Bevel angle: how low can you go?

[Frederick Skelly]

(Sounds like an ad for a Limbo contest, doesn't it?)

I'm curious - what's the lowest bevel angle you've been able to effectively use in a set of chisels used for paring (either with the grain or on end grain)? What advantages did you get going that low? What disadvantages did you experience besides more chipping and more frequent touch-ups?

The backstory. I bought some of the $7 Aldi chisels and put a 20* primary and 22* secondary bevel on them for paring short parts. They work just fine on the soft woods I often use. The edge needs replenished more often, but that was expected at a lower angle in a $7 tool. Lately, I read a post where someone (Jim K?) said he goes as shallow as a 15* bevel on certain chisels. That made me wonder if an even shallower bevel angle than my 22* was useful, and in what applications?

Look forward to hearing your experiences here!

Fred

[Dave Anderson NH]

I have used a 20 degree bevel angle on my paring chisels for years and have found no need to go lower. Mine as antique James Swans.

[Bill McDermott]

Wondering the same thing, I took a couple chisels down to 20 degrees. 1/4" and 1". They were both vintage tools. I only use them for light paring. They work great. On occasion, I will get carried away and have chipped the edge, but know I am overdoing it when it happens. For the most part, they work great. The 1/4" is a long chisel and can finish work in a back corner or otherwise difficult place to get at. It really, really cuts. The wide chisel works great across the grain on a tenon, for example. I also use it to slice from a surface where a plane will not go, e.g. inside corner. I don't use them very often, but am happy to have them handy. Sometimes, I just grab them to finish a job that would otherwise require a stop in the action to sharpen my regular chisels. 20 degrees is a noticeable difference from the 30 degrees on my regular set.

[Tony Wilkins]

I don't know enough to answer this but doesn't the steel have some bearing on the answer? I have a blue spruce parer in A2 and don't think I can take it below 30* really (my understanding) and 25* definitely.

[Kees Heiden]

Once when dovetailing western red ceder I grinded the bevel down to 17 degrees or so, definitely sub 20. It was the only way to get halfway decent cuts without too much crushing of the endgrain. When I started out with a more regular 25 degrees, there was hardly any wood intact inside the dovetail sockets. It might have been my skill level at that time of course.

Anyway, I had to sharpen very often. The edge folded over all the time. These were some non descript, rather modern Nooitgedagt ones, probably one of these low alloy carbon steels with a little tungsten mixed in.

[Jim Koepke]

A few of my Buck Brothers chisels are ground to a 15º angle. The edge is a bit more delicate than my chisels ground at a higher angle. The paring action on softwoods mostly used in my work is worth the extra attention one must give to the edge and in use.

If one is only going to have a single set of chisels, it likely would be better to use a higher angle. For my purpose it works out to keep one set of paring chisels, another set of butt chisels, anther set for heavier work and then a bunch of miscellaneous chisels for various other needs.

jtk

[Dan Barr]

My experience; 15 for soft wood, 25 for hard. No backbevel. But, i have a bunch of floats too. If paring gets dicey or if i think i'm not accurate enough, then i go to the shooting board or the floats depending on what im doing.

[Mike Henderson]

I've only tried 20*. Never tried lower because I never felt the need to. This was on both vintage chisels and modern chisels.

The paring I've done has not been extensive - just touch up stuff.

I've also used higher angles - 25* and even 30* - and was able to get the work done. Lower just pushes easier.

Mike

[Chris Hachet]

(Sounds like an ad for a Limbo contest, doesn't it?)


Fred

I first read this as a Lambo contest and I am thinking Lamborghini and Italian sports car....

[Chris Hachet]

Interesting, I did not know angles that low would work well.

[Chris Hachet]

A few of my Buck Brothers chisels are ground to a 15º angle. The edge is a bit more delicate than my chisels ground at a higher angle. The paring action on softwoods mostly used in my work is worth the extra attention one must give to the edge and in use.

If one is only going to have a single set of chisels, it likely would be better to use a higher angle. For my purpose it works out to keep one set of paring chisels, another set of butt chisels, anther set for heavier work and then a bunch of miscellaneous chisels for various other needs.

jtk

havehave
I found it hugely helpful to a bunch of different chisels set up different ways for different needs....I agree with your post completely.

[Jim Koepke]

I've only tried 20*. Never tried lower because I never felt the need to. This was on both vintage chisels and modern chisels.

The paring I've done has not been extensive - just touch up stuff.

I've also used higher angles - 25* and even 30* - and was able to get the work done. Lower just pushes easier.

Mike

One of my first used Buck Brothers chisels came with a 15º bevel. It worked so well I decided to keep it that way.

jtk