Pfeil Chisel

[ken hatch]

So how are you liking the spyderco stones?

Bridger,

You know me, no mater the stone of the day I always go back to Arkansas Oil stones but I've been playing with the Spyderco's for awhile now. So far I haven't found a down side. They seem to stay as flat and maybe needing dressing less than oil stones, they cut O-1 and PM-v11 a little faster and leave a better polish. The scratch pattern isn't much different than natural stones so I guess the answer is I like at least for awhile until I go back to the oil .

ken

[george wilson]

I WILL SAY that whoever designed those UGLY,HORRIBLE handles for Pfiel chisels ought to be tossed out on his head!! I LOVE Pfiel tools,and their carving tools have nice handles,except for the years that they rubbed what looked like DIRTY MOTOR OIL on them!!

Thank Heavens they seem to have stopped that practice!!.

I DO like the steel they use,and the accuracy with which their chisels and carving tools are ground. I noticed that Addis(Is THAT the right name? Senior moment!!) apparently feeling out done,started polishing their carving tools also,even though there was nothing wrong with leaving the tempering colors and black undersides on them. I just like the finish on the Pfiels better. Pfiel carving tools do come with a sharp edge,BUT,it is an edge finished off by hitting it on a buffer,which I get rid of with a proper honing. Their new line of chisels are left with a very accurate,precision ground finish,and very square edges,not rounded off like the Hirsch and Two Cherries. AND without that thick coating of tough,very difficult to remove LACQUER. If you just use those lacquered chisels with the lacquer on them,the lacquer starts wearing off,leaving a mottled surface of bright(where the lacquer still is),and DULL surface,where the lacquer has worn off. MOST unattractive. My 1965 set of Marples chisels have a thin coat of lacquer,but,at least they aren't buffed.

Buffing is a skill that few understand how to do properly. If a workman is handed a chisel fresh from the grinder,and told to buff it smooth,it's a WONDER that they do it as well as they do. It takes a LOT of buffing to remove those ground surfaces! The grinding marks are quite deep,it seems,when you're trying to remove them. The chisels ought to be ACCURATELY finished with 600 Wet or Dry paper before buffing,to avoid the blunted edges and sluffed over surfaces. But,that would add too much work to making the chisels. So,it would just be best to leave them ground accurately and in a workman like way,which the workers are perfectly capable of doing.

I have very many antique carving tools,and as far as I am concerned,the Pfiels are as good as the best antiques. If I knew that,but had no Pfiel carving tools,I'd HASTEN to buy all I could afford before they somehow stop making them. These days factories close so quickly,and without any warning,it would be a wise thing to do.

[ken hatch]

I WILL SAY that whoever designed those UGLY,HORRIBLE handles for Pfiel chisels ought to be tossed out on his head!! I LOVE Pfiel tools,and their carving tools have nice handles,except for the years that they rubbed what looked like DIRTY MOTOR OIL on them!!

Thank Heavens they seem to have stopped that practice!!.

I DO like the steel they use,and the accuracy with which their chisels and carving tools are ground. I noticed that Addis(Is THAT the right name? Senior moment!!) apparently feeling out done,started polishing their carving tools also,even though there was nothing wrong with leaving the tempering colors and black undersides on them. I just like the finish on the Pfiels better. Pfiel carving tools do come with a sharp edge,BUT,it is an edge finished off by hitting it on a buffer,which I get rid of with a proper honing.

I have very many antique carving tools,and as far as I am concerned,the Pfiels are as good as the best antiques. If I knew that,but had no Pfiel carving tools,I'd HASTEN to buy all I could afford before they somehow stop making them. These days factories close so quickly,and without any warning,it would be a wise thing to do.

George,

Are you talking about the Carpenter Chisels or the Bench Chisels? They have different handles. I find the Carpenter Chisel handle perfect for my hand....The bench chisel I wouldn't even try because from looking I can tell it wouldn't work. Even though I need more chisel like another hole in my head I ordered a full set of the Carpenter chisels....Like you I worry about missing something good and these chisels are very good at any price. At the current price they are a bargain.

ken

[Kees Heiden]

Just one little nitpickety small thing. Lots of Americans write Pfiel, but the name is Pfeil, German for arrow.

So, the e comes first, then the i.

[Jim Koepke]

Just one little nitpickety small thing. Lots of Americans write Pfiel, but the name is Pfeil, German for arrow.

So, the e comes first, then the i.

Not sure if this is still how it is done, but in American schools they used to teach, "i before e except after c." As Americans become more acquainted with the rest of the world we learn there are a lot more exceptions to the rule.

jtk

[John Schtrumpf]

Or when sounded as ā , as in neighbor and weigh. So Pfeil is pronounced [fāl] .

Edit to add: I have the older Pfeil bench chisels, butt chisels and some carving gouges, and I like them.

[Christopher Charles]

If i recall my high school german correctly, ei is a hard 'i', thus pronounced 'file'. But that's all I know...

[David Eisenhauer]

Wandering far afield, gentlemen.

[Kees Heiden]

When you pronounce it like a file with a p in front, like pfile, and you add a German accent, then you are damned close.

And the name of the tool is intrinsic to its being, so this is not a drifting thread. 😄

[george wilson]

Plenty of English words that contradict that old adage "i before e except after c." But,the old teaching is what sticks in our heads.

[bridger berdel]

Plenty of English words that contradict that old adage "i before e except after c." But,the old teaching is what sticks in our heads.

English is a weird language.

[Christopher Charles]

I've been told that I'm out standing in my field (sic).

[george wilson]

I stood in bed once till noon. Then I got tired and laid down.