A few years ago, I was given a large box of old tools by my son-in-law’s family. It was the kind of box you take your time with, digging through piece by piece, not quite knowing what you’ll find.

Among them was a D. R. Barton beveled framing chisel. The blade was still solid, but the top of the wooden handle had been shattered from years of hammering. Someone long ago had wrapped it in muslin soaked in creosote to hold it together. It did the job, but it was clearly a stopgap.

I decided it deserved better.

I started by cleaning and buffing the cast steel. Then I turned a new handle from Garry oak, fitting it with a brass bezel at the top so it could safely take hammer blows. The bezel was made from a one-inch brass compression nut, screwed on and rounded on the lathe with a metal file. Once fitted, I stained and waxed the handle to protect it and bring out the character of the wood.

The blade itself needed attention too. I ground a fresh hollow grind and re-sharpened it, bringing it back to working condition.

D. R. Barton was an American toolmaker best known in the 19th century for high-quality edge tools. The patent date of 1832 on this chisel suggests it was likely manufactured sometime after 1874, which puts it at roughly 150 years old. Even so, it’s now back in as-new working order and ready for another long life at the bench.

To finish the handle, I custom-fit the wood into the chisel socket, hollowing it slightly and cushioning it with old denim soaked in Type III wood glue. That gives a snug, shock-absorbing fit, the kind that holds up to real use.

Tools like this remind me why I enjoy this work. Someone made it carefully. Someone used it hard. Now it’s ready to be used again. That feels right.