Rebuilding ratchets, cleaning the welder tips and nozzles, and oiling air tools all fall under the umbrella of things we know we should do, but don’t until a job stops. Dressing chisels and punches, however, is a housekeeping task I’ve found not everyone knows they should be doing. In the spirit of safety: dress your punches and chisels!

Chisels and punches need maintenance. The business end of your chisels and taper punches can deform under use as you likely know. (You’re not beating the tar out of your pin punches, I would hope.) Chisels occasionally need their edges restored, and punches sometimes need to be cleaned up as well. I personally prefer a nice round, flat striking face on my punches, just like my tools had when they were new. Same goes for the chisels: a nice cutting edge simply makes them work better.

However, it’s the other end that gets dangerous. The end you beat on, I mean. The harder you hit it, the more it peens over—they “mushroom.” Those mushroomed sections, though, turn into a giant liability, because occasionally they break free. I’ve busted them myself when I was younger and dumber. Now I know better. I dress my tools—both ends.