Restoring a Vintage Chisel

Chisels Restoration Blog

Restoring a Vintage Chisel

Chisels are without a doubt the most useful tool in a hand tool woodworking shop (other than your own hands!).  Whenever I’m in the shop I always have a chisel either in my hand, or within arms reach.  I flop back and forth between new and vintage chisels and don’t really have a preference as long as they’re sharp, so I’m always on the lookout for a good deal.  I came across these two massive chisels at a local flea market and picked up both of them for $0.50 – a nice bargain considering the steel was in great shape.

The chisels are marked G.I. Mix and Co and were probably made around 1900-ish.  They are both bevel edge socket chisels, one a 2″ and the other 1-1/4″.  Neither one came with a handle and the steel was a little dinged up, but absolutely no big deal for a user tool.  Here is a video of the process I go through when restoring a chisel – including getting the steel back into shape, turning the handle, and adding finish:

And some glamour shots of the completed project:

If you prefer not to watch the video, my normal restoration process for a chisel goes a little something like this:

  • Get rid of the old busted handle (if still attached)
  • Hit all the metal with a soft wire wheel on the grinder
  • Let them soak for a night in Evapo-Rust
  • Rinse them off well and immediately oil, then use the wire wheel again to remove the black oxide rust residue and oil again
  • If needed, repair/file the socket
  • Rough grind the bevel
  • Clean with Mineral Spirits, then TCE (wear gloves!)
  • Blue the metal – I do three coats.  First coat applied with cotton balls, second applied with a gray scotchbrite pad, third applied with 0000 steel wool, and a final buff with paper towel
  • Turn the handle
  • Add 1 (or more) coat of stain/filler and buff across the grain after it has dried to a paste (~15 mins)
  • When completely dry, apply 4 coats of Tru-Oil, rubbing with 0000 steel wool between coats
  • When dry, rub out with 0000 steel wool and paste wax
  • Sharpen the chisel blade and get to work!

The products I use during the video are as follows:

Evapo-Rust

Brownell’s TCE Cleaner/Degreaser

Brownell’s Oxpho-Blue

Stock and Stain Filler

Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil

I hope you enjoyed the latest video and if I’ve helped you refurbish an old chisel please feel free to let me know!

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Tim
4 COMMENTS
  • Alec
    Reply

    This was the right video at the right time for me! I’ve been mulling over blueing techniques to restore my grandfather chisels, and this was very helpful.

    About how much Oxpho-blue does it take to complete one chisel? I have 5 chisels to finish and I’m wondering if the 4 oz bottle will be enough?

    1. Tim
      Reply

      Hi Alec – thanks for the message and glad you found it useful!

      The small 4oz bottle of Oxpho should be plenty for 5 chisels. I was surprised at how little it took to do one, so you should be fine.

      Have fun and share some pics when you’re done!

      Cheers,
      Tim

  • Clark Magnuson
    Reply

    I have restored over 100 chisels.
    1) My videos are not as good as yours:
    https://youtu.be/R8rfIb8zIJg
    2) The prices I pay for chisels on ebay are not as good as your flee market prices.

    1. Tim
      Reply

      Thanks Clark!

      The flea market prices are indeed less expensive than ebay, but definitely hit or miss. These two were lucky finds, but it’s quite often just junk.

      Nice YT channel too – subscribing now!

      Cheers,
      Tim

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