Timber framing chisel advice

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Wooden handles must have lasted alright before plastic handles were invented. We've been timber framing for centuries, if not millenia. Not many plastic handles about in Tudor times.
 
I also did a timber framing course and bought a 1.5 inch Sorby framing chisel. It takes a good edge and has been excellent. I don't think there were many other options back then (20ish years ago) apart from vintage ones.
 
Check out TFTOOLS- timber framing tools .,Lucy runs the tool business side of things and her partner runs a timber framing business. If anyone will have one they will .
 
Wooden handles must have lasted alright before plastic handles were invented. We've been timber framing for centuries, if not millenia. Not many plastic handles about in Tudor times.

People had the skill to replace them or handlemongers locally providing inexpensive replacements. When they're standard sized and coming off of a duplicator lathe, they're only a couple of bucks each.
 
people had to use mallets. I can see beautiful boutique chisels in the workshop but not for taking a battering and going black and rusty.
 
people had to use mallets. I can see beautiful boutique chisels in the workshop but not for taking a battering and going black and rusty.

People still use mallets, even the odd ruffian carpenter has been seen with one in their soiled mitts.

The reason your stansly plastic chisel bent is because it's made of noodles.
 
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I have the Arno framing chisels. They are fantastic, take a good edge and hold it really well.

They are steel all the way through, I removed most of the rubber grip so I can get them deeper into sockets.

They can take serious hard work, I’ve been pounding them into old reclaimed oak with a big framing hammer a lot recently and they lap it up.

As to the backs they aren’t that flat out of the box. I spent 30 minutes or so with each of them on a very coarse water stone to get them acceptable, but honestly if you’re using them for framing they don’t need to be that flat.
 
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