Years ago, it was common practice to sell unhandled tools. Craftsmen bought chisel blades then fashioned their own handles to meet their specific needs. This made perfect sense as who is better suited to make wood chisel handles than craftsman. Craftsman were able to make handles that better fit their hands, were designed for the task at hand and that used whatever wood was readily available. A custom handle can be turned on the lathe from your favorite wood in a few minutes. Even without a lathe, a handle can be quickly shaped using a rasp, chisel, drawknife or spokeshave. These unhandled chisel blades are made in the Narex factory in the small village of Bystrice in the Czech Republic. The Narex factory was founded in 1919 by Mr. Vaclav Richter, a local blacksmith who began producing chisels and gimlets. To this day, Narex is best known for making an extensive range of high quality, reasonably priced bench chisels. While the Narex factory has modernized a great deal over the past century, it still retains many traditional manufacturing methods. Chisels are still produced in the original Bystrice factory site using old-world drop-forging techniques which greatly enhance the strength and durability of the steel. To commemorate its 100 anniversary, Narex developed a new line of Richter Extra premium bench chisels named after their founder. The Richter Extra chisels are the finest chisels Narex has produced in its 100-year history. This line of chisels is made from the finest materials available, have undergone superior heat treatment and been manufactured using the most stringent manufacturing processes. The new line of Richter Extra chisels will rival any premium chisel on the market today. BLADES: Richter chisel blades are made from the highest quality Chrome Manganese (Cr-V) steel using traditional drop-forging methods. Blades are then hardened, cryogenically treated and tempered to achieve a minimal hardness of 62 HRc. Cryogenic treatment cools the steel down to −190° C (-310° F) using liquid nitrogen which alters the mechanical properties of the steel at the molecular level greatly increasing its strength, toughness and wear resistance. Subsequent fine-grinding and polishing ensure a mirror-like surface with ultra-thin sides (.5mm) allowing reach into very tight spaces, making them the perfect chisel for cleaning out dovetails. The front bevel is ground at 24 degrees. Blanks come with square, untapered tangs. The tang hole must be properly sized to ensure a tight fit without splitting the handle. In general, a 3/8" pilot hole works well for most American compressive hardwoods such as hickory, maple, ash and oak. This hole size may need to be reduced for softer woods or enlarged for harder exotics. Blanks come with a solid stainless ferrule and a leather shock washer. Stainless steel ferrules have an OD of 0.750", ID of 0.670", and height of 0.710". The ferrules have inside bevels for easy insertion and are properly annealed (hardened) to prevent splitting when tangs are driven into the handle. Each ferrule has a lasered Richter logo.