Thread: old chissles

G'day Newbie-Doug,

Anton Berg's have a reputation of being the best steel around, so you're a lucky bloke to pick one up. How much did you pay for it, and can you post a pick of it?

They hold their edge much better and longer and steel is of excellent quality. Specifically I can't tell you any technical info.

For my 2¢ best Aussie chisels are Titans, best other than Japanese top of the line are Anton Bergs.

thanks for the info, it was great news to here, i bought the chisel for $5, at the time i thought it was a little steep, but i now think i ripped him off, sorry i am not to sure how to post pix, i will try and get one to you soon

Originally Posted by newbie-doug

hi guys,



one of the chisels in particular caught my attention with the markings. Erick anton berg, eskilstuna sweeden. i was just wanting to know if anyone knew anything about the maker, any info would by much appreciated.

It is time for 'the teacher to appear'.

Graham

Originally Posted by Carry Pine

It is time for 'the teacher to appear'.

Graham

Ah yes grasshopper.......... the student is ready!
Graham is right, young Doug, there are many fine teachers on this forum.
If you have found an E A Berg, then you are the envy of the forum.
Many would say "Never sell it!"
As for a little history, what follows is directly plundered from the internet without a chance to verify the contents, however most would agree that E A Berg made excellent stuff. Bergs were made in Eskilstuna - the Sheffield of Sweden.

All Eskilstuna steel manufacturers used the same handle source.
Berg made the 160/161 chisels for Stanley. They made GENSCO ...they
became and made BAHCO. There are many many chisels that are
almost identical including ones marketed as Danish
manufacture / Swedish steel that look identical. There are lots
of knock-offs that were made for hardware store lines
(e.g. Seel Hdw.) that I don't know about.
The earlier Berg stuff is unmistakable in terms of quality ...
the finish of the steel and the grade of birch root used in the
handles is un-excelled IMHO. Later, when Quality Control started
to slip (Erik had died and his daughters had taken over....
no gender bias implied at all) all kinds of stuff started to
happen. Sanvik ended up with the whole of Swedish tool manufacturing for all practical purposes.
Jernbolaget actually preceded Berg by a long shot.
Jernbolaget started up in 1811 .... Erik Anton Berg was born in 1856 and died in 1903 ... after he died, his brother
in -law Carl Olsson took over and he ran it till 1912.
Erik actually formed the company in 1880. BAHCO was formed in
1889 (the name comes from Bernt August Hjort & CO).
BAHCO bought out Berg in 1959, and by then had also bought
Primus (the famous camp stoves) and Jernbolaget. BAHCO is now owned by SNAP-ON Tools, (unsure of this)
and I'm not sure of how Sanvik's money ties in.
I do know that Berg and Sanvik were co-marketing stuff
internationally by the 1930's. Jernbolagets early
(say... pre-WWII) chisels and edge tools are on a dead par with Berg's IMHO.
Both are beautifully made of the best of the Swedish "charcoal steel".
1. What year did they stop marketing chisels with the
E.A. Berg name?As near as I can tell, when BAHCO became official in 1959
2. Is there any period of production that's considered junk
to be avoided? (cf. Stanley 'blue' or 'cordovan' periods
for bench planes)Never junk.... the handles went from select birch root to plain
birch as the end neared. There doesn't seem to have been any
attempt to maintain this classy look. Also, the finish on the
steel got sloppier.I can say with some certainty that metric widths are all
post WWII since there is no mention of same in earlier catalogs.
This was about the same time the the Shark-O-Lite stuff appeared. First the yellow, and then the red.
WWII plastics technology at work. They're actually great handles, just ugly as sin
(the red ones esp).Berg marked SOME of their chisels with both metric and inches
sizes. The earlier chisels were unmarked.... then marked with model
numbers, then with sizes and model numbers.The name Edw. Zinn showed up on a series of chisels that were
dedicated to him as a recognition from the Company.
I think he was their marketing guru in the 30's.
I know he was a big wheel with the company, I can't find the reference right now for sure
what his position was.


This is shocking research as I have made no attempt to verify
its veracity. Nevertheless it does offer some insight into the
Berg Mystique.

Bottom line - Bergs are great - you are one lucky sausage!!!

Happy chiselling!
SG

Thank you, master.

And thank you for old saying for Richmond Tigers opponents:

I do not fear the 10,000 kicks you have practised once, I fear the 1 kick you have practised 10,000 times.

Shaolin saying


Graham

Originally Posted by newbie-doug

thanks for the info, it was great news to here, i bought the chisel for $5, at the time i thought it was a little steep, but i now think i ripped him off, sorry i am not to sure how to post pix, i will try and get one to you soon

$5 you lucky bloke, cheapest I've bought is $10 for a mint 6mm socket Berg. Once you've got one you'll want to get a whole lot more once you find out what a joy they are to use.

Ripped him off? sometimes you lose, sometimes you win and you won.