Parting tools have many uses including parting wood through, cutting tenons for holding in a chuck, sizing cuts to gauge how much wood to remove and more.

The closeup photo shows the diamond shape of the body with the middle of the blade being wider than the edges. This presents a smaller surface to the side of the cut and allows for less friction therefore less heat, burning, or binding in the cut. Ron prefers an included angle of between 35 and 40 degrees.