Fishtail vs skew

[Richard Dooling]

Just curious but a thread in the classified section has got me wondering who favors what for cleaning up the sockets in half blind dovetails.

Fishtail chisel, skews or something else?

[Jason Beam]

Skew ... because a fishtail won't last nearly as long as a skew ... I don't mind switching between a left-skew and a right-skew that much ... usually I don't have to switch off very frequently.

[Richard Dooling]

Do you mean won't last through repeated sharpenings because of the shape?

[Matthew Dworman]

Skew ... because a fishtail won't last nearly as long as a skew ... I don't mind switching between a left-skew and a right-skew that much ... usually I don't have to switch off very frequently.

Since a fishtail would primarily be used for paring, i don't see it going to a grinder often enough for this to be an issue... Should still last a couple of lifetimes as long as you just put it to a course oil or waterstone for metal removal. You would only be bringing back the bezel less than a thousandth of an inch at a time.

FWIW I own a set of skews and have no problem switching between a left and a right for cleaning up. Having a fishtail would eliminate the "extra step" of switching chisels, but isn't enough of a timesaver to justify the additional tool...

Matthew

[Joel Moskowitz]

Just curious but a thread in the classified section has got me wondering who favors what for cleaning up the sockets in half blind dovetails.

Fishtail chisel, skews or something else?

You can't beat a fishtail skew.

You get more wiggle room than with a fishtail or a skew.
it's narrower than a fishtail so it can be used in more situations.

downside:
really need pairs , although I have just flipped one over and done that.

There is also no need to get anything particularly expensive as they aren't used much, and an really brittle chisel will crack at the tip. So cheap and average is actually better.

[Pam Niedermayer]

Whatever's handy, but I prefer the fishtail, probably because it's much better made than my skews. I don't think you can generalize about lasting power based on the shape.

Pam

[Derek Cohen]

I have a couple of skews and fishtails, some I made and some purchased (the Japanese ones from Joel and the Blue Spruce are all excellent).

On the whole I prefer skews to fishtails. It really depends on the wood. Fishtails are fine to push but some endgrain is extra tough and you need the "wiggle room" (as Joel put it) to get waste out of the corners.

Regards from Perth

Derek