It is currently 29 Mar 2024, 09:05

Butt chisel set?

The place to talk about tools 'without tails', so come here with all your plane and chisel, burnisher and bradawl chatter.

Butt chisel set?

Postby Woodbloke » 28 Nov 2021, 17:43

Any recommendations for a set (4) of butt chisels? Lots out there, but many seem to be highly polished and reviewers have said some of the blades have banana shaped backs and take a lot of work to get them flat. I quite like the look of the Pfeil chisels from CHT but they're out of stock :( - Rob
I no longer work for Axminster Tools & Machinery.
User avatar
Woodbloke
Sequoia
 
Posts: 5866
Joined: 22 Jul 2014, 10:06
Location: Salisbury, UK
Name:

Re: Butt chisel set?

Postby Doug » 28 Nov 2021, 19:01

Sadly out of stock at the moment but I’ve been hanging my nose over the Veritas PMV11 butt chisels, I have 4 PMV11 bench chisels & fancy getting the sizes I haven’t got in the butt format.
Spendy yes but a pleasure to use & take & hold such a good edge.



That said both Narex & Axminster do butt chisel sets, ya pays ya money & take ya choice.

Edit
Should also mention the Ashley Iles are very nice in the hand, if you want a set of 11 of those I could do you a deal :eusa-think:
User avatar
Doug
Old Oak
 
Posts: 2153
Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 22:22
Location: @dougsworkshop
Name:

Re: Butt chisel set?

Postby Woodbloke » 29 Nov 2021, 09:42

Doug wrote:Sadly out of stock at the moment but I’ve been hanging my nose over the Veritas PMV11 butt chisels, I have 4 PMV11 bench chisels & fancy getting the sizes I haven’t got in the butt format.
Spendy yes but a pleasure to use & take & hold such a good edge.



That said both Narex & Axminster do butt chisel sets, ya pays ya money & take ya choice.

Edit
Should also mention the Ashley Iles are very nice in the hand, if you want a set of 11 of those I could do you a deal :eusa-think:

Cheers Doug but I'm only after a set of four :lol: I went over to Peter Parfitt's 'shop (he of 'New Brit Workshop') a few years ago and he tried to flog me a set of PMV-11 chisels as he couldn't get on with them...something about the handles splitting? - Rob
I no longer work for Axminster Tools & Machinery.
User avatar
Woodbloke
Sequoia
 
Posts: 5866
Joined: 22 Jul 2014, 10:06
Location: Salisbury, UK
Name:

Re: Butt chisel set?

Postby Pete Maddex » 29 Nov 2021, 14:47

I have a crown set, slightly over polished, mostly flat enough, but seem to hold a good edge.

Pete
Let them eat static


Flickr
User avatar
Pete Maddex
Nordic Pine
 
Posts: 893
Joined: 29 Nov 2020, 12:41
Location: nottingham
Name:

Re: Butt chisel set?

Postby Woodbloke » 29 Nov 2021, 19:11

These look pretty good as well: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/323390141827. They're just the same as the Woodriver ones that Peter Sefton flogs for a tenner more - Rob
I no longer work for Axminster Tools & Machinery.
User avatar
Woodbloke
Sequoia
 
Posts: 5866
Joined: 22 Jul 2014, 10:06
Location: Salisbury, UK
Name:

Re: Butt chisel set?

Postby AJB Temple » 29 Nov 2021, 20:04

My ignorance remains unparalleled. Until this thread I had never heard of or seen a butt chisel. Seems to be a short chisel with a short handle. Not sure that I have any idea what I would use them for, though the eBay set look quite nice for £50.
Don't like: wood, engines, electrickery, decorating, tiling, laying stone, plumbing, gardening or any kind of DIY. Not wild about spiders either.
User avatar
AJB Temple
Sequoia
 
Posts: 5433
Joined: 15 Apr 2019, 09:04
Name:

Re: Butt chisel set?

Postby Andyp » 29 Nov 2021, 20:11

Do the Americans call them butt chisels? ;)
I do not think therefore I do not am.

cheers
Andy
User avatar
Andyp
Petrified Pine
 
Posts: 11719
Joined: 22 Jul 2014, 07:05
Location: 14860 Normandy, France
Name: Andy

Re: Butt chisel set?

