Originally Posted by
Luke Dupont
The reason I was given, at least, is safety. If the bevel is up, and the back is flat against the bench, there's far less chance of running your hand into the edge.
It also occurs to me that it might serve to help protect the edge from getting dinged just as with a plane.
Good point about cutting into the bench, though!
I guess the best option would be to have one of those chisel holding slots as some people put in their split-top benches!
That does make sense. I used to drop them in to a dog hole at times. Then got a nicked hand from one when reaching under the bench. Sometimes I use a rack on top of the bench to keep them from moving around.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)