Stone chisel question??? What type. ????

[Bobo Greybeard]

Quick question for someone with more knowledge than me.  I am trying to pick up some additional field gear .  When it comes to the wider cold chisels with the handguard, which one am I suppose to buy?  What I mean is Home Depot has several "different" types of wide / larger chisels.  My options at HD are a floor, mason, brick, and an electricians chisel.  All of these are the blue cold chisels.  I am on a fixed disability income, so I have to be careful and try to get the proper tools the first time.  LoL

 

Thanks in advance for help or information pointing me in the right direction.

 

Stay safe all,

Bobo

[Ludwigia]

I dunno about Home Depot, but if you want real quality that lasts for a long time, then I swear by Estwing tools. A worthy investment.

[Bobo Greybeard]

29 minutes ago, Ludwigia said:

if you want real quality that lasts for a long time, then I swear by Estwing tools. A worthy investment.

 

One of the only Tools I made sure to get when  my Grandfather' passed away was an old 33 oz Estwing framing hammer.  I always felt like I was the King of the World when my Grandfather let me use it as a kid.  Now it has replaced my old Estwing in my tool belt.  I have never in my 50 years seen an Estwing hammer/axe break.  I haven't even heard of it happening.

 

Thanks for sending my mind down memory lane.  It made me both chuckle and smile.

 

Stay safe,

Bobo

[rocket]

For my opinion Estwing is the best till now. I tried several low-cost tools, chissels, hammers but do never again.

Buy Estwing or high quality tools, you can use them many many years with full satisfaction

[Bobo Greybeard]

I think I may have asked my question in the wrong manner.  What I am looking for is what type of wide chisel with guard do I get or does it really matter.  I have seen mason chisel, brick chisels, even electrician chisels.  I am always going to buy Estwing, when available.  I do not know what type of cold chisels to get other than a cold chisel  with a guard.

 

Thanks to everyone who have already posted and to those who will.be posting with advice.  Thank you all and happy hunting.

 

Stay safe, 

Bobo

Edited August 29, 2022 by Bobo Greybeard

[DPS Ammonite]

From personal experience wear gloves and eye protection. Get longer than normal big chisels because when the rock splits your hand and the rock are on a collision course. Get both flat and star points of various sizes. Match hammer size and weight to chisel size. I use the small chisels with really light weight regular hammers to do finesse work. Plastic guards are nice, but are bulky to carry. Estwing and masonry chisels are ok. Also, consider getting a slightly heavier Estwing hammer with a larger head. The bigger the head, the more likely that you are going to hit your chisel. 

 

I like:
24 oz. Big Blue Rock Pick Hammer by Estwing E6-24PC 

Edited August 29, 2022 by DPS Ammonite

[FossilNerd]

It really depends on the type of rock that you are bashing as to what type of chisel will work and what won’t. A chisel made for wood might be ok on a softer mudstone, but I would not recommend it for a harder rock like dolomite.
 

That being said, if you are looking for a general purpose chisel type I’d recommend staying with the brick/concrete/rock/mason chisels. They are made to handle rock type material.

 

And as everyone else stated, and you already know, you can’t go wrong with Estwing.  

[Bob Saunders]

My experience cracking hard geodes is that with the Home Depot chisels with the yellow or orange hand grip is, the blade edge flattened. Maybe they are a much harder material than you will encounter? 

[Bobo Greybeard]

On 8/28/2022 at 10:41 PM, DPS Ammonite said:

 Also, consider getting a slightly heavier Estwing hammer with a larger head. The bigger the head, the more likely that you are going to hit your chisel. 

 

I like:
24 oz. Big Blue Rock Pick Hammer by Estwing E6-24PC 

 

At the moment I have the 22 oz. Estwing Rock Pick , a Knock off 24 oz (I believe) Chisel Back fiberglass handle Geology hammer, and last but not least by any means,  the 3lbs mini sledge pictured below.

 

 

Thank you and stay safe,

Bobo

[Bobo Greybeard]

8 hours ago, Bob Saunders said:

My experience cracking hard geodes is that with the Home Depot chisels with the yellow or orange hand grip is, the blade edge flattened. Maybe they are a much harder material than you will encounter? 

 

Thank you for the heads up on the chisels.

 

Stay safe,

Bobo