Klein Tools Cold Chisel

Six sizes: 3/8 x 6 inch (66140), 1/2 x 6 inch (66142), 5/8 x 6-1/2 inch (66143), 3/4 x 7-1/2 inch (66144), 7/8 inch (66145), and 1 x 8-1/2 inch (66146). The narrower blades concentrate force for splitting rivets, cutting bolts, or starting a cut in sheet metal; the 3/4 and 1 inch widths are what you want for shearing and shaping larger stock where you need a wider bite per blow.

Klein's cold chisels are forged from heat-treated, high-carbon steel, which is what gives the cutting edge enough hardness to cut, shape and remove metal without rolling over. That covers unhardened steel work: shearing rivets and bolts, splitting nuts, trimming plate and bar stock. The chisel edge must be harder than the work, so hardened fasteners and heat-treated stock are not what it is for. Always wear approved eye protection when striking.

No. A cold chisel is built for metal, and the Klein chisels are described as cutting, shaping and removing metal. Driving a cold chisel into concrete or brick dulls and chips the edge fast. For masonry you want a masonry or brick chisel, or an SDS point in a rotary hammer. Keep the cold chisel for rivets, bolts, pins and sheet or bar stock.

Yes, Klein's cold chisels are made in the USA. That matters if you are buying against a domestic-preference requirement on a government, school or healthcare purchase order.

If you are stocking one, the 1/2 x 6 inch (66142) is the general-purpose pick: short enough to swing in a panel or a tight junction, wide enough to shear a seized bolt or trim strut. Crews doing more cutting usually carry two, the 1/2 inch plus the 1 x 8-1/2 inch (66146) for heavier stock. Full range of orderable sizes runs 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, 7/8 and 1 inch.

The chisels carry a corrosion resistant black finish, so they hold up better than a bare forged tool in a truck bed or an unheated shop. The finish is on the body, not the ground cutting edge, so wipe the edge down after wet work.

The 1 x 8-1/2 inch chisel, model 66146, weighs 1.31 pounds. That is the heaviest of the six sizes, and the mass is part of why it transfers a harder blow than the 3/8 or 1/2 inch chisels. If you are assembling a kit for a toolbelt rather than a bench, the shorter 6 inch chisels are the lighter carry.

A ball peen or engineer's hammer on the struck head, never a claw hammer face and never another chisel. These are solid heat-treated high-carbon steel with no hand guard, so grip low on the shank and wear approved eye protection, which Klein calls out directly. Dress the struck end if it starts to mushroom.