Timber Framers Guild Forums Tools Tool Forum What to look for in a slick? Which one to get?

I thinkDevin has very good points. To my mind a "slick" is not a 2" chisel but a much wider and heavier tool.

A heavy tool carries momentum that helps to shave and pare down the inside face of a mortise, or across the flat of a scarf table. (In fact the etymology of the word comes from "slice.") The mass also damps and steadies the motion. That leaves one's energy available for precise guidance, rather than providing brute force, and the long handle allows very good control of the angle. A razor edge is mandatory.

I use a lightly radiused edge, and the slick functions as a giant plane. Lovely tool - when I am handling it I feel I'm channeling the spirit of medieval craftspeople.

Pete