Thread: A Titan by another name

For four days I've been busting my hump anticipating a tsunami of responses to my query on the el cheapo "Utility" Titan chisel. AND. Not a peep! Not a squeek. NOTHING. Not even a smart arsed comment from people who I expect to make them. I guess nobody is old enough or interested enough or has ever seen one. My eyeballs have dried out waiting. All my happy pills are gone and I'm getting anxious again. It can't go on like this. (Later Nurse, I'm busy). I guess I need to shed more light.

What I've been able to glean about this chisel is minimal. Apparently they were put out in the early Sixties before Stanley bought half of Titan Manufacturing in 1963. Titan perhaps was probably not tracking too well (selling half the outfit is always a bad sign) and decided to join the increasing competition down market, with a low cost, handyman type line. The chisel seems to have been a bare bones job with plain sides only (no bevel) and the weird cabinet makers screw driver neck and tang. I don'y know whether it had a blade mark, They came singly or in plastic wallet sets of three or four. The handle was either the Swedish pattern or the registered style. They were mentioned in the 1965 Stanley-Titan storekeepers price list but there was no image attached. They do not get a mention in the following (1967 list). The image I have is a very crappy advertising copy mock up in black and white - see below. I don't think I've seen one in the flesh (love that word) and if I have, I probably dismissed it. I certainly haven't seen the rectangular paper decal which I think says "Titan, Utility, Australia" in I think white on a blue background. I'd love a good image of one. There's nothing on the net that I can find.
Stanley.JPGUtility 6 (2) 1.jpg

The chisel reminds me of the cheap plain sided one Stanley put out with a light blue, ex Titan plastic handle ( see image).

Anyway I've tried. I can do no more. The moon was red last night and very full. So full. Is this a sign?? I liked it. They made me come in after seven hours looking at it. It was good. My eyeballs are dry. My throat is dry too. Howling is good. Very full indeed.

I think you have acquired something that is unique or at the very least rare. So rare in fact that no one has heard of it?


I know not the best smarty comment that I could come up with.

I have or had one of the Stanley plastic versions.
I thought Stanley got involved with Titan just after WW11 to employ returned servicemen in Tassie ?
By about 1963 Stanley took over Turner.
We had a credit squeeze as I remember.
Can you shed more light on Titans history.
They were part of BHP?
The wire mills at Cabarita were owned by BHP were nails etc made there?
More questions than answers just to stir the pot.
H.

Originally Posted by clear out

I have or had one of the Stanley plastic versions. Yes. They appear, and probably were, crap! Example of set of three of the chisels you mentioned below.
thought Stanley got involved with Titan just after WW11 to employ returned servicemen in Tassie ? No. BHP did this on their own at a Hobart facility in 1945 that had been engaged in special steel war production. In 1963 Stanley bought 50% of Titan from BHP.
By about 1963 Stanley took over Turner. No. Stanley took over Turner in 1970 as they did for example with Rota Tool Boxes in 1990 and Sidchrome/Dawn in 1991. They stopped making things in Australia in 2001
We had a credit squeeze as I remember. Sometime in the Sixties yes.
Can you shed more light on Titans history. Yes. See "Titan Wood Chisels" an article in the HTPAA "Tool Chest" magazine by Rod Thomas" but main dates (salad days) for the manufacture of Titan chisels were 1945 through to about 1975 under Titan (to 1963), Stanley-Titan (until 1976) and finally Stanley where the 101, 136 and 146 lingered on until the early eighties with yellow/black plastic handles and a Stanley code 16 in front of the number.
They were part of BHP? Stanley-Titan was 50% owned by BHP until Stanley bought the second half in 1976. I have been told they moved the whole show from Tassie to Turner's Nunawading site in the early Seventies.
The wire mills at Cabarita were owned by BHP were nails etc made there? Don't know.
More questions than answers just to stir the pot.
H.

Some of the dates above were gleaned from the above article. I think the article has been reproduced on the forum before.

I have little to offer, but did find this with a google search, so they are around:

http://toolexchange.com.au/images1/chisels5099.jpg

check out the 5th chisel in the picture. I can't even think of an appropriate smart arsed comment to make.

