A Tribute to England

Here in the United States, much of our hand tool heritage comes from England. One of my customers was interested in a set of Dovetail Chisels but he wanted them to have octagonal handles which some call a "London Pattern".  Also, he was hoping to get them in the traditional English Boxwood.  It happened that I had several logs of very old boxwood (see my previous blog on wood addiction!) that was waiting for glory.  It was quite a feat to extract enough suitable blanks from the cracked and twisted logs but after a couple of hours of careful carving with a band saw, I was able to get just enough blanks. I designed the handles to be similar in style to traditional London pattern. However, they are quite a bit smaller than antique originals I have seen and better fit the size and weight of my dovetail blades. Turning boxwood is a pleasure and if you have not yet tried it, you are missing out.  I hope these chisels will last for many many years and be passed down through generations.