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Thread: Marple Chisels

  1. #1

    Marple Chisels

    I've the day off from my day job and have finished the kitchen cart project. I'm also waiting for a LV package of love to continue the new project. All this comes down to a lot of iron sharpening and some cleaning of the shop. Most of the sharpening time has been spent on my Marple chisels, someday I may get all of 'em sharp.

    A little back story, I've a major jones for pre 1933 marple chisels and gouges and especially for the ones with Boxwood Carver handles. I do have one pre 1933 chisel with a London pattern handle and I expect I will add more when found. I just made a photo for the insurance file so I thought I would share. BTW, I've looked at a bunch bunch of frogs to find these.

    marpleChisels180219dscf2395.jpg

    From left to right are the gouges, then the pre-1933 chisels followed by the lone London pattern (pre 1933) and then the six post 1933 chisels.

    I use my Japanese chisels for most chopping operations and the Marples for most other bench work. I know everyone is different, YMMV and all that other rot but I've yet to find a modern chisel with the steel, balance, and feel of the early Marple chisels.

    ken

  2. #2
    How do you identify a Marples as being pre-1933? How do you date Marples chisels for any era for that matter?

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Bob Leistner View Post
    How do you identify a Marples as being pre-1933? How do you date Marples chisels for any era for that matter?
    Bob,

    If I told you then I'd have to.....

    Now don't you get in the market and drive up the prices they are high enough without help .

    Pre 1933 chisels were hammer forged and had flat tangs. After 1933 they were no longer hammer forged and the tangs were round or other shapes such as the chisel on the far right end.

    ken

  4. #4
    Huminahumina

  5. #5
    I think Sellers did a good job of driving the price up. Besides there's enough chisels out there for both of us, I just don't know about everyone else : )

  6. #6
    I find Wm.Marples&Sons chisels regularly enough at the fleamarket. Being a member of the Commonwealth, there was preferential trade agreement. So I think most of mine are post war but pre '61. Now that I know what to check for, I'll go over them. I'm planning a run of London pattern handles for the "Splitproofs " one of these days .Good steel.

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by ken hatch View Post
    Pre 1933 chisels were hammer forged and had flat tangs. After 1933 they were no longer hammer forged and the tangs were round or other shapes such as the chisel on the far right end.
    You're referring to the bolster rather than the tang here, right?

    Judging by the stated era and the shape[s] I suspect that they switched from hammer-forging to die-forging for that part of the tool. It's not clear to me that one would automatically be better than the other except perhaps on aesthetic grounds.

  8. #8
    I would love to find something like that in the flea markets around here. What you get here is mostly junk, but there is the occasional old blue handled Marples, and you every now and then find a Stanly 720/750, or other decent vintage chisel in the antiques stores, but these are usually limied to brands that were imported sold through Sears and Roebuck, like the two Fultons I have.
    But, box of chocolates and all, you never know, so I keep looking.

  9. #9
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    ken are those gouges in canal? they look like asome tools. jerry

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Baker 2 View Post
    I would love to find something like that in the flea markets around here. What you get here is mostly junk, but there is the occasional old blue handled Marples, and you every now and then find a Stanly 720/750, or other decent vintage chisel in the antiques stores, but these are usually limied to brands that were imported sold through Sears and Roebuck, like the two Fultons I have.
    But, box of chocolates and all, you never know, so I keep looking.
    I don't know how Ken is getting his tools, but if I wanted to find something as desirable and specific as a pre-1933 Marples in good condition with a London-pattern handle, the last place I'd look is a flea market.

    Instead I'd reach out to some tool dealer, let know what I'm after, and see what they can (or have) come up with through auctions and meets. You pay more that way, but it's a lot more likely to yield results within a reasonable time investment.

    David Weaver has also mentioned (in private correspondence) that there are some British auction sites that specialize in stuff like that, and that have decent prices.

  11. #11
    Really, all kidding aside, I'm pretty much done buying any tools.

  12. #12
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    Wow, glad I swept up those 10 pre33s in the classifieds the other day. Looking forward to using them.
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    ...just kidding!

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Patrick Chase View Post
    You're referring to the bolster rather than the tang here, right?

    Judging by the stated era and the shape[s] I suspect that they switched from hammer-forging to die-forging for that part of the tool. It's not clear to me that one would automatically be better than the other except perhaps on aesthetic grounds.
    Patrick,

    To be absolutely correct it should be called the neck, then the bolster followed by the tang. I'm kinda lazy and it is all part of the tang in my Texas pea-brain.

    ken

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Gerald Schram View Post
    ken are those gouges in canal? they look like asome tools. jerry
    Jerry,

    Yes, they have been way down on the sharpening list but I hop to get to them soon.

    ken

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Bob Leistner View Post
    Really, all kidding aside, I'm pretty much done buying any tools.
    Bob,

    I should be but I still keep a lookout for somethings. Marple chisels are one of them.

    ken

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