Woodworking chisels are used to carve and shape wood with a high-carbon steel blade attached to a handle. Sets include different widths and profiles, and can be honed to a razor-sharp edge. They are used in woodturning and carving, creating intricate details. Chisels used in carpentry are more utilitarian and often helped through the wood by a hammer.
A woodworking chisel is a tool used to carve and shape wood. With a high-carbon steel blade attached to a wood or composite handle, the woodworking chisel can be honed to a razor-sharp edge. Used in both woodturning and freehand carving, the woodworking chisel is capable of creating intricately detailed work in the hands of a skilled craftsman. Unlike a metal-cutting cold chisel that is hammered through a bolt, the woodworking chisel is more like a knife in that it cuts and cuts its way through wood.
While available individually, the typical woodworking chisel used by the layman is purchased in a set. Composed of different widths and profiles, woodworking chisel sets include a variety of tools to get you started and roughly finished on most woodworking projects. Master craftsmen usually purchase their woodworking chisel sets as individual chisels, spending as much on a single chisel as most amateur woodworkers spend on an entire shop full of tools. High-end chisels are often made by the same companies that make fine kitchen utensils, such as chef’s knives.
Properly sharpened woodworking chisels can cut through paper or shave hair. This high level of sharpness allows the tool to cut through the grain of the wood without creating splinters or edges. As the craftsman uses the chisel to cut and carve a shape into a block of wood, the different sizes and shapes of the chisels used create the delicate lines of a sculpture. Each chisel creates its own distinctive line.
The tools used on woodturning lathes are not as critical as the carving tools used in wood carving. The lathe uses high speed to smooth the wood while the chisel cuts it. Regardless of the final design, the lathe workpiece is typically honed to its final finish before being removed from the lathe. Lathe chisels are also purchased in sets consisting of chisels, gouges, and parting tools.
Not all woodworking chisel sets are used to create artwork. Some chisels are used by carpenters to aid in tasks such as providing clearance on a door for hinges. The chisel used by a carpenter is more utilitarian than the version used by woodworking artists. While still very sharp, this building tool is often helped through the wood by a few blows of a carpenter’s hammer. Used to cut corners and cut out mortises for locks, the woodworking carpenter’s chisel is a not-so-distant cousin of the woodcarver’s chisel.
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