carving chisel

[pitch pine]

I bought an old collection of carving chisels today and amongst them was an interesting octagonal handled one. There are no makers name on the chisel itself, but there is a sunburst pattern stamped twice on the handle. The handle itself is a dark wood 4.5 inches long and 5/8" at it's thickest in the middle. It is unlike any other octagonal handles I have seen in that it tapers very gracefully from the tang (3/8") to the middle and back down to the end (1/2"). I think it is a spoon gouge back bent, about 1/4" at the cutting edge. I tried to take a picture but my attempts were badly out of focus. Has anyone seen anything like this? I thought that the sunburst pattern on the handle would make it easy to identify, but after googling I am none the wiser. Couldn't see anything like it on EBay either.

 

[pitch pine]

Sorry about the crap photo. You can just see the sunburst on the handle.

 

[bugbear]

I tried to take a picture but my attempts were badly out of focus..

Is there a macro mode on your camera?

it's often an icon of a tulip, and allows close focus.

BugBear

 

[ED65]

I think that form of tapered octagonal handle may point to it being an older tool, 18th century possibly.

 

[bugbear]

I think that form of tapered octagonal handle may point to it being an older tool, 18th century possibly.

I don't know when they started, but carvers still make those handles...

BugBear

 

[pitch pine]

Thanks for the camera advice BugBear. I pressed the tulip and got this:



Anyone seen this on other tools? It looks like a factory stamp and the handle itself is really well made.

 

[AndyT]

I wonder if it's Japanese?

 

[D_W]

I wonder if it's Japanese?

I was going to make a similar joke!

I haven't seen any japanese chisels that are that style, though. The small gouges tend to be short in steel and long in handle.

I can't tell if that one has a bolster or not, but if it doesn't, I might assume it was user made.

 

[pitch pine]

What do you mean by bolster?

 

[AndyT]

I didn't mean it as a joke - I have seen one or two old looking Japanese chisels but am no expert on them - it could be a sort of export branding. I'm sure there are plenty of UK exports with the union jack on.

 

[D_W]

I didn't mean it as a joke - I have seen one or two old looking Japanese chisels but am no expert on them - it could be a sort of export branding. I'm sure there are plenty of UK exports with the union jack on.

I didn't think you meant it as a joke, as I had the same instant thought. When you see a sun with rays like that, you think japan.

I haven't seen much of their stuff that looks like western tools from way back, though, unless it was junk.

 

[D_W]

What do you mean by bolster?

The metallic bit on a chisel handle that butts up against the handle and keeps the tang from advancing in the handle past a certain point.

Some very small carving tools don't have them, but a lot of user-made tools don't have them because of the trouble to make them.

Compare an old ward bench chisel to a turning tool, the tang of the turning tool has no bolster where it meets the handle, but the bench chisel does.

 

[pitch pine]

OK I understand. No there is no bolster on this chisel. There is a ornamental line cut into the handle just above where the bolster would be. At first I thought it was a bolster, it is so neatly done.