Ice chisels are a quintessential piece of winter gear. Under nearly all circumstances, chiseling a hole through the ice to access the liquid water underneath is much faster and more efficient than melting snow. They also open up the possibility of ice fishing, and even polar dipping!

2020 Redesign!

Our ice chisels have undergone a complete redesign for 2020, and nearly all aspects of the design have now been improved! Here's a quick summary of the improvements we've made:

The head has been completely reworked and is now an integrated, 1-piece blade and ferrule construction. This makes it much easier to carry just the head into the field and cut a handle in the bush at your campsite, if desired. This also makes it much easier to field replace a broken handle, though we don't think you'll ever break our 1-3/4" ash handles!
We have slightly reduced the handle diameter. The octagonal shape is comfortable and easy to grip;
We have moved the leash location higher on the handle, which we find places it further out of the way and is more convenient to use.
2-part chisels: now have a much more robust, stable connection, using threaded conduit;
2-part chisels: have been slightly shortened, placing the joint at a more comfortable position below your hands.

Available Options

All our ice chisels include a full-grain leather sheath and a simple wrist strap (essential to keep from losing your chisel in the lake!). We can install a 6 1/2' hardwood handle, or sell just the head and sheath alone and you cut your own handle in the bush. But our personal favourite option is our newly-developed 2-part take-down chisel handles. Using a premium, milled ash handle and threaded conduit this chisel breaks down to just under 3' for transportation and re-assembles in just seconds! Our take-down chisel is also a more economical shipping option!

Handle Lengths, 1-piece chisels

The maximum length we can ship via Canada Post/ USPS is 6-1/2' (2m). We think this is adequate for most people to chisel through up to 2' of ice, with just a bit of bending at the end if you're going through thick ice. Really tall people, or those regularly going through more than 2' of ice may want a longer handle. We may be able to ship longer handles via couriers or have them available for local pickup, if you're coming to Sudbury, Ontario.

Handle Lengths, 2-piece chisels

Our standard 2-part chisel is ~68" long. We think this is adequate for about 18" of ice with minimal bending. This gives halves that are only 34" long, for very easy packing and transport, and it places the joint below the typical starting position on the handle. For those wanting longer handles, please contact us, we can easily add 8" - 12" to each half, for a total of 16 - 24" more length, or more, if necessary. If you would like a 3-part, take-down chisel for a really long chisel that is still easy to pack, we can offer that too. Please contact us for custom work.

Edged Tools