My grandfather's chisel taught me a lesson at 2am

Trying to fix a stuck window frame in my 1930s bungalow in Portland, I grabbed his old chisel instead of my new set, and it slipped, gouging the wood deeper than the original problem. I had to fill the whole gap with wood epoxy and repaint, took me 3 hours, but now I keep that chisel in a drawer, not my toolbox, and I'm wondering if anyone else has an inherited tool they just can't trust anymore?

1 comments

1 Comment

the_max17d ago

That chisel is doing exactly what it was made to do, and blaming it for your slip is like blaming a hammer for hitting your thumb. Every tool has a learning curve, and your grandfather's old iron has a different weight and balance than your new set, which is why it caught you off guard. Keep it in the toolbox, not the drawer, and spend a few minutes practicing with it on scrap wood so you can earn its trust back instead of treating it like some cursed relic.