Postby Alf » 29 Nov 2021, 20:17

AJB Temple wrote:Not sure that I have any idea what I would use them for...

You'll know when it happens and you don't have one.

Be interested to see what you plump for, Rob. I went old school for my only butt chisel.
User avatar
Alf
Sapling
 
Posts: 385
Joined: 26 Apr 2021, 19:19
Location: Cornwall, UK
Name:

Re: Butt chisel set?

Postby Woodbloke » 29 Nov 2021, 20:18

AJB Temple wrote:My ignorance remains unparalleled. Until this thread I had never heard of or seen a butt chisel. Seems to be a short chisel with a short handle. Not sure that I have any idea what I would use them for, though the eBay set look quite nice for £50.

Very popular in the US apparently Adrian. I have a current job on the go at present where I need a short chisel (say around 150mmish) total length to get into a few internal crooks n'nannies where a standard sized jobbie is just too large - Rob
I no longer work for Axminster Tools & Machinery.
User avatar
Woodbloke
Sequoia
 
Posts: 5866
Joined: 22 Jul 2014, 10:06
Location: Salisbury, UK
Name:

Re: Butt chisel set?

Postby Trevanion » 29 Nov 2021, 20:35

That's the nice thing with a socket chisel, take the handle off, and voila, instant butt chisel.
Image
User avatar
Trevanion
Old Oak
 
Posts: 2162
Joined: 27 Apr 2019, 19:04
Location: Pembrokeshire
Name:

Re: Butt chisel set?

Postby Doug » 29 Nov 2021, 22:02

Woodbloke wrote:Cheers Doug but I'm only after a set of four :lol: I went over to Peter Parfitt's 'shop (he of 'New Brit Workshop') a few years ago and he tried to flog me a set of PMV-11 chisels as he couldn't get on with them...something about the handles splitting? - Rob


Not had that problem on the bench ones & they’ve had some thrash, the handles on the ones you linked to look a little short & chunky though for that price you could turn some new ones




Trevanion wrote:That's the nice thing with a socket chisel, take the handle off, and voila, instant butt chisel.


Where’s the fun in that :lol: gotta have a nice set :?


C3BCB6CB-75D3-4E72-A164-6B954272CB08.jpeg
(1006.29 KiB)
User avatar
Doug
Old Oak
 
Posts: 2153
Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 22:22
Location: @dougsworkshop
Name:

Re: Butt chisel set?

Postby RogerS » 29 Nov 2021, 22:24

I have three of these from Narex and they are my Go To chisel. I can't remember the last time I picked up one of those funny long-handled ones.

Image

Ignore the gouges. They went back.
If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.
User avatar
RogerS
Petrified Pine
 
Posts: 13291
Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 21:07
Location: Nearly finished. OK OK...call me Pinocchio.
Name:

Re: Butt chisel set?

Postby Lurker » 30 Nov 2021, 14:37

Alf wrote:
AJB Temple wrote:Not sure that I have any idea what I would use them for...

You'll know when it happens and you don't have one.

Be interested to see what you plump for, Rob. I went old school for my only butt chisel.



My new one is pretty similar



I made it because my previous one was a bit worn.
Attachments
E3F2BC28-451A-497F-9FBA-1E16F28E8C01.jpeg
(164.1 KiB)
98AB5DF8-8FCB-478F-96B8-3B0E897ECEB8.jpeg
(192.85 KiB)
Lurker
Old Oak
 
Posts: 2447
Joined: 26 Nov 2020, 10:15
Location: Loughborough
Name:

Re: Butt chisel set?

Postby AndyT » 30 Nov 2021, 16:07

Lurker wrote:
My new one is pretty similar

I made it because my previous one was a bit worn.


I guess it must be a Marples?

goodtothelastinch.jpeg
(22.29 KiB)


(Picture from the excellent collector's history site https://williammarplesandsons.com )
--------------
Andy
User avatar
AndyT
Old Oak
 
Posts: 2366
Joined: 23 Nov 2020, 19:45
Location: Bristol
Name: Andy

Re: Butt chisel set?

