Wood Working Plan

VERITAS� Detail Chisels

I first purchased the set of five Detail Chisels from Lee Valley Tools a little over a year ago and can say I’ve used them on an almost daily basis ever since. My first impression when they arrived via Mail-order was the size. They’re small, extremely light and almost hobby like. Being used to chopping out mortises and cutting dovetails with heavier European style chisels, I decided to give the Detail Chisels a try and was pleasantly surprised by what I discovered. Using Chisels with only hand force was nothing new to me; however, using chisels designed to be used with only hand force was something new and quite exciting. For cleaning out dovetails and other fine paring style work these small chisels excel. The small size fits comfortably in hand almost like an extension of your fingers slicing and manipulating wood fibers in an effortless fashion. Designed by Yeung Chan, a California cabinetmaker, they have pau ferro octagonal handles and blades of O1 tool steel. The set of five consists of three dovetail-style chisels (bevel-edged to a narrow land on each side), one trimming chisel, and a 1/16" wide tapered chisel perfect for fine detail work. The chisels can be purchased individually however this set of five handles all of my fine detail work. Another advantage of the set of five is the price, at $ 195.00 this high quality set of hand made chisels is one of the sweetest deals I’ve found.