Flea market finds : Stanley 750, Chas. Buck and others

[Joe Fabbri]

Hi guys,

Here's a few other pictures of some chisels I recently aquired. One is a Charles Buck chisel. I don't know much about it, other than I heard it could be somewhat collectable. Or at least, it is good quality (somewhat better perhaps than Buck Bros. at the time or so I've heard). Here's some pictures of it: _MF_2751.jpg_MF_2754.jpg_MF_2757.jpg

I don't quite know what type of chisel this is. I guess it is some kind of firmer chisel, since it has squared rather than beveled sides. Is that correct? Also, I assume that, given the handle size, the chisel blade has been cut down quite a bit. Is that the case? Anyway, the steel is in nice shape, hardly any pitting, and it should clean up nicely.

Another chisel I picked up was this 1/4 Stanely 750: _MF_2762.jpg_MF_2764.jpg_MF_2767.jpg

Unfortunately, this chisel has some decent pitting all over. I already flattened the back on some coarse paper and removed practically all of it from the back. The rest, I hit it with a wire brush wheel. It cleaned up somewhat. The chisel looks like it was hardly used. The bevel didn't even look like it was ground since the factory. So I'm assuming, given the consistent pitting all over and the original looking bevel, it wasn't used much. Aside from the leather washer, the handle is in nice shape. It's a very comfortable chisel to hold in your hand, and it should make a nice user.

I also picked up a James Swan 1/2 chisel and another chisel, which I cannot make out the name on it. It says Sheffield Steel, and has straight sides also. I'll try to get pictures of those up soon.

I'm mostly curious about the Charles Buck chisel, it's value and if it is indeed much shorter than it originally was.

Thanks,

Joe

[Jim Koepke]

Here is some information on Charles Buck.

http://sawnutz.galootcentral.com/buck/charles_buck.htm

I have a few Charles Buck chisels and gouges. They are good quality tools.

There are some items that are stamped with the Buck Brothers emblem and his. He was sued over this.

Some chisels were made short and called butt chisels. One way to tell is by the thickness of the metal at the edge. Ground down long chisels will be pretty thick at the bevel. If it is thin at the bevel, it is likely that it was short from the start.

jtk

[Joe Fabbri]

Hi Jim,

There's a chisel on that site that looks like the one I have. Either they are both ground down about the same, or they came that length. Hopefully it's just a short blade to begin with. It's hard to say about the thickness, as the whole blade is pretty thick, and it's very thick as it gets to the handle. It's one of the thickest (non-mortise chisels) I've seen.

[Trevor Walsh]

I have a 3/8" Charles Buck chisel, it's the best vintage steel I've ever gotten. I love it. That one is sure to be a rare gem.