Is a sharp chisel safer to use than a blunt chisel?

This is very much the case. The reason is because a sharp chisel is going to take less time to use. It’s like a knife. When a knife gets blunt, it doesn’t cut. It rips and tears. That’s why a lot of people choose to sharpen their good cutting knives.

It’s the same with a blunt chisel. It won’t get into the material as well, since the edge has dulled, and it’ll take longer. You could even risk missing the material and hurting someone if the edge of the chisel slipped accidentally because it couldn’t get into the stone or whatever you’re trying to break up.

So, the takeaway is that you should always use a sharp chisel when you can.