I found this chisel in a very poor state with rust and pitting and a broken handle. There are many antique chisels in my collection, most have been bought in batches and so many are not being used as there is a lot of overlap. Not so with this one. I purposely wanted a socket chisel for chopping work due to its length. My main user set of chisels is the longer Robert Sorby 510 pairing chisels. I prefer these longer chisels to the shorter socket designs as seen above and in the Stanley Sweetheart and Lie Nielsen range, mainly because of the thinner side walls.
Yet the shorter socket chisels are well suited for chopping out work, especially chopping out dovetail pins as their short length makes it easier to hold vertical and steady. So my set of user chisels is 6 pairing and 3 socket (1/4″, 1/2″ and 1″).
The chisel featured here is a 1/4″ wide. I cleaned as much of the patina and rust as I could and then lapped and sharpened the chisel. My friend Leanne kindly turned the handle out of Hickory (Pecan Wood) and the finish was three coats of Shellac followed by two coats of Poly.
A Walk in the Woods. 