What are these chisels

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I am trying to identify these chisels from my long dead Grandfather.

Unknown_Chisels.jpg

I really like the "made in USA" chisels with the red and black handles. There is no other text on them. I don't even know if the handles are original. Although they have been well used, they handle well, work well, take an edge, and do a decent job of holding the edge.

That other strange chisel with the brown handle.... It is very light, especially the handle. The blade will deform or chip at the slightest provocation. It is very sharp, but, I am not really sure the intended purpose. I used it to do a small bit of work and there are now two chips in the tip. The blade has a lot of scratches running across the width. The sides are not beveled.

[Loren Woirhaye]

Those 4 look like collective Stanleys.

[Ralph Boumenot]

ditto on the red handled ones are Stanley's the brown handled one sounds like it's a paring chisel. That one is meant for hand worked light cuts and finesse work. That would explain it's lightness and deforming.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Those 4 look like collective Stanleys.

So, does that mean that they are probably old stanley chisels of a type that people pay top dollar for.. Do you mean enough money that I should not use them, or just that I should be thankful that I have a set that works so well?

[Jim Matthews]

Tools are meant to be used to make things.

We prize old tools for their connection to our forebears.
Tools are to makers of things as libraries are to historians.

Sharpen, use and remember your roots.

FWIW - I will NEVER understand why people buy modern tools, and keep them in sealed boxes.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Tools are meant to be used to make things.

We prize old tools for their connection to our forebears.
Tools are to makers of things as libraries are to historians.

Sharpen, use and remember your roots.

It is true that every time that I use them I think of my Grandfather who owned them first (well, probably he did, he might have obtained them from his brothers), and my Father who gave them to me.

FWIW - I will NEVER understand why people buy modern tools, and keep them in sealed boxes.

Do you mean as in a box that they do not open ever and use? That seems a little silly. Do people do that? I created boxes so that the sharp edges did not bang around and I can carry them with me.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

... the brown handled one sounds like it's a paring chisel. That one is meant for hand worked light cuts and finesse work. That would explain it's lightness and deforming.

OK, noted. I had not expected that since it has a metal piece fitted on the end of the handle.

[lowell holmes]

I'm not sure, but I suspect the top chisel is what's known as a "firmer" chisel. I think they were used to chop mortises or some other operation that requires a mallet.

I have some old timber framing chisels with the metal ferrals (sp ?).

[Loren Woirhaye]

They look like Stanley 750 chisels to me. Why they aren't marked that way stumps me. Perhaps they were made as a hardware store brand with a logo on the handles that got painted over. Stanley did that sort of white labeling a lot.

Anyway, 750 is considered an excellent chisel that holds an edge well. You can certainly sell them as 750s if you make up your mind that's what they are but lacking a mark they won't fetch the $20-$50 each prices marked 750s go for. I've never owned a 750 so I'm far from expert.

It's possible some other manufacturer knocked off the silhouette. The 750 has a distinctive handle but it probably wasn't patented.

[lowell holmes]

I agree that they look like Stanley 750's. I have several 750's and they are the inspiration (I think) for the modern Lie Nielsen chisels.

[glenn bradley]

FWIW - I will NEVER understand why people buy modern tools, and keep them in sealed boxes.

I always thought it was to sell them here when the price goes up. If some of my other investments increased as much as some hand tools over the last 10 years I could retire .

[Andrew Pitonyak]

These chisels have some sort of leather buffer on the end of the handle, is that common in a Stanley 750?

If they sold for $125 each, I would sell them. $20 to $50 each, I use them.

[Sean Hughto]

These chisels have some sort of leather buffer on the end of the handle, is that common in a Stanley 750?

Here is a picture of my user Stanley's. The one on the right is a 1" 750 in near mint condition. You can see the leather cap. The others I bought in user condition - no pitting of the steel, but otherwise pretty rough and often missing or damaged leather, so I cut off the ends and rounded them to what you see.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

So it is indeed right on the money for being that.... and, the handles are even in pretty good shape then it would seem.

[Sean Hughto]

So it is indeed right on the money for being that.... and, the handles are even in pretty good shape then it would seem.

Well maybe. Yours don't say Stanley No. 750 on the socket. I think Stanley made some Defiants and later 750s that may lack this stamp (only "Made in the USA" on the sockets), and yours may be some of those. Your handles are also painted red and black in a way I've never seen any 750's, so either a private owner painted them himself for identification or maybe Stanley made some hardware store brands or something and painted them like this. Anyway, you have "750 style" socket chisels - maybe worth between 15 and 25 dollars each if the steel is any good. Sharpen them up and see how they cut. See how they feel in your hand as you use them. Those are the things that matter.