This is my first post on LumberJocks, and I am very happy to begin posting on these boards. I have for the longest time used this forum as a great learning resource, as there is a vast amount of great information here.
What I’m looking for is some opinions on whether these chisels I have are worth the time and effort needed to restore them. My dad had these laying around in the garage, and I figured I would restore them back to working order if they were worth it. They are in pretty rough shape, but I enjoy bringing new life to older tools. I haven’t really been able to find any info on these. All I know is that they are Craftsman, and I’m guessing were produced maybe in the 80’s-90’s.
These are the 3 chisels I have:
My first question, is the steel a good steel? There is Sheffield England stamped onto the chisel, and from what I understand, that is a good quality steel, but I’d like to get some other opinions. Should these hold an edge well?
Secondly, these are most likely a lower end chisel set, with no collectable value correct? The reason I ask, is because if the steel is good and worth restoring, I was thinking of making some new handles for them. The tops are beginning to crack, and I would like to add my own personal touch to them.
I think for now, those are my 2 major concerns. I would greatly appreciate any info, or insight you can give me. Thanks!
They certainly appear to be worth bringing back as users. The bevel ‘sides’ are consistent between each of the three, and go from zero at the edge to not much close to the ferrules. Note that they’re likely metric / not true imperial measure (one is true, other is approximate) if that’s impotant to you. Sorry, but no insight on steel quality or composition.
Good luck w/ your decision.
-- Don't anthropomorphize your handplanes. They hate it when you do that. -- OldTools Archive
There is no such thing as a bad chisel. I have a older 1” Craftsman in my tool box that has served me well over the 35 years. The “good wife” often used it for taking up vinyl floors from concrete slabs, paint stirrer, prying, scraping, ..... you name it. Navy wives have to learn to be self sufficient…. (pun). Almost every time I came home from deployment, I would get to see the latest battle scars. I nicknamed it my “Purple Heart” chisel.
Dozuki31….. I would keep those just for the nostalgia reasons alone. :)
These look like Craftsman chisels that were made when Craftsman tools were of good quality. As long as the backs are not heavily pitted, I would get them sharp and put them to use.
I would say that those chisels are quite useable. It wouldn’t take much to get them sharp and you could use them a bit a see if making new handles would be worth it.
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