Bosch Bulldog Xtreme Tile Chisel

Why this chisel earned a place in my demo kit

Tile demo is one of those jobs where the right accessory makes or breaks your day. With an SDS-plus rotary hammer in hand, I put the Bulldog tile chisel through a full weekend of floor and shower tear-out. It quickly proved it’s more than just a flat piece of steel—its geometry, shank interface, and heat treatment all add up to faster removal and better control than a generic straight chisel.

Setup and compatibility

This is an SDS-plus shank chisel, 10 inches long with a 1.5-inch cutting edge. That matters for two reasons:

• It fits most mainstream rotary hammers that run SDS-plus bits (Bosch, Makita, Milwaukee, DeWalt, Metabo, and others).
• It’s not for SDS-max, spline, hex, or air hammers. If your tool isn’t SDS-plus, you’ll want the correct shank style or an adapter designed for hammer-only use.

I ran it in hammer-only mode with a mid-size SDS-plus rotary hammer. The 10-inch length is a good balance: long enough to keep your hands out of the debris field, short enough to maneuver in a shower pan or under cabinets. No adapter needed, just snap it into the chuck, set the angle, and go.

Design that actually helps you work faster

At first glance, it looks like a flat spade. The difference shows up once you start. The blade geometry sets a naturally low working angle that helps you slip under tile without constantly fighting the nose of the tool. Impact energy transfers consistently because the flat keeps the contact patch broad and stable, rather than point-loading and bouncing around. That stability translates directly into fewer stalls and less wrist-fatiguing chatter.

Bosch calls the edge self-sharpening. In practice, it means the bevel is shaped to wear in a way that maintains a fresh cutting lip rather than rounding over. Combined with inductive hardening, the steel shrugged off heat discoloration and mushrooming at the shank. After many hours of continuous hammering, the edge still bit cleanly without a trip to the grinder.

Floor tile performance

On a concrete slab with ceramic and porcelain, I found the sweet spot by keeping the blade just a few degrees off the surface and letting the hammer do the work. The chisel wants to pry rather than gouge, which is exactly what you want for intact tile pops. It lifted large sections at a time, often taking the tile off in big flakes once I opened a seam and worked laterally. Compared with a conventional narrow chisel, the Bulldog chisel covered more area per pass and resisted digging into the slab. That alone saved me a lot of time and cleanup.

Porcelain set with a well-keyed thinset is always tougher. Here, the technique mattered: I scored grout lines first, then attacked at the edge of a tile to create a gap. Once under the tile, the chisel’s flat profile kept it moving. I still hit the stubborn ones from two sides, but overall pace felt meaningfully quicker than with a straight, non-tile-specific chisel.

Shower pan and wall work

In a tiled shower pan over a mortar bed, the chisel’s size was ideal. The 1.5-inch edge fits neatly into tight corners and around drains, and the 10-inch length kept the hammer inside the pan without crowding me against the curb. On cement board walls, I used light pressure and a low angle to keep from bursting through the substrate. It’s not a surgical instrument—tile demo never is—but the control is there if you don’t force it.

Grout and thinset removal

The blade will track along grout joints effectively, especially if you tilt slightly to concentrate pressure. For thinset left on slab, it does a respectable job chipping high spots and ridges, but it’s not a finishing scraper. If you need a near paint-ready surface, you’ll still follow up with a floor scraper or a grinder with a diamond cup. The Bulldog chisel gets you from “tile everywhere” to “flat enough to finish” quickly.

Edge retention and durability

This is where the self-sharpening claim matters. Over the course of a large demo, I didn’t have to stop and regrind. The edge kept a crisp bite and the blade didn’t deform. Heat-treated steel resists peening at the shank, and the SDS-plus grooves showed no premature wear despite frequent angle adjustments. If you’ve used cheaper chisels that round off and skate after a few hours, the difference here is noticeable.

Control, vibration, and ergonomics

Every chisel transmits vibration; the question is how predictable it feels. With the Bulldog chisel, the flat profile helps reduce sideways jump when the edge hits uneven adhesive or a grout hump. The tool stayed planted, and I could feather the angle to avoid digging into the slab. I ran anti-vibration gloves and a side handle—as I recommend for any prolonged hammering—and felt less fatigue than I typically do with narrower points that require more finesse to keep on track.

One practical note: because the blade is only 1.5 inches wide, you’re concentrating force in a small area. That’s great for breaking the bond but not ideal for scraping broad films. Know its lane and it excels.

Where it shines, and where it doesn’t

Shines:
- Ceramic and porcelain floor tile on slab
- Shower pans and tight spaces where a long scraper won’t fit
- Quick scoring and separation along grout lines
- Situations where you want the tile to pop off in larger chunks

Less ideal:
- Thick mud-bed floors where a heavier SDS-max setup is warranted
- Removing broad, thin films of adhesive; a wide floor scraper or grinder is better
- Soft substrates (plywood, gypsum) where a razor scraper is safer for the surface
- Non–SDS-plus tools; this isn’t for air hammers, impact drivers, or hex shanks

Speed versus a conventional chisel

Bosch advertises faster removal than a conventional tile chisel. Side by side, I saw real time savings. The flat angle and stable edge meant fewer stalls and less rework at the edges of tiles. While I won’t hang a precise percentage on it—every install is different—the pace improved enough that I finished earlier than expected and with less collateral damage to the slab.

Tips for best results

• Set your rotary hammer to hammer-only and run at a moderate BPM; let the bit do the work.
• Start at a free edge or create one by scoring grout, then work laterally under tiles.
• Keep a shallow angle to avoid gouging the substrate and to encourage prying action.
• Rotate the chisel in the chuck occasionally to distribute wear evenly along the edge.
• Use dust control and PPE: eye protection, hearing protection, gloves, and a vacuum.

Value

As a single-purpose accessory, this chisel earns its keep quickly if you do even one medium-size demo. The durability means you aren’t pausing to sharpen, and it survives the kind of heat and impact that chew up bargain bits. If you already own an SDS-plus hammer, the upgrade from a generic flat chisel to this tile-specific blade is easy to justify.

Recommendation

I recommend the Bulldog tile chisel to anyone tackling ceramic or porcelain tile removal with an SDS-plus rotary hammer. It’s faster and more controllable than a generic chisel, the edge holds up, and the design makes it easier to pry tiles off in larger pieces with less effort. If your work leans toward heavy mud-bed demolition or you only own non–SDS-plus hammers, look for the appropriate shank or a larger platform. For most residential tile tear-outs on slab or cement board, though, this chisel is the right tool—and it makes a hard job go a whole lot smoother.