Official Luthiers Forum!

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Nice stuff, Tony. I love old tools. Amazing how good an edge you can get with good steel. What I don't understand is why so many of the medicocre quality old tools have such good steel, while modern one often are such junk. I mean, how much more could it cost to use decent steel? Maybe just because people at HD or Ace HW will buy them anyway? Sheesh. End of rant.

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

I've been following some of those auctions (thanks for the tip, Tony!), but the ones I have seen have ended up too expensive for me. I have never tried a Swan chisel; how good are they, anyways?

In addition to the points Todd listed, one drawback of the old carbon steel tools is that they rust so easily, which can be a big problem if you plan to use your tools outside your shop much. I suspect that the majority of chisels in the world are kept in far less controlled environments than luthier's shops.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Swan is one of many great American edge tool makers that are no longer with us. These Ebay chisels seem to be commanding a premium for being NOS. NOS is cool, but I much prefer bevel edges and long blades for paring; also socket rather than tang except on the really thin blades (beware of any socket chisel without a handle that has mushrooming on the socket; it's also tricky to fit a socket if they come unhandled). If you keep watching Ebay there are always good old chisels, but I have noticed that auction prices seem to have come up quite a bit in the past year or two. Other brands to look for: Stanley (wood handled, esp. #750), Buck, KeenKutter, Pexto (or Peck, Stow & Wilcox, or P.S.&W.), Greenlee, Jennings, Union, Witherby, Ohio. Most of the old Sheffield steel (often marked "cast steel") is far better than the current stuff (although I think current Crown and Footprint are good values).

It seems to me that somewhere around mid-20th century, steelmakers turned all their attention to high speed alloys and rust resistant alloys. Perhaps there was not much room for improvement on carbon steel's edge taking and holding; or perhaps there was no marketing gain to be had, with the numbers of buyers who appreciate those things dropping.

You would need an awfully damp shop for rust to be a problem with old steel. If you keep humidity in the guitar making range, it's not a problem at all.

[edit] I got distracted by a phone call before I could edit to add the Swedish makers; thanks Arnt for the reminder. Yes, anything that comes from Eskilstuna and has a wood handle is likely to have great steel. I have a set of "Janport" chisels that resemble Berg; great tools.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

...and again, I have to promote my local heroes; E.A. Berg, Jernbolaget, Kongsberg, and anything marked ‘Eskisltuna’. They used to be common as dirt over here, but the flag ship E.A. Berg was bought by Bacho (Sandvik) in 1959 and the quality has been going down hill ever since. Today they are nothing but a chrome-vanadium joke with hideously colored clunky handles. Luckily, you still find lots of the oldies in flea markets and antique shops over here, alas often in pretty rough condition. Most show signs of hard use and subsequent neglect, but some can be rescued and become fantastic. I think these irons have a very good mix of edge durability and sharpness, and I understand they have a quite large following among woodworkers far beyond this part of northern Europe.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

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