closer to my eyesight and the fist positioning goes better. My workbench is at a better planning height, so I made one of those bench-on-bench things to bring the work up for better seeing.
    David

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    twomiles from the "peak of Ohio
    Posts
    12,120
    Handle in fist.....use either the right hand to line up the next chop...or just tap the side of the chisel with the mallet in the right hand. Left hand doesn't have the shakes like the right one does, more stable. I can "walk" the edge of the chisel to where the next chop will be...with the left hand.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Location
    Houston
    Posts
    241
    In his dovetailing video (which I could watch everyday) Christain Becksvoort holds the chisels down low. That's how I have been doing it, but I always seem to end up with small cuts on my fingers from the side bevels.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Lake Gaston, Henrico, NC
    Posts
    8,973
    I can't tell you how I hold any chisel, any more than I can tell you how many hundreds of hours I've used one. That's why I'd never be any good as a teacher because I never think about that kind of stuff. I just think about what I want to be done by the chisel edge.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Clinton Township, MI, United States
    Posts
    1,554
    Down low, I *feel* like I have more control when chopping if I hold the chisel down low.
    There is no wrong way as long as the material is removed where needed and not where it shouldn't and no blood is spilled.
    From the workshop under the staircase, Clinton Township, MI
    Semper Audere!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Stone Mountain, GA
    Posts
    751
    If you hold down low it is easier to place the chisel tip where you want it, but you have less control over the angle of the chisel. So when you hit with the mallet the butt end of chisel tends to flop around a bit, which is harder on the edge of the tool. Also holding with a pencil-type grip on the blade will wear your hand out pretty quickly.

    So I prefer a fist-grip on the handle. Once the chisel tip is where you want it, this offers more control over the angle and you can keep the tool more steady while chopping. And you can do it all day without fatigue. To get the chisel tip where I want I either walk the blade, or use the right hand to assist- I can manage to do this without putting the hammer down, so it doesn't slow me down. Left hand does not change its grip at any point, until the chopping task is done.

    I do think that shorter chisels, like the Japanese bench chisels I use, are nice for this. Some of my vintage socket chisels have very long blades that make it even harder to place the chisel edge.

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