Swedish Pattern Chisels again

[george wilson]

Look at post#6 in the Stanley chisel thread. Post #6 gives a link to an old Stanley catalog,where they mention their "Swedish pattern" chisels. They are short chisels,with thin blades,and a modified "london" pettern(round) plastic handle. This chisel,except for the plastic handle,resembles the Eskilstuna butt chisels I have with birch handles.

[Karl Andersson]

George,
the chisels you have are most likely made by Erik Anton Berg; Eskilstuna is the city they were made in. The earlier ones have a shark trademark between the name and the town. I have some that, legend has it, my great-granfather brought over from Sweden in the early 1920's - they do tend to be shorter and the blades a bit thinner than normal Western chisels, have beveled edges, and the Karelian Birch handles are beautiful. These are some of my best chisels for getting a sharp edge and keeping it - but that may just be because I don't have an extensive collection. All the EA Berg chisels I have seen online are the same blade pattern, so you may be on to something.

I also got a never-sharpened unused 1/4 inch #3 (or so) Buck Brothers gouge in an auction lot that has a mint Karelian Birch handle obviously made by E.A. Berg or their supplier (exact same shape, lines, and hardware). It doesn't have the blue berg decal, but has "made in Sweden" stamped in it - so either they sold replacement handles or had some deal with Buck.

Karl