- Joined
- Mar 4, 2011
- Messages
- 515
It's just a simple chisel, nothing fancy except a half way guard, a composite 'bi-material' handle, and carbon chrome steel construction and steel cap on its behind. Oh, and did I mention it has a thick spine, a chisel head, and, you guessed it, a blade on one side with deep, monster rope cutting serrations? This is not your everyday chisel, this is the Side Strike Chisel. (Sorry if my attempts to sound okay are failing. My dog, Buffy, is on the decline, and I am on the decline, as well...not a good thing when you were running uphill to begin with, that decline becomes a sheer drop...ah, whatever, don't want to spoil anyone's happiness with my petty drivel. On to the chisel.)
When I got mine, however, I was somehow coming away from the purchase expecting some hair-scaring, revolutionarily sharp blade, and I was rather disappointed to find it had a comparatively macroscopic edge on its super innovative blade that makes up it's name, the Side Strike chisel. The chisel blade, thankfully, is far from a loss. It functions beautifully, and despite superficial dings right out of the 'box', it performed admirably on some pine tree slices I picked up (for free) recently. The spine of the Side Strike is beautifully thick and tough, so is the buttcap on the end. Sure, it dinged marvelously after some persuasive hits from the Annihilator by Dead On, but the cap is still intact, and I certainly was not by the end of my test session (a poke at my miserable physical condition, to which my father would reply, instinctively 'GET OVER IT!!') So, I'm sorry to say, but if you like out of the box sharpness in your revolutionary bladed chisels, than you should wait until they work out the kinks in quality control/money, or get yourself a Razel knife instead. I have not tested out the serrations yet, but I will in just two seconds on some paracord, hold on everyone...and I'm back, with severed paracord. And I'm sure it would have been one pass, not two, that would have cut it, if it had come sharper, but that was the first time I saw big time serrations like that in action, and I believe in them now. Good stuff, it was hardly any effort required. This will be my go to tool, I feel it in my relatively young bones. Here, have a picture:
So, this is David, your resident young toolmonger, and he gives DeWalt/Stanley's Side Strike Chisel 4 1/2 stars outta five. Do not expect for it to trump a real knife. Just use it when your knife is on the other side of the garage and you need that cable severed now, not later once it catches fire from overheating, or something dramatic like that. It's a multi-tool, if that tells you anything. You can never beat a purpose built tool with a multi, but if you have twenty four different purposes in your face, get a leatherman or victorinox, and grab them all by the horns, instead of lugging twenty four tools around. That's my advice. Peace to all.
David
When I got mine, however, I was somehow coming away from the purchase expecting some hair-scaring, revolutionarily sharp blade, and I was rather disappointed to find it had a comparatively macroscopic edge on its super innovative blade that makes up it's name, the Side Strike chisel. The chisel blade, thankfully, is far from a loss. It functions beautifully, and despite superficial dings right out of the 'box', it performed admirably on some pine tree slices I picked up (for free) recently. The spine of the Side Strike is beautifully thick and tough, so is the buttcap on the end. Sure, it dinged marvelously after some persuasive hits from the Annihilator by Dead On, but the cap is still intact, and I certainly was not by the end of my test session (a poke at my miserable physical condition, to which my father would reply, instinctively 'GET OVER IT!!') So, I'm sorry to say, but if you like out of the box sharpness in your revolutionary bladed chisels, than you should wait until they work out the kinks in quality control/money, or get yourself a Razel knife instead. I have not tested out the serrations yet, but I will in just two seconds on some paracord, hold on everyone...and I'm back, with severed paracord. And I'm sure it would have been one pass, not two, that would have cut it, if it had come sharper, but that was the first time I saw big time serrations like that in action, and I believe in them now. Good stuff, it was hardly any effort required. This will be my go to tool, I feel it in my relatively young bones. Here, have a picture:
So, this is David, your resident young toolmonger, and he gives DeWalt/Stanley's Side Strike Chisel 4 1/2 stars outta five. Do not expect for it to trump a real knife. Just use it when your knife is on the other side of the garage and you need that cable severed now, not later once it catches fire from overheating, or something dramatic like that. It's a multi-tool, if that tells you anything. You can never beat a purpose built tool with a multi, but if you have twenty four different purposes in your face, get a leatherman or victorinox, and grab them all by the horns, instead of lugging twenty four tools around. That's my advice. Peace to all.
David
... actually make that a definite 
) because of ridiculous legislation that makes no logical headway, which is fact, not opinion. My grandmother has a stiff, but good enough piece of thick, suede leather from a wood carrier. I had plans for a belt out of that, but I realize it is too flimsy for the rigidity requirements of a belt. But a sheath requires less rigidity, I think... I might consult Noah, Heber, or some other leatherworker, to find out for certain...or I could just grow a set and find out instead of nattering away about what if's. Anyway, I got a wood burning set, so I might dress it up with some cool little patterns or something as a test to see if I am worth anything when it comes to pyrography.