For soft wood, the cutting angle (or bevel, or bezel) of chisels, gouges and plane-irons, is small, even as low as 20 deg.; for hard wood, it must be greater.

For metals, it varies from 54 deg.

for wrought iron to 66 deg.

for gun metal.
[Illustration: Fig.61.Edge and Wedge Action With the Grain.] [Illustration: Fig.62.Edge and Wedge Action Across the Grain.] Ordinarily a cutting tool should be so applied that the face nearest the material lies as nearly as possible in the direction of the cut desired, sufficient clearance being necessary to insure contact of the actual edge.
There are two methods of using edge tools: one, the chisel or straight cut, by direct pressure; the other, the knife or sliding cut.
The straight cut, Fig.

63, takes place when the tool is moved into the material at right angles to the cutting edge.