Thread: Don't Judge a Book by its Cover

I like it. It looks hand forged

Originally Posted by woodPixel

I like it. It looks hand forged

I hadn't thought of that
It's hard to see past the rust pits
The steel is pretty good - a real pity that it was neglected for so long - it must have taken years for these rust hollows to grow this big.
As for the branding - COLONEL - Sheffield, it is an unknown to me
Tom

That's a nice recovery. I agree with WP, it does look hand forged-ish. Certainly unique and a good bit of clear steel left for many more years of use. Did you grind and polish the back entirely by hand?

Originally Posted by Alkahestic

That's a nice recovery. I agree with WP, it does look hand forged-ish. Certainly unique and a good bit of clear steel left for many more years of use. Did you grind and polish the back entirely by hand?

Thanks Umar.
- The grinding - I started with a brass wire wheel to clear away surface rust, followed by a short stint on the belt sander to remove as much of the rust scale as I could.
I didn't want to foul my stones with any of that.
The rest was done by hand.
Some work on a diamond plate - 400 then 1200 before hitting the oil stones and finishing with a hard arkansas.
It takes less time than it sounds.
I believe water stones would be faster, but I have been doing it with oilstones for so long that I am reluctant to change
Tom

Originally Posted by woodPixel

I like it. It looks hand forged

Until relatively recently, all chisels were essentially "hand forged". By some time in the the 19th C the 'striker' was replaced with a mechanical drop-hammer but they were still banged out one by one by a skilled operator until well into last century & I doubt you could tell any difference. The bolster is very neat & symmetrical, so it wasn't finished by an amateur like me! Actually, the grinding was a highly skilled operation too - not to mention rather dangerous, lying over a huge stone spinning at high revs took some nerve, I reckon. If the shrapnel from an exploding stone didn't get you, silicosis from the dust eventually would.....

Tom, that's a remarkable 'save' . However you did it, there was an awful lot of metal that had to come off to get the shiny flat as far up the blade as you did! For badly beaten-up chisels I've taken to doing most of the hard yakka on the side of my CBN wheel, which requires much caution & proceeding very slowly (edit: but is far, far quicker than starting with even my coarsest diamond plate, which is 200 grit, iirc). But I must say I've never tackled anything as scabrous as that old girl!

I've come across the name before - there is a brief thread from some years back on the UK forum. One of the "regulars" suggested they were a brand name used for a particular line rather than a separate firm, but he didn't nominate any particular firm it may have been. The only other info I have found is that they made screwdrivers which featured in the tool kits for Bentleys & RRs. So they seem to have an impeccable pedigree........

Cheers,
Ian

Thanks for the detail - I'm always curious as to how others do it. I need to revive my chisel reviving thread, I had so many to do I just went to sandpaper on a granite plate and started from 80grit. I think 40 grit for some of them.

I have saved a few ugly old chisels but at first glance I would likely have let that one go. It is however a great demonstration that with old chisels few are beyond saving. Also if its got sheffield on it then its likely worth a go. A great save and its got plenty of character.
Regards
John

Thanks fellas.
Yes it was quite satisfying the end up as it did.
I'm sure that we have all had the experience of living in hope that something will turn out OK, and seeing all that work show little improvement in the project.
I know that I have binned other tools that I thought redeemable, after they proved to be as bad underneath as they were on the surface.
Cheers to all - have a great weekend
Tom

Those kinds of old things ( and worse) are prime candidates for building elbow or D adzes for wood carving.
Very common tools here among the First Nations of the Pacific Northwest.
Lots of times, I get to thinking that I need a "little one" rather than beat on a $100 fine gouge.

Here are some ideas:

Kestrel Tool

Originally Posted by Robson Valley

Those kinds of old things ( and worse) are prime candidates for building elbow or D adzes for wood carving.
Very common tools here among the First Nations of the Pacific Northwest.
Lots of times, I get to thinking that I need a "little one" rather than beat on a $100 fine gouge.

Here are some ideas:

Kestrel Tool

I see what you mean.
Those are some beautiful tools.
Congratulations
Tom

Interestingly, I had - not long ago - rescued a Ward and Payne Firmer chisel in as bad condition, and thought nothing of it as I expected the steel to be excellent.
The COLONEL chisel was an unknown..
Here is the Ward & Payne

20211205_163635.jpg

Nice Tom. Is the handle Boxwood? I am assuming that it's original.

Thanks, but no - not original.
It could be boxwood, but I think it might be cottoneaster.
It's not one I've made, but one I acquired many years back, and I can't remember from whence.
I have one more like this awaiting a suitable blade
Tom

It hasn't acquired the rich colour of aged box, but it looks like a reasonable substitute. Cottoneaster isn't a common shrub up my way, but "mock orange" (Murraya sp.), is & it makes a fair substitute for box too. Not sure how well either cottoneaster or Murraya will stand up to being walloped, but few woods have the resilience of box.

I went looking for some box recently & nearly had a stroke when I saw the price they ask for it! I read somewhere it's gone feral in parts of S.A., along with olives (another very nice handle wood). Wish I lived a bit closer, I would be happy to do some 'environmental cleansing' for them ...
Cheers,

[Edit: just did a check & I think I made a mistake, it's African box-thorn that is the weed, not buxus. Pity, box-thorn is probably useless for handle wood...]