Narex 6 Piece Premium Chisel Set

Years ago, it was a common practice to sell unhandled tools. Craftsmen would buy chisel blades and then fashion their own handles to meet their specific needs. This made perfect sense, as who would be better suited to make wood chisel handles than the craftsmen themselves. Craftsmen were able to create handles that better fit their hands, were designed for the task at hand, and utilized whatever wood was readily available.

A custom handle can be turned on the lathe from a favorite wood in a matter of minutes. Even without a lathe, a handle can be quickly shaped using a rasp, chisel, drawknife, or spokeshave. These unhandled chisel blades are manufactured by Narex in the Czech Republic and are of exceptional quality. Narex is regarded worldwide as a premier edge tool manufacturer.

These blades are made from fine-grained chrome-manganese steel that is first drop forged and then hardened and tempered to a Rockwell hardness of 59. They are easily sharpened and hold an exceptional edge. The blades are accurately CNC ground with slimmer cross-section sidewalls that are just 1.4 mm or .040" wide. These slimmer sideways allow for better reach into tight spaces, making them perfect for dovetailing. The bevels are ground to 25 degrees.

For optimal performance, the backs will need to be flattened, and the bevels sharpened. Blanks come with square, untapered tangs. The tang hole must be properly sized to ensure a tight fit without splitting the handle. In general, a 3/8" pilot hole works well for most American hardwoods such as hickory, maple, ash, and oak. This hole size may need to be reduced for softer woods or enlarged for harder exotics.

Blanks come with a solid brass ferrule and a leather shock washer. Brass ferrules have an OD of 0.750, ID of 0.667", and a height of 0.667". The ferrules have inside bevels for easy insertion and are properly annealed (hardened) to prevent splitting when tangs are driven into the handle.

This is a 6-piece set of unhandled premium Narex chisel blanks, with sizes including 1/8, 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 3/4, and 1 inch. The blades are 4-3/4 inches long, and the tangs are 1-1/2 inches. The overall lengths are 6-1/4 inches.

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