# chisels,chisels,chisels



## neilyweely (1 May 2008)

ok folks, I have had a good look at my little chisel collection and managed to identify most, but I have a few I am having trouble with.
Two look like they might be called stormont? I can only see ....mont on one and think I can see ..tormont on the other. Any ideas? One of them is shaped like a sort of knife, and has the fat edge sharpened to a chisel end. I will take a photo of em and post it soon.

There is a G or C Nurse and Co, Sheffield steel inch firmer, and a gouge chisel that looks like it may be called something woodcock?

An E.A.Bell and son old bevel edge, never heard of 'em, have you?

And there is some old marple paring chisels (think thats what they are), some Ward and Payne (lots of them) and loads of Sorby too. I guess I sorby was roberts dad, or whatever. They must be connected, yeah?

So, folks, whaddya know?

Thanks in advance for any help guys......


----------



## neilyweely (1 May 2008)

ok here are some pics






is a stormont (or is it?)




is a ward and payne




is the gouge, is it a woodcock?




Bell and Son?




A few more marples, sorby and assorted 




and these are a couple of the aristocrats, nice eh?

Sorry if the pics are huge, haven't quite got the hang of this yet!!!

So, do you recognise any of these? Any confirmation of I.d would help, I think I got the names right......[/img]


----------



## Racers (2 May 2008)

Hi,

Yep Woodcock I have a couple of them one a very nice 1/4 inch bevel chisel super slim and really good steel, the other is a 1 inch paring chisel again very good steel. The first one is a mortice chisel not much left on it but it should be o/k its that shape to allow it to stand up to the rigors of morticing, levering the chips out.


Pete


----------



## bugbear (2 May 2008)

neilyweely":13nwwd7s said:


> ok here are some pics
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Nice lookin' bevel edge paring chisel there (4th from right) - Marples, I guess?

BugBear


----------



## neilyweely (2 May 2008)

this is the nurse and co (invicta steel)






Think its good steel, any ideas?

Bugbear
The one 2nd from left is a marples paring chisel too, alongside a one inch marples and a half inch I sorby.
I have a load of sorby chisels, a lot of them are the new plastic handle ones, bbut a lot of old ones too. They are nice, but I think the older ones are better to be honest.

Paul.
Thanks for that mate, the mortice is a funny shape, eh? Guess it has to be to give it the rigidity it needs, but I have some other small mortice chisels that are not that shape.
Cheers.

neil


----------



## Evergreen (2 May 2008)

Neil

That's a really useful looking collection of chisels that you've built up. Stormont and Nurse are well established names but I've never heard of Bell. The Sorby brand has a fascinating history which you can read about on their website http://www.robert-sorby.co.uk/. You'll see that a firm called C & J Turner bought and used the name "I Sorby". Not that it matters much because tool production in Sheffield before WWII mainly relied on a network of small workshops carrying out different stages of manufacture and sub-contracting was common. 

Any old chisel with a square shaped shoulder to the tang was hand forged, or so I've been told. And hand forging improves the edge holding of the steel. But...I've found chisels, old and new, to be very variable! 
Some old ones I've had were definitely soft while other more modern ones hold their edge better. 

Unless you buy the premium brands of modern chisels, the only way to know if a chisel is any good is to use it hard for a bit. 

Regards.


----------



## neilyweely (2 May 2008)

excellent stuff evergreen.

I have managed to get these chisels together with a minimum of effort and virtually NO cash at all. The nice thing about hand tools over power tools is that you can tell exactly what it is you are buying, which is just not possible with power tools (compressor in outside toilet!).

I have now got over sixty of the things, and only ever really use the mortice chisels and the very small and very large bevel edges. But it's nice to have them anyway. I might start alternating.

There is this bloke I know who has done the Alladin trick on me, old for new, and I got a horrible feeling I gave him a couple of really nice chisels in exchange for some plastic marples. eeuurrghh!

never mind, win some lose some.

Cheers evergreen.


----------



## Martin Cash (3 May 2008)

Racers":3tkpnf69 said:


> Hi,
> 
> Yep Woodcock I have a couple of them one a very nice 1/4 inch bevel chisel super slim and really good steel, the other is a 1 inch paring chisel again very good steel. The first one is a mortice chisel not much left on it but it should be o/k its that shape to allow it to stand up to the rigors of morticing, levering the chips out.
> 
> ...



Ditto on the Woodcock.
I have a set of Woodcock firmers which I will not part with. Excellent steel and keep a fine edge. Another thing about mine is the way that they seem to resist rust more than some of my other chisels.
You have a nice collection there. Congratulations.
Regards
MC


----------



## Caruso (3 May 2008)

Are you sure it says E.A. Bell ? It could be E.A. Berg. Erik Anton Berg, Eskilstuna Sweden. The same brand that many decades later got the shark branding. Eventually they were bought by Bacho.


----------



## neilyweely (3 May 2008)

Caruso




It is absolutely mint, i hope its the original handle.
It is a square tang(hand made, pre war?) E.A. Bell and Son bevel edge chisel, Sheffield. Definitely, and it looks at least as good as the marples etc...

I know, I know, no-ones heard of 'em. But thats what it is!!

Somebody musta heard of E.A. Bell.

Anyone tell me something about them??


----------



## neilyweely (3 May 2008)

Evergreen - do you like the way I parade your knowledge around the forum like it was my own??

Great eh? Tell me more, tell me more!!!


----------

