A very old Nooitgedagt chisel.

[Jessica de Boer]

A client gave me this old chisel because they have no use for it. It's made by the Dutch company Nooitgedagt that went out of business in the early 2000's. I think Snap-On actually used to own Nooitgedagt at one point. The tools were produced in a small Frisian town called IJlst and was the default brand among woodworkers in the Netherlands because it was available at almost any hardware store. They also used to produce for others and there was a point in time they were one of largest edged tool makers in the world. I did some research and the style of the blade, neck and size of the handle suggests it was made in the late 60's. The steel used for the blade is most likely Swedish Eskilstuna steel. The steel is very average and soft, I would say around 57-58HRc. The handle though is very comfortable and the overall balance of the tool is good. Nooitgedagt still has quite a large and fanatic following and you can find them on Marktplaats (Marketplace), a Dutch online market place, for hundreds of Euro's. Far more than this quality is worth. Some of the fanatic followers will swear on their parents lives Nooitgedagt made the best chisels ever. It makes me wonder what their real world use frame of reference is.

https://i.imgur.com/lFcaeAH.jpg

[Jim Koepke]

For some folks "fast to sharpen" may be more beloved than "retains an edge forever," which means it is a bear to sharpen.

jtk

[Derek Cohen]

I had a set of these around 2000. They resembled the chisels by EA Berg, but the blades were thick and heavy. I did not think they were particularly good at holding an edge.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/edited-image_zpslrqbrqet.png

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jessica de Boer]

There has to be a decent balance but it's not present in this chisel. It's simply too soft far any serious work.

[Warren Mickley]

Almost all of the chisels on my bench are from the 19th century; I have four that are around 190 years old. It is hard to imagine a chisel with a red plastic handle is "very old".

My chisels sharpen very easily, acquire an extremely fine edge, and have very good edge retention.

[Jim Koepke]

It is hard to imagine a chisel with a red plastic handle is "very old".

It is an testament to youth, thinking of things as being "very old" if they are as old as one's parents. :eek:

As one gets older one wonders why the lunch box they carried to school for five years is considered an old antique.

Recently my brother bought an old transistor radio at a yard sale. Turns out it is the same model as was used on Gilligan's Island. He will likely sell it for at least 10X what he paid for it because it is "very old" in someones world.

jtk

[James Pallas]

It is an testament to youth, thinking of things as being "very old" if they are as old as one's parents. :eek:

As one gets older one wonders why the lunch box they carried to school for five years is considered an old antique.

Recently my brother bought an old transistor radio at a yard sale. Turns out it is the same model as was used on Gilligan's Island. He will likely sell it for at least 10X what he paid for it because it is "very old" in someones world.

jtk
Dang it Jim are you saying that the tools I still have from when I first started out in the early 60s is very old? What does that make me then?
Jim

[Jim Koepke]

Dang it Jim are you saying that the tools I still have from when I first started out in the early 60s is very old? What does that make me then?
Jim

We are likely close in age. Does that makes us ancient relics of humanity?

Oldness is mostly relative to how one sees things. My type 11 Stanley/Bailey planes are not really that old, even at their century mark. Some of my coins from around the time of the birth of our nation are not old compared to some from the time of Roman Emperors.

There are folks claiming 70 is the new 40. Just the same, 9:30pm seems to be the new midnight for those of us living in our "new 40" bodies.

jtk

[Tony Zaffuto]

I have one of these chisels, a wood handled tang chisel. Bought it at a tool sale, because it resembled an E.A. Berg. The chisel has fine lands om the sides, and a bit longer than Jessica's or Derek's. I've had it for about a decade and tried it to see if it may have been an unlabeled Berg (it was not!). It sharpened easily enough, but edge retention was, at best, ok.

Because the lands were fine, I sharpened at a low angle and used the chisel for occasional paring, but the design of the chisel is not that comfortable for those jobs, and I much prefer my very long Sorby's for those needs. As a point of reference, the Soby's retain their edge better than this chisel.