Thread: The world has gone nuts

I think that you might be better off buy one at a time. The sets seems to get people all fired up.

Buying individually is the way to go, but it's always interesting to see full sets come up. But I also wonder what prices were like before eBay made the world a smaller place and while eBay was still in its infancy?

Hi Waldo,

Like you I have been hankering after a full set of Bergs, for a very long time, and have spend, or mis-spent many days watching and bidding on ebay sets and individual Bergs. 99% of those I wanted I lost out on, dammed sniper software.

Prices have gone mad. I really like the socket versions. I did have a win the other week at the carpark markets, found a rusty 10mm Berg and had to pay an outrageous sum of $1 for it. Winner !!! So after years of looking and bidding I think I have 3 little Bergs.

A full set of sockets would be soooo nice. I could sell a kidney, (almost fully preserved in alcohol) and try ebay again.

Keep looking you may find some Waldo.

Cheers
Pops

Yes, I agree a full set of sockets would be very nice.

I found a pristine 1/4" at a garage sale once and could barley contain my excitement. One day I will hit the mother load.

I found a rusty gunked up 1/4 at a church sale once. Didn't look much but have the original handle in OK condition and had plenty of steel on it. Cleaned up really well, and only paid $2 for it. Haven't found another one since...

A few things might work:

a) if you don't mind feeling a traitor, spread the word that they are crap.
b) don't buy them at exhorbitant prices and hope that your stand will be reflected in a lower price.
c) get them from unsuspecting owners.
d) win tatts

Cheers,
Jim

Hi Waldo

That's not really an outrageous price where you realise ..

1. $670 for 11 chisels in new condition = approx $60 each (Lee Nielsen costs $80 each).

2. This includes the super-hard-to-get 1/8" chisel which alone is possibly worth about $150-200 to a collector.

3. All the hard work has been done for you.

Recognise, also, that these chisels are going to a collector rather than a user (although if they were mine they'd instantly become users). You can put together your own set, admittedly one-by-one and this would take time, perhaps years, but they might cost you half as much.

Mine took some years to collect, and I looked for good steel rather than decent wood. In the end I have 1/8" through 1 1/4" (I would not use wider than that - I have a 2" lying around that I do not use often). All of mine sport handles that suit my style.





Regards from Perth

Derek

I have a plan one day to turn some new handles for some of my current Bergs, as some have seen some heavy bashing.

But as you suggest, the best option I have is to find individual chisels and build up a set. Hopefully that will happen before I am really grey.

I have a plan to one day do a raid on Derek's shed
unfortunately mum raised me correct so is unlikely to ever happen
a conscience is a terrible thing
Derek, you can sleep soundly

Well, while there's a bunch of E.A. Berg literates around...

A workmate had this chisel in his toolbox at work and has been using it to scrape gaskets off of engine parts, I convinced him to trade it to me for a couple pots of beer as I needed a narrower chisel (only had an el cheapo 19mm). Anyway when I read this thread the name sparked a memory and sure enough the chisel is a Berg. Plastic handle though, if anyone knows anything about it, id be interested to know. 5/16" width, plastic handle, unknown age.

Cheer up Waldo,
That set on Ebay looks to me like a set that has been put together over a long period, not a set that was bought as a set.
It is generally believed that the birch root handled Bergs, from the time of old man Berg, were the best ever produced by the company. There are only about five of them in this set.
Later, the company was run by the descendants, and the quality is said to have not been as good as before. Still very good but .............
I don't know whether they ran out of birch root, or it was harder or more expensive to source, but straight birch took its place. Also, the company stamp on the back of the blades was changed slightly.
I suppose that Bergs of any description are rare these days, and that is what drives the prices. These are nice, but not as desirable as at first blush.
Great price though.
Be nice to be the seller.
Cheers
SG

It was nothing to the seller at all. Good on him or her for getting a price like that. I wondered about the number of chisels there as you rightly wrote.

Occasionally I see a bloke up north list some Bergs and think about a bid on them.

Originally Posted by Durdge39

Well, while there's a bunch of E.A. Berg literates around...

A workmate had this chisel in his toolbox at work and has been using it to scrape gaskets off of engine parts, I convinced him to trade it to me for a couple pots of beer as I needed a narrower chisel (only had an el cheapo 19mm). Anyway when I read this thread the name sparked a memory and sure enough the chisel is a Berg. Plastic handle though, if anyone knows anything about it, id be interested to know. 5/16" width, plastic handle, unknown age.

Hello Durdge,
Your chisel dates from the 1960-1970's and is, as you know an E A Berg.
My very first new chisel was one of these. They are very good chisels and the handle can take some punishment. Much too good to be scraping engine blocks with.
Cheers
SG

There was a set of new old stock in a box last year on ebay; went for around $350 IIRC.