Ashley Iles Dovetail Chisels

The delightful 1⁄16" (1.5mm) Ashley Iles Dovetail chisel is perfect for very fine dovetailing work.

The chisel blade is short in order to give it sufficient strength and stiffness. To the same end, Ashley Iles Dovetail chisels are hardened right through the bolster, so only the tang is soft.

If you enjoy producing the very finest of joinery, this is one of those tools that will make you smile every time you pick it up.

Please note that due to the handmade nature of these items there may be some slight variation in sizing.

The ⅛" (3mm) Ashley Iles Dovetail chisel is an absolute treasure for trimming the baseline of fine fiddly dovetails.

This chisel is also good for slightly larger dovetail sockets where you can slip it through the narrow neck and pare away the waste.

An exquisitely delicate little tool that will help you out of all sorts of tight spots.

The ¼" (6mm) dovetail chisel offers such slight resistance that you are unlikely to need extra persuasion, even in very hard timbers (we tested them in kiln dried Iroko).

The ⅜" (9mm) Ashley Iles Dovetail chisel is the workhorse of the dovetail set perfect for chopping and paring away material as it takes a little more pressure, but responds well to a light tap with a mallet if necessary.

With these chisels we do advocate trying them with the original 25 degree bevel angle rather than going straight to secondary bevels. The steel is up to the job and the ease with which they will pare endgrain is a pleasure to behold.

The ½" (13mm) and ¾" (19mm) Ashley Iles Dovetail chisels are ideal for chunkier work like blanket boxes or chests.

These chisels also extend the range of possibilities for advanced decorative joinery.

Hand forged and ground in Lincolnshire from O1 high carbon tool steel and hardened to RC60-61.

It may sound like a ridiculously wide size for a dovetail chisel but you'd be amazed how often the 1" (25mm) Ashley Iles Dovetail chisel comes in handy.

Cleaning between widely spaced pins, using one edge at a time for the final paring stroke on the cheeks of sockets etc.

The rounded back of this chisel makes it supremely comfortable to pare. The blade is wafer thin and the balance is absolutely perfect.

If I have an 'any chisel will do' situation, this is almost invariably the one that I will reach for first.

Approximate measurements: