Seeking info on a Buck Brothers chisel

[Bill_Houghton]

One of my Christmas presents was this Buck Brothers chisel, picked up at an estate sale:

It's pretty clearly a paring chisel: long (7-1/2" from shoulder to edge), fairly thin blade and a handle designed for holding and pushing rather than striking (although some previous owner did apply a mallet to the end a few times!).  The blade is 5/8" wide, a size that's always puzzled me - it seems like a width I'd rarely need.  But hey, for $3 - hard to turn it down.

The handle's stamped "Buck Bros," overlapped by a stamp reading "Pattern Lab." and, in a different location on the handle, "394."   I take it this means it was used by patternmakers in an R&D operation, university or industry.  The blade, up by the shoulder, is marked "Buck Cast."  It may also have the word "Steel," but someone stamped "6C262" where that word would be.

I've been trying to find information online about Buck's products, just out of curiosity - to get an idea of what Buck considered this chisel to be.  Alas, no one seems to have put any catalogs up online.  All I can find is references to a reprint of their 1890 catalog.  If there's anyone here who happens to own a copy, I'd be grateful if you'd see if you can find this chisel in the catalog.

And, yes, this is a bit of a gloat.

[Downwindtracker2]

It's is worthy of a gloat. The handle looks Swedish, but the Buck Bro. cranked neck I have has a similar style only larger.  It might have a very interesting history. I have a patternmakers tool chest, also an estate sale. My four paring chisels are William Marples and Son, three with English style handle ,one with American.

[EricU]

That's a cool chisel.

I always had trouble with paring chisels that wide, but it's probably because I couldn't sharpen them worth a hoot. Now that I have a guide, I'm going to go back over them and see if that improves things.

[Bill_Houghton]

This one will need some reshaping - the edge is more or less straight, but, by the time you get past the beveled edges, the top side of the bevel slants - and the chisel is not at fault.  Someone ground it so the bevel angle changes across the width.

[Admiral]

I have one just like it in a 1/8" size, same handle, except black. Mine is late 19th century.

[wmickley]

The chisel is called a bevelled edge handled paring chisel. The blade was originally 8 1/2 inches to the bolster; firmer chisels were 5 1/2 to the bolster. $8.10 per dozen in 1899.

Several catalogues on line, here is a link.

http://otools1.wkfinetools.com/edgeT/Buc...-No.10.pdf

[Bill_Houghton]

Thanks, Warren!  I wonder why da Google didn't offer that to me?

It even shows the same handle as mine - so I've got the original handle.  Nifty!

I would not at all mind being able to wander into a hardware store of that period, carrying the catalog, and pick out sets of many of those chisels, carving tools, etc.; plus drawknives and other tasty stuff. I'd have to make sure I rented the utility time machine, with plenty of storage space.

[lilrichard2]

I have two with that style handle. Here's the 1/8" one:





And the 1" one which has the cap end cut off - probably from damage from  using a hammer:





r2