Chisel

 A new chisel for use in mineral collecting

The old chisel that had was just that, an old chisel. Bare steel, hexagonal shape, and no branding.  The end not mushroomed, as it did not have extra width at the tip.  The end however did have it share of wear.  My father gave it to me before a was even a teen.  I returned from a rock collecting trip several years ago and forgot to remove my hammer and chisel from the plastic bucket.  This might not have been a problem, but the weather had turned to rain that day and I left everything in the closed bucket for months. The geologist pick had a large amount of rust on it, but I felt it was worth recovery.  The amount of rust on the chisel called for its retirement.

I decided it was time to get a new chisel to replace the old one.  I reached out to a mineral collectors looked on line a bit as I was not aware if there were any advances in better material or styles in chisels for use in rock collecting.

Most of the recommendations that I got where to get a well known name brand.  The most mentioned were Estwing, Mayhew, and Irwin.  I was told that cheaper imports were prone to wear quickly.

The size of the chisel can vary with the user's need.  My thought is for breaking rock in the field it is best to avoid a chisel with too wide of a blade. A smaller width can help concentrate the force of the impact.

Some chisels have options that sound interesting such as carbide tips.  I don't field collect all that often so things like don't appeal to me.  The price difference is too excessive for my taste.  If I was out more often, though, I'd likely consider it. 

A few friends offered me their used items that they said were in good shape.  I imagine they would sell to me at a very good price, or perhaps even give it to me. I did not inquire further since having the old chisel for so many years, I opted to go for a change with a new one.  Then again, sometimes a chisel is just a chisel.

I found an Irwin chisel at a Lowe's store.  The size is 7/8 on an inch (22mm). At the time of this posting, I've yet to go out with it, but you can be sure on my return that I will not leave it in a bucket.