Toothed Stone Chisel For Kurt

[bigfootnampa]

I have a great Friend who is a well known and very successful mason that I live pretty far away from now. I want him to have one of my smith made items as he is not around to experience this Blacksmithing phase of my life. I talked with him on the phone and asked him about the tools of his trade and he thought that a good toothed stone chisel would be something that he would enjoy and use. I acquired a couple of these old jackhammer bits at auctions and thought they would be ideal raw material. I was able to cut them just above the collar so that they already had this nice finger guard feature. Then I lengthened the taper toward the edge a fair amount and widened the cutting edge. I managed to whack out an oval gripping area on the shaft below the collar (this metal is VERY HARD). I cut the teeth with a cutting disc in my
4 1/2" grinder.

This chisel is 3 1/2" wide X 14 1/4" long with a 1 1/4" shaft. It weighs about
4 1/2 pounds. It's not a boy's chisel! Kurt has a grip like a steel vise though, it will be just right for him.

[Frosty]

Looks good to me. Let us know what Kurt thinks.

Frosty

[bigfootnampa]

Frosty;

Kurt got the chisel and reports that it is "the most beautiful chisel I've ever seen". He hints that it may be too beautiful to use, though I think I discouraged such thoughts... I informed him that guys here were waiting on performance reports! His wife told me that he worries that it may quickly disappear if left unattended at job sites. He assures me that he will "treasure it for years and years"! So I guess we all have to wait till he needs a chisel and breaks down and actually uses it. He said that sandstone jobs is where they usually come in handiest... so lets all hope for a sandstone job for Kurt soon!

[chyancarrek]

Really nice work!

Yeah, getting someone to actually use the item you made by hand for them can be a bigger challenge than making the item

Look forward to hearing how well it works!

[ThomasPowers]

What I've enjoyed most forging tools for craftsfolks is when they realize I actually mean it when I say "go use it a while and then come back and tell me how you want it tweaked in the next version".

Doing a couple of iterations to get a tool spot on for them and how they work can get you quite a reputation too.

(It can also lure folks over to the dark side---had a bowl/vase turner want a bent shaft to hold carbide inserts for internal turning come by the forge once. So I heat a piece of steel up and stick it in the post vise and tell him "Now bend it how you want it", left it to normalize when he was done and several weeks later he had his own forge...)

[pkrankow]

I like the pouch you made too. Very handy looking.

Phil

[bigfootnampa]

Thanks Phil. It's just an edge protector. They carry these tools in canvas satchels and I made the velcro edge saver to help keep the chisel sharp when jumbled in the bag with trowels and other chisels.

[David Einhorn]

... He hints that it may be too beautiful to use, though I think I discouraged such thoughts... I informed him that guys here were waiting on performance reports! .... So I guess we all have to wait till he needs a chisel and breaks down and actually uses it. ....

Tell him that we are waiting for his report on how it works, and will track him down and force him to use it. :D

[bigfootnampa]

Here is the latest from Kurt about this chisel. He reports that it works well and he loves the long length of it which cannot normally be found in chisels on the market. He says that it is heavy but just right for him. His fellow masons josh him about leaving it on the job site assuring him that they would "take care of it for him". He feels conflicted about using it because it is so beautiful.

They recently did a job where they removed an outer layer of brick and flipped and relaid them. The inner layer of brick had mortar squeeze-out that had to be chiseled off and Kurt used his chisel in a slick-like manner (paring with two hands driving the chisel... no hammering). It's considerable weight drove it through the old mortar with ease and saved him time over the other workmen as their smaller chisels had to be hammer driven.

So it sounds as though the chisel is working exactly as I intended. Kurt seems quite proud of it too! Now maybe I will work at a lighter version which might be used by masons who lack Kurt's famed "grip of steel".

[Bendik]

That is a good looking chisel, nice work!

Because the workshop where I was an apprentice also had a stone mason shop, I have done a fair amount of different chisels, and I too find it to be very satisfying work, especially the interaction between different crafts leading to new ideas and solutions.