Need help identifying chisels!
FlokiTheBoatBuilder
| Posted in General Discussion on
Hello! I bought these two chisels at a flea market. The smaller chisel is clearly marked AW CROSSMAN. The larger (framing?) chisel has a stamp but I can only make out the last few letters as “ERS” or “EAS”. I was curious if anyone could identify the larger chisel for me?
Any relevant information (date manufactured, quality steel, or current value) would be greatly appreciated! I do not intend to resell them I am just curious. That being said, I am not a collector so if anybody is dying to have either one I’d be happy to send it to them.
Replies
A W Crossman chisels were made 1850ish till 1867. After 1867 the firm was A W Crossman & Son. I have had several go through my hands, and still have a large 5/8" framing/mortice chisel. All of the Crossman chisels I have seen have been laminated and the steel used for the cutting edge seems to be of good quality. Mine holds a good edge. If the back of your chisel is as clean as the top, I would put an edge on it and put it to work.
As for the larger one there are some sites on the web that have US and Brit trademark examples that could be of help.
Crossman made good stuff. They were located in Western Mass. There is a digital catalogue of theirs from 1869 floating around the interwebs. It's not really collectible, but just a nice chisel for a woodworker.
It's hard to say about the other. The best odds for a chisel that ends in ERS would be Buck Brothers who made a billion chisels. There are a lot of their catalogs reproduced online. You could flip through and see if you can spot that particular chisel in their catalogs. This one looks like a millwright's chisel, very heavy duty, but not so good for everyday furniture making.
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