Unknown old chisel brand

[Clark Magnuson]

I have been sick, and just buying and repairing broken chisels off ebay until I get better.
A little grinding, sharpening, and handle making.
A chisel a day.

I wish I knew what brand this is.

unknown chisel 20181119_165018.jpgunknown chisel ebay pic apture.JPG

All that ebay said was:
8 1/4" Vintage Woodworking Chisel Authentic Carpentry Relic 7F

Condition:

Used


“Guaranteed authentic and unaltered”

[Rick Whitehead]

It could be Douglass Manufacturing Company. They were an early maker of edge tools, and were established in 1856. I'm not sure when they went out of business. . I've seen chisels made by them, and I have a drawknife made by them.Their tools seem to be high quality.
Rick

[Rob Luter]

I'll second the opinion that this is Douglass brand. I have a couple of their chisels and the marks are similar. Mine are decent steel.

[Clark Magnuson]

Douglas antique socket chisel 20181120_092715.jpg

Thank you very much for the two responses!

My Douglas chisel seems to have a not original rear hoop. It looks like water pipe.
The handle looks like Hickory with varnish, but is very damaged and modified to be flat on the bottom.

To make a new handle I have ~ 25 wood species from Ebay and more I have gathered from my backyard. None look like Hickory... but I will find something.

[Jim Koepke]

My Douglas chisel seems to have a not original rear hoop. It looks like water pipe.
The handle looks like Hickory with varnish, but is very damaged and modified to be flat on the bottom.

To make a new handle I have ~ 25 wood species from Ebay and more I have gathered from my backyard. None look like Hickory... but I will find something.

At least a previous owner took the time to replace a handle and hoop instead of beating on the socket. The flat side may have been a way to keep it from rolling off the bench or for working at shallow angles close to a surface.

When picking wood handles there are a lot of considerations. Do you like your handles of chisels to be uniform or distinct? Will the handle be struck by a mallet or hammer?

Considering the uses, a struck handle should be of a straight grained wood not subject to splitting. For a paring only handle something that feels good in the hand having the surface qualities to match the level of smoothness you want.

Ash is one of my favorites for struck handles and maple works fine for a high polish on a paring chisel. One of my favorite handles is of rosewood. That could get rather expensive for a whole set.

jtk

[Clark Magnuson]

Douglas 1856 -1877 then Swan chisel with Maple handle 20181120_182716.jpg

I made a new handle from a scrap of Rock hard maple.
I changed the angle of the cutting edge.

[Jim Koepke]

Looks good.

jtk