Premium 1/4 Inch Unhandled Chisel Blank

Years ago, it was common practice to sell unhandled tools. Craftsmen bought chisel blades and then fashioned their own handles to meet their specific needs. This made perfect sense, as who better suited to make wood chisel handles than craftsmen themselves. Craftsmen were able to make handles that better fit their hands, were designed for the task at hand, and used whatever wood was readily available. A custom handle can be turned on a lathe from your favorite wood in a few minutes, and 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. The 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. These blades 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 sidewalls allow for reach into tight spaces, making them perfect for dovetailing. The bevels are ground to 25 degrees, and for optimal performance, the backs will need to be flattened, and the bevels sharpened.

The 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. The blanks come with a solid brass ferrule and a leather shock washer. The brass ferrules have an OD of 0.750, an 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 1/4 inch unhandled premium Narex chisel blank. The blade is 4-3/4 inches long, the tang is 1-1/2 inches, and the overall length is 6-1/4 inches. 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 bevel is ground to 25 degrees, and the chisel comes with a solid brass ferrule and a leather shock washer.

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