Postby Woodbloke » 08 Dec 2021, 17:03

Having looked at innumerable sets of butt chisels, most or all of the ones I saw were highly polished (Woodriver, Luban, Two Cherries, Pfeil etc) with coarsely ground bevels; many also appeared to have convex backs, so I took a punt on the Narex set. I've been really, really very pleased with their set of 'Richter' chisels (difficult to find any sort of fault with them) and I was hoping that the butt chisels would be of a similar quality.

Apart from the truly appalling and dreadful, cheap n'nasty handles, they were:

IMG_6290.jpeg
(422.98 KiB)


I've spent the last day or so doing a spot of spiny work on the 'Dark Side' and have run up some new, slightly smaller, but infinitely superior ones in Elm:

IMG_6302.jpeg
(211.93 KiB)


IMG_6306.jpeg
(386.41 KiB)


The grinding marks on the back were virtually zero and it took me no time at all to remove them and get a reasonable degree of 'polish' on the steel. In addition, they weren't in the least convex and the bevel grinding along the sides was also pretty fine.

If you're after a set of butt chisels and are prepared to make some decent handles, I reckon you'd have to go a long way to beat these - Rob
I no longer work for Axminster Tools & Machinery.
User avatar
Woodbloke
Sequoia
 
Posts: 5866
Joined: 22 Jul 2014, 10:06
Location: Salisbury, UK
Name:

Re: Butt chisel set?

Postby TrimTheKing » 08 Dec 2021, 17:15

Nice work Rob, I like the look of those mushroomed handles, they look like they'd be comfortable. Did you practice the shape until you got it right for your hand or just go with it from the off?
Cheers
Mark
TrimTheKing
Site Admin
 
Posts: 7568
Joined: 16 Jun 2014, 13:27
Location: Grappenhall, Cheshire
Name: Mark

Re: Butt chisel set?

Postby Woodbloke » 08 Dec 2021, 17:28

TrimTheKing wrote:Nice work Rob, I like the look of those mushroomed handles, they look like they'd be comfortable. Did you practice the shape until you got it right for your hand or just go with it from the off?


Just as it happened Mark, but they're 10mm smaller than the originals. Dia of the handle is 40mm - Rob
I no longer work for Axminster Tools & Machinery.
User avatar
Woodbloke
Sequoia
 
Posts: 5866
Joined: 22 Jul 2014, 10:06
Location: Salisbury, UK
Name:

Re: Butt chisel set?

Postby Trevanion » 08 Dec 2021, 20:04

Those look great Rob! Definitely a massive improvement with the handles, I'm not sure why Narex opts for handles with so little finesse, and the dodgy staining job makes them look cheap and nasty too. I know there's a reasonable price difference but the overall feel of using the Richter chisels is head and shoulders above their standard line, in my opinion.
Image
User avatar
Trevanion
Old Oak
 
Posts: 2162
Joined: 27 Apr 2019, 19:04
Location: Pembrokeshire
Name:

Re: Butt chisel set?

Postby Woodbloke » 08 Dec 2021, 23:33

Trevanion wrote:...but the overall feel of using the Richter chisels is head and shoulders above their standard line, in my opinion.

Agree absolutely. The 'Richter' chisels are really, really great straight out the box. The first 0.5mm or so is a bit soft, but that's common with all Narex chisels and once you get past that bit, there's very little to complain about...and the backs are as flat as a flat thing :D - Rob
I no longer work for Axminster Tools & Machinery.
User avatar
Woodbloke
Sequoia
 
Posts: 5866
Joined: 22 Jul 2014, 10:06
Location: Salisbury, UK
Name:

Re: Butt chisel set?

Postby Alf » 09 Dec 2021, 08:56

New handles look very smart, Rob. Hope you'll give us an update in due course as to how you find your butts, and how much you use them. Maybe wait 'til after the honeymoon phase when you want to use them for everything though! :D

Had to go and have a look at the Richter chisels, of course. This thread would have been cripplingly expensive if I was actually doing any woodworking, chisels being a bit of a moth to the flame kinda thing with me. An upside to being a workshop exile? :cry:
User avatar
Alf
Sapling
 
Posts: 385
Joined: 26 Apr 2021, 19:19
Location: Cornwall, UK
Name:

Re: Butt chisel set?

