Chisel Ferrule Material?

[Mike Allen1010]

At a local garage sale I found a lump of rust in a box of old saws that after some quick lapping and a run past the grinder turned out to be this:


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I'm going to make a replacement handle (I don't have a lathe so will do some rough freehand shaping I guess). I have a scrap of a dark, dense, tropical wood that is about the right size and would like to add a brass ferrule - any suggestions for what I could use for this?

How should I cut the tapering Mortice in the handle for the blade tang? I guess I could use a series of gradually larger diameter drill bits and try and drill a similarly tapering hole?

I don't know anything about the E.A. Berg brand of chisels except when I was a kid my Dad had a set of these "Swedish steel" chisels that I wasn't allowed to use unless he was there. Will it be worth the restoration effort?

Thanks for the help, Mike

[Ryan Baker]

You can buy brass ferrules. Look in the woodturning suppliers' catalogs. Another option is to buy a brass flare or compression nut at the hardware store and turn it down to round (or not). Or cut a piece off a brass nipple. If you don't mind copper instead of brass, pipe couplers work well.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I've heard folks have good luck repurposing things from the plumbing section, as Ryan alludes to. Lee Valley also sells ferrules for this purpose:

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=30021&cat=1,41504

I have a couple small chisels from LMI (http://www.lmii.com/CartTwo/thirdproducts.asp?CategoryName=Chisels+%26+Gouges&NameProdHeader=LMI+Chisels) that I love and would love to get my hands on ferrules like on these handles (http://www.lmii.com/CartTwo/thirdproducts.asp?CategoryName=Chisels+%26+Gouges&NameProdHeader=Tool+Handles), but I think I'd need a lathe . . .

As for making chisels without a lathe, I made an octagonal shaped handle for the pin for my leg vise - it was fun work, went quite quickly, and is really nice in the hand. I always liked the look of those non-turned handles, like some of the ones in the Seaton tool chest.

[Jim Ritter]

Those ferrules from LMI almost look like the brass end of a shotgun shell.

[Howard Pollack]

E.A. Berg chisels have an excellent reputation.

[Bruce Haugen]

Will it be worth the restoration effort?

Absolutely yes it's worth the effort. If you want to be true to the E A Berg tradition, find yourself a piece of Masur Birch, aka Karelian Birch, for the handle. You don't need a lathe. Take your trusty block plane and make it mostly round, then rasp it round, then sand it. Stick on a ferrule at either end, and you're in business.

Or you could just send it to me, so it could match the one that my buddy Bill Houghton sent me a couple years ago. It lives on my bench. It gets used so much there's just no point in putting it away. Bergs are great chisels, easy to sharpen, hold a good edge. What else is there?

[Joe Bailey]

Bruce
Sounds like you're just the guy to ask about this chisel I picked up last week (garage sale) for $1.00.
Is it, too, a Berg product, or is it just from the same city/village/region (Eskilstuna)?

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[Bruce Haugen]

Jernbolaget, there's a bit of speculation about that line. I have one, and there is a small difference between it and the Bergs, enough so that it makes you wonder if the Berg folks turned them out on the side. I had to look at them side by side for a long time before I noticed the difference. The steel is superb, but the Jernbolaget blade section is just a bit thinner maybe a millimeter or so. The handles, both in shape and material, are the same, along with the ferrules on either end. Even the markings on the ferrules are the same. There is also another line, stamped a generic "Sweden" that looks identical to the Bergs and Jernbolagets. I have a couple of them.

However, the $1.00 price tag earns you a hearty "you suck!"

go here (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?96153-Jernbolaget-Chisels) for a lot more info.

[Joe Bailey]

Hi Bruce
Thanks for the information and the insult/compliment!

[ray hampton]

if the ferrule are not too longer , why not spin the copper on the lathe and make your own ferrule

[Ryan Baker]

You might want to check out episode 3112 -- Offset Turning of the Woodwright's Shop (you can watch it on the web site). Roy shows how to make an oval handle for a tanged chisel like that, and at the end he talks about chiseling the mortise for the tang. If you don't have a lathe, just carve it to whatever shape you want. That is probably just about as fast and will work just fine.

[Tony Shea]

If you don't mind the look of copper then I suggest using copper plumbing pipe of the proper size. They are extremely simple to make as the copper is very easy to work. The end result is also very strong. I personally like the look of polished copper ferrules.

[Bob Strawn]

Another great source of ferrule material is the inexpensive camp/folding chairs. The aluminum tubing in them is usually a very nice size and weight for making a ferrule. Aluminum can be cut and worked with woodworking tools, but don't use a good woodworking file or rasp on it as it will clog the file or rasp.

Bob

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I've worked a fair amount of aluminum - I always chalk my files to help prevent them from clogging. Never tried a rasp on it, though.

[Jonas Oster]

Eskilstuna was the tool-making town in Sweden. E. A. Berg and Jernbolaget (meaning The Iron Company) were separate companies but were both bought by Bahco in the 1960s. Both are high quality brands and their pre-1960 chisels are sought after. Swedish steel was considered to be excellent, but this had more to do with the natural purity of the Swedish iron ore than with the steel production methods.

[Jonas Oster]

... oh, and the handles were most probably made of birch because that is the only suitable hardwood that is available at reasonable cost in Sweden. Beech, for example, only grows in the southernmost parts of the country. It is not masur birch though - that is a highly figured variety of birch and the wood is very expensive.

[Bruce Haugen]

... It is not masur birch though - that is a highly figured variety of birch and the wood is very expensive.

It probably is expensive in Sweden now; the prices for a small piece are pretty extravagant in the U.S., too. However, the handles on most of my Berg chisels are, indeed, highly figured. But then they are all at least 60 years old, and the wood was more available then. It is also available from Finland and western Russia.

[Mike Allen1010]

Thanks Bruce, Howard and Jonas for all your information about Berg chisels.

Tony and Josh, I followed your suggestion and used copper pipe for the ferrule. I had a small piece of cocobolo I used for the handle. Since I don't have a lathe, I shaped it with rasps, files etc. I like the way the copper looks in combination with the blade and handle.

I love the Berg steel -- it's easy to sharpen and takes a very keen edge. I'm not an expert by any means, but it takes a sharper edge than my 30 year old Marple's chisels and as sharp as the Matsumura's I use regularly. Might not hold up as long but is great right off the stone. I will definitely be looking to pick up some more Bergs if I get the chance.

Thanks again for the help and information,

Mike

[Bruce Haugen]

That's a nice-looking handle, Mike, I think you'll find it easy to work with. The nice thing about making those yourself is that you'll have absolutely no qualms about trying different designs the next time around.

I have a 2" plastic-handled Berg that Bill Houghton gave me a couple years back that might not be the most attractive chisel out there, but it's easily the most-used one in my shop. Besides, with that plastic handle, I can beat the daylights out of it without worry. It lives on my bench and doesn't get put away ever.

Grab all the Bergs you can - they're not making them anymore.