Wood Chisel (3/4-inch)

A wood chisel with a three-quarter inch blade. Width is what a chisel is chosen by, and three quarters of an inch is the useful middle: broad enough to pare a flat surface cleanly in one bearing, narrow enough to work inside a mortice or a hinge recess without overshooting the line. It is the chisel that gets used most in door and window work - cutting hinge and lock recesses, trimming tenons and housings, cleaning out mortices, easing a sticking door, and paring back a proud joint. A chisel is only as good as its edge: hone it regularly on a stone, and strike it with a mallet or the palm rather than a steel hammer, which splits handles and mushrooms the end.