Masonry Nail Chisel

[44-henry]

Was playing around with some masonry nails I had and forged a small chisel. I figure it is probably something like 1075. Didn't get crazy with the heat treatment, did everything in the forge and quenched in oil and tempered it by eye. Holds a good edge even when cutting maple end grain. Cost me about 50 cents for the nail, some scrap cherry and my time.

 

[dd832]

Can you tell us how long that nail is, so we can get a sense of scale of your nice chisel.
Thanks, Mike

 

[oldwood]

44...........Love the innovative effort. The chisel could easily have been on the bench of an 18th century rifle builder. Again , fine job. .....oldwood

 

[appalichian hunter]

Why buy when you can make what you need. GOOD JOB

 

[44-henry]

It is a 3 1/2" nail if that helps. It is pretty tiny but I like smaller tools for inletting and it feels good in the hand.

 

[44-henry]

Here another picture of the tempering. Nothing high tech but got the job done. I did it three times using a bar I heated in the forge. I was shooting for a straw color at the cutting edge. The tang is square and tapered, before heat treatment I heated it up and used it to burn a rectangular hole in the pre-drilled handle. Worked like a charm. Afterwards I simply epoxied the heat-treated blade into the handle after it was finished using shellac and a beeswax polish.

Simple methods give a good functional tool. Total time including getting the handle put together was about 1.5 hours.

 

[44-henry]

A couple more of the tempering and result.

 

[troy2000]

I like it.

 

[Doc Ivory]

Good job!

 

[toot]

I was a BLACK SMITH, not a FERRIER, they are the guys that shoe horses, for 30+ years, only used a coal forge, none of that new fangled GAS FORGE'S, and you are spot on with the heat treat! BTW, did you use a coal forge also?

 

[44-henry]

I used a gas forge at the University where I work, coal is neat but I don't have a space to set one up. I have a really nice coal forge back on my farm in North Dakota, but being as how I live in Pennsylvania that doesn't help me much.

 

[hawkeye2]

Masonry nails are very handy to keep in the tool box. I have often ground them into one shot throw away tools.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I have a box of the round type concrete nails and make various tools from them as needed. Never heat treated, ground to shape and used.

 

[Flinty Scot]

Very nicely done. Practical.

 

[JeffG]

Good job!

 

[toot]

I used a gas forge at the University where I work, coal is neat but I don't have a space to set one up. I have a really nice coal forge back on my farm in North Dakota, but being as how I live in Pennsylvania that doesn't help me much.

also COAL when used in a forge imparts CARBON into the metal that is being heated. great for making knife blades. don't get rid of your coal forge.

 

[Ames]

VERY cool!

 

[SPQR70AD]

Was playing around with some masonry nails I had and forged a small chisel. I figure it is probably something like 1075. Didn't get crazy with the heat treatment, did everything in the forge and quenched in oil and tempered it by eye. Holds a good edge even when cutting maple end grain. Cost me about 50 cents for the nail, some scrap cherry and my time.

I dont think the steel is 1075. they snap in half easily when nailing sills onto concrete walls. I hit thousands in they are hardened so very brittle. can you harden 1075 that hard?

 

[44-henry]

They harden find and break clean in tests. It is just a guess that they are 1075, but an educated guess anyway. Doesn't really matter, from a performance standpoint it takes and holds a good edge and holds up to the type of work that I put it through. If I want a tool made with specific properties I have a rack full of tool steel of known types, this was just a moments diversion to see what could be done.