Cheers,

Camo

Originally Posted by camoz

I have little to offer, but did find this with a google search,
check out the 5th chisel in the picture. .
Cheers,
Camo

Yeah. Saw that. Rough image but probably one of them. Tried to buy them last week but Stu said they'd been sold and offered some others in their place. I used that pic to guess the decal colours. Note the screwdriver like tang. Pic is still up on his site though. Thanks for trying Camo. You are the only one to come back with anything so far. No prize, just a gold star (see pic) and gratitude. This is my main puzzlement at present and it goes to illustrate the pathetic and increasing smallness of my current existence. I've substituted Titan chisels for cracks in the pavement or leaves from over the fence. God help me.

titan - Copy.jpg

Not sure if it helps but here are some links to some Titan chisel ads from Trove from 60s and 70s.
Now if you could track down Mr Brannigan, I reckon he would know the answer.
I'm on a very low bandwidth location til tomorrow so I can't pull the pics until I get home.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/arti...s=l-decade=196


http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/arti...s=l-decade=196
Ask Mr Brannigan


http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/arti...s=l-decade=196
Discontinued line


http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/arti...&searchLimits=

[QUOTE=hiroller;1767162]Not sure if it helps but here are some links to some Titan chisel ads from Trove from 60s and 70s. unquote.

Got all those thanks HR.

No clue there.

Rgds Doggie

Hey Doggie, thanks! You've cleared up something for me, anyway. I spent some time watching the chisels on the Tool Exchange, a while back, looking for some chisels I wanted, to fill out a couple of 'sets'. Several times I saw chisels listed as "utility", and assumed he just meant any old cheap-looking chisel that doesn't have a visible brand or mark. Now I know what it means!

I contacted Stu at the time, & asked him if he'd keep a lookout for one in particular that I wanted (a 3/4" New Haven Edge Tool Co. socket BE), as I knew he got a lot of his stuff from the US. However, he never replied to my email, so I assumed he is not into tracking down specific items...

And if it's any consolation, I think chasing down the minutiae of chisel manufactories is at worst a harmless pursuit, and at best a help to other tragics like myself, who find this sort of information interesting...

Cheers,

Originally Posted by IanW

I think chasing down the minutiae of chisel manufactories is at worst a harmless pursuit, and at best a help to other tragics like myself, who find this sort of information interesting...

Got some more info on the "Titan lite" Utility chisel (Code 151) including a reasonable image. El cheapo it is and it joined a whole brood of Stanley and other brand cheaplets in the US such as the mid Sixties 16-150 and 16-153 and another one called "Handy Andy" for God sake. All of them have a flat blade (no taper) and a turnscrew like tang. The Stanley ones (150 and 153) have a slight bevel and simple black plastic handles. The arrival of these, what a Titan afficinado (tragic to everybody else) would call an abomination, coincided with the rise of the handyman market and of course the downtrend in the post war building frenzy where better tools were required. There was no mention of Titan on the 151 decal and no blade mark. It apparently bombed in the market. You hardly ever see them now. Opened their last paint tin in 1966. It appears no one collects them or wants to be seen with them or get caught using them. And Ian. The quest is not harmless if it drives you insane. Pics below --"Not now nurse, I'm playing with my Utilities." I'm also very good at untying straps with my teeth!
.Australian utility.JPGStanley US 150.jpg

Originally Posted by Doggie

.... And Ian. The quest is not harmless if it drives you insane. Pics below --"Not now nurse, I'm playing with my Utilities." I'm also very good at untying straps with my teeth!

Well, Doggie, there may be a difference between a pathological fetish and a very serious hobby, but who can distinguish?

Anyway, I reckon chisel-spotting is a more interesting & potentially useful hobby than train-spotting, for example, so cheer up & take your meds when you feel the need. We still love ya....

not what your asking for Doggie but I come across a chisel with a titan blade & a Stanley yellow plastic handle the other day & though of you , has the leather washer as well.
scrounger

Originally Posted by scrounger

not what your asking for Doggie but I come across a chisel with a titan blade & a Stanley yellow plastic handle the other day & though of you , has the leather washer as well.
scrounger

Obviously a ring in Scrounger, especially with the leather washer still there. Still, you score a handle and a blade to use elsewhere. However, apart from the that I want to thank you for your help in tracking down a "Utility" chisel on ebay which I won for the princely sum of $11 (plus post). It came along with a couple of other very scruffy Titans and an Addis carver (also very scruffy). So. You actually get to be my friend for a short period as promised in the original post on this thread. You can tell people you are my friend for one week, OK? Anyway, your scrounging abilities are unmatched on this forum and I for one am very appreciative. Thank you scrounger.

glad you scored the utility Doggie , my wife said I should make some more nice friends she reckons I hang around with a bunch of tools .
still cleaning last weeks haul, next in line is a very small 2 & 1/4 dawn vice that needs a bit of love & only I'm only a small fry in the scrounging game round here .
will keep an eye out for more odd & interesting titan stuff for ya when hitting the trail.
scrounger