Info on a chisel maker?

[demonwolf444]

Hello,

First post here, i hope you will forgive!

I recently picked up a nice complete set of carving chisels - had a good spattering of decorators caulk and silicone sealant on them and in their current state not much of a chisel.

Some of the handles missing ferules and a bit rusty but they look to be of decent quality and should clean up - couldn't pass up on them as the whole set is in pretty useful sizes for my work.

The blades are all stamped W.L & Co i know very little about chisel makers aside from those which seem to be "collectable" such as addis but thought i could google this name but couldnt find anything?

One of the chisels is broken and was a very fine V gouge, which is a pattern i have never used much so i might repair that blade into a dog leg or something that slightly more useful to me.

Hoping there might be someone a bit more knowledgeable who can tell me who W.L & Co are!

All the best,

James.

 

[AndyT]

That's not much to go on, is it?

However, one possibility is that they might have been made by William Landell of Glasgow.
Grace's Guide lists him as an edge tool maker

http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/William_Landell

and a discussion on a razor forum quotes a directory entry and confirms that he made, surprise, razors.

http://straightrazorplace.com/razors/26 ... ors-2.html

I must stress that this is only guesswork. I don't have any evidence that Landell also made carving tools, but it's plausible. There's a screwdriver on eBay with his name on.

I don't have any evidence of them being marked just W.L. rather than the full name. However, if the mark could possibly be WLG, in a circle, as in this discussion, then it might just be the answer.

http://straightrazorplace.com/razors/11 ... razor.html

And that would mean your tools could be well over a century old.

 

[demonwolf444]

Thanks for the reply - it's not a lot to go on at all!

It very definitely says W.L & Co ( the 'o' of 'Co' in subscript with an underscore beneath ) the stamp contained within a single line rectangular boarder.

The tools have some age to them to be sure but I couldn't possibly guess at how much.

Beech handles I think, each handle on the chisels I have is deeply stamped with quite a large Number between 1 and 24.

I have some photos I'll put up for interest if I can

 

[AndyT]

Ok, here's another chase for the wild goose.

TATHS publishes a scan of the 1919 Sheffield register of Trade Marks. (You can buy it on a CD or download it if you are a member.) It's a good way to identify hundreds of old marks which still show up on old tools.

One entry looks like this:

It's listed as one of many marks belonging to Brookes and Crookes Ltd, with no explanation of what the W or L stood for. Presumably it was an old mark belonging to a company that they had bought out - it was common for firms to buy up their competitors and continue to mark products with the defunct company's brand. Sometimes a brand was well established in a particular export market and it was better to stick with what the customers wanted than to try and make them switch. (There's a similar position today with cars being sold under different names today - General Motors/ Vauxhall / Opel etc.)

The mark shown was registered for use on knives, forks and scissors. Brookes and Crookes mainly made cutlery.

So, it's possible - but again, this is just my speculation - that the old WL&Co that Brookes and Crookes bought out made edge tools and cutlery. B&C kept this mark for cutlery, but dropped the other one. It could be the same WL & Co or it could be another company altogether.

It all seems a bit speculative, so I'll stop rambling and remind myself that sometimes the most obscure brands are not makers at all, but large retailers who offered their 'own brand' alternative to the higher priced brand leader.

 

[demonwolf444]

All interesting Andy thanks for your research!

The WL and co part of that stamp are identical I would imagine that the tool are by that maker or brand, I imagine the stamp on the tools I have was a stamp they used on their smaller tools as a simple explanation.

You are probably right as to your speculation that Brooks and Crookes bought out whoever or whatever WL and Co was.
I just should of liked to get an idea of age of the tools.

As I say they seem very will made and fine and when cleaned up and the cutting edges are restored they should be very useful for my work so I'm a happy man.

Cheers for all your help guys, ill get round to posting these pictures when I can!

James.

 

[JohnPW]

James G Parkes & Henry Loveridge trading as William Locke & Co, Hockley Hill, Birmingham made silverware and their mark was similar except the dot was a decimal point not a full stop, and no line under the small "o" in "Co".

http://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/Make ... WO.html#WL
http://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/Make ... WL-WR.html

I don't know if there's any connection with the OP's W.L & Co.

 

[demonwolf444]

Hoping my pictures work! Doing this from my phone so it's not easy!!

Thanks for all the responses, going to take a bit of cleaning up but I'll get around to it!