Postby Mike G » 09 Dec 2021, 09:11

I'm not sure what you are trying to achieve, Rob. Butt chisels, as far as I know, are just short chisels, but you've turned handles which are not only short, but are also only suitable for hand-holding. In other words, you've now got short chisels you can't use a mallet with. That's a pretty singular and specialised niche, so you must have created these with a very specific job in mind. Care to share?

My everyday chisels are a short Stanley set. Not sure what number it is, but they are essentially butt chisels. So I've got short chisels I can use in the hand, but, (and this is what I don't get), I can (and do, all the time) still hit them with a mallet. Why would you take that option away?
User avatar
Mike G
Sequoia
 
Posts: 9835
Joined: 30 Jul 2014, 22:36
Location: Suffolk
Name:

Re: Butt chisel set?

Postby Woodbloke » 09 Dec 2021, 09:46

Mike G wrote:I'm not sure what you are trying to achieve, Rob. Butt chisels, as far as I know, are just short chisels, but you've turned handles which are not only short, but are also only suitable for hand-holding. In other words, you've now got short chisels you can't use a mallet with. That's a pretty singular and specialised niche, so you must have created these with a very specific job in mind. Care to share?

My everyday chisels are a short Stanley set. Not sure what number it is, but they are essentially butt chisels. So I've got short chisels I can use in the hand, but, (and this is what I don't get), I can (and do, all the time) still hit them with a mallet. Why would you take that option away?


Butt chisels as far as I know, aren't meant to be used with any undue force and because of their diminutive size are really best used by hand. However if I did need to tap them, the handles are made from elm and there's not a lot out there which is tougher. In most situations where one to be walloped, then I use my full size Narex 'Richter' chisels, which are quite superb. My Japanese pairing chisels are similar, ground at 20deg with a 25deg bevel; they're strictly for the finest hand paring and can never, ever be struck with a tapometer.

The frame for a current display cabinet project:

IMG_6165.jpeg
(320.39 KiB)


...features rounded internal corners (some yet to be bearing cut with a router) and these butts will be used in part to clean up the inside corners where a full sized chisel simply won't go as it's too big! I couldn't use a mallet inside the frame even if I wanted to :D - Rob
I no longer work for Axminster Tools & Machinery.
User avatar
Woodbloke
Sequoia
 
Posts: 5866
Joined: 22 Jul 2014, 10:06
Location: Salisbury, UK
Name:

Re: Butt chisel set?

Postby AndyT » 09 Dec 2021, 10:56

I didn't think I had a set, but when I pulled them out for a group shot I found they are three different widths, so I guess that counts. :)

From the top:
unmarked, possibly Footprint?
I Sorby
Stanley 5500.

Blue handled Stanley for scale.

IMG_20211209_094728201.jpg
(508.39 KiB)
--------------
Andy
User avatar
AndyT
Old Oak
 
Posts: 2366
Joined: 23 Nov 2020, 19:45
Location: Bristol
Name: Andy

Re: Butt chisel set?

Postby TrimTheKing » 09 Dec 2021, 11:03

AndyT wrote:I didn't think I had a set, but when I pulled them out for a group shot I found they are three different widths, so I guess that counts. :)

From the top:
unmarked, possibly Footprint?
I Sorby
Stanley 5500.

Blue handled Stanley for scale.

IMG_20211209_094728201.jpg


I prefer the look of the wider ones, but I guess that's because...I like big butts and I cannot lie!

:eusa-whistle:
Cheers
Mark
TrimTheKing
Site Admin
 
Posts: 7568
Joined: 16 Jun 2014, 13:27
Location: Grappenhall, Cheshire
Name: Mark

Re: Butt chisel set?

Postby Mike G » 09 Dec 2021, 11:13

Yep, mine are 5500, Andy. They're pretty much all I ever use, unless my knuckles are in danger from a deep mortice, or I can't reach far enough into a slot I am paring. Most of my oak framing has been done with these and a Stanley 1-1/2".

chisels.JPG
(361.51 KiB)
User avatar
Mike G
Sequoia
 
Posts: 9835
Joined: 30 Jul 2014, 22:36
Location: Suffolk
Name:

Next

Return to Hand Toolery

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests