Wood Chisel (1/2-inch)

A wood chisel with a half-inch blade. Narrower than the three-quarter, and chosen for exactly that: a chisel can never cut wider than its own blade without overshooting the line, so tight work needs a narrow one. Half an inch suits cutting and cleaning small mortices, letting in small hinges, catches, strike plates and locks, working into a corner or a stopped housing, trimming small tenons, and paring where a wider blade would run past the mark. Joiners keep several widths for the same reason a mechanic keeps several spanners. Keep the edge honed on a stone, strike it with a mallet or the heel of the hand rather than a steel hammer, and never use it to lever - chisel blades snap sideways.