Bill Tindall
A bolster is not necessary for a tanged chisel but if it is desired for what ever reason the chisel does not have to be forged to have a bolster. Once again the knife makers have pioneered the way. The modern high performance tool steels are heat treated at such a high temperature that silver soldering does not soften these hardened steels. The knife makers have shown that a bolster can be silver soldered onto the heat treated blade with no loss of hardness to the blade. edge.

Hence, an amateur tool maker can employ modern steel and heat treating along with simple sawing, grinding and silver soldering, if you must, to yield a chisel of equivalent form, and more or less equivalent function, as a forged tool.