What are used/old chisels worth

Travis Porter

Member
Messages
292
Location
Wake Forest, NC
I have been wanting to upgrade my chisels, and have been watching the posts here and watching flea bay.

Over the past 3 days, I found a pair of nice Stanley everlasts and started bidding on them. They were short not long handled, and in good shape, but by the time the end of the auction came, they sold for $117 for 2 chisels. I went up to $90, and then got out.

So, what should I expect to pay for a good old/used chisel? For what they sold the two chisels for, I could have bought to AI's or two LN's. Would I be better off buying new ones?

As to what I would like (want), I don't think I want real long handles. Something around maybe 9" tall.

Thoughts, suggestions, comments, all would be appreciated.
 
I have 3 Stanley Everlasts. One is fabulous, one is ok, and one is good. I think there can be alot of variation in the quality of the steel. IMO, unless you get them for $25 or less, they are not worth what they are going for on eBay.
Ken
 
Hi Travis,

Vintage chisels that are desirable to collectors and over enthusiastic users vary. Swan, Berg, Witherby and others are at various times are more expensive than new, as you are finding.

Composing a set takes time. Which is why I don't suggest it without a person already having a good set of users. So if you go this route, just keep on the lookout for decent deals, set a realistic limit and let them go past it if they do. The only other viable option is to bite the bullet and pay for a full set--which doesn't come up that often and usually go for quite a bit.

But with time and patience you can compose a nice set of vintage chisels. They will not be better than the AI chisels which can be had for less than composing most brands of decent chisels, nor in all likelihood than the LN. Ken's suggestion of $25 or less is what I shoot for.

Take care, Mike
 
travis, old "collectable" chisels are worth whatever somebody is willing to pay:eek: ........often lots more than i`d pay.....the big plus to investing in antiques is that there aren`t any more being made and if you shop wisely your chisels will go up in value every year......that said, my antiques are only used on family stuff......i use production run chisels for shop work for clients...there are several good brands on the market.....tod
 
Whatever someone is willing to payis not what I am willing to pay. The $25 rule seems pretty realistic. I do have bids in on some two cherries chisels, they aren't old, but they seem to be decent quality.

Wouldn't mind getting some Everlasts, but $60 a piece is too rich for my blood.
 
Whatever someone is willing to payis not what I am willing to pay.
So, you knew the answer before you asked!;)

To phrase it another way, vintage chisels are worth more by supply and demand than you're willing to pay for them, in some cases (i.e., ebay). Ebay is a good gauge of what people are willing to pay, and I have been willing to pay extra for things I want also. I'm sure there is more than one person that would think $140 is outrageous for a hand grinder, but it's the first one I've seen with the gear covers on it that is in decent shape, and I like Goodell Pratt tools. A restored one without the covers went for $200 not long ago, another that was missing the tool rest went for $110, so go figure...

Keep looking, there's deals out there. Go to fleas, garage sales, estate sales, etc...yeah, it takes longer and you often find a bunch of trash, but every once in a while old stuff pops up at reasonable prices. I like to look for estate sales on craigslist, or local garage sales with tools. Sometimes 'ya get lucky.

I also recommend following the oldtools list, I've bought several old stanley chisels for $5-$10 each over the past year. I have enough vintage chisels that I don't really need more, but there's plenty around for all of us, IMO, we just need to look more.
 
I just got another 3/4" Stanley 750 chisel for $8 off the oldtools list...:thumb:

Somebody else got a couple Whiterbys with no handles for $15 (darn, I was too late:eek:).
 
Travis,

Stanley chisels are well worth $12, IMO, and at that price you can't help but gather them. I didn't need this one I got, but at $8, I can't help myself...:rolleyes:
 
chisel question?

i have a socket type chisel that has the name of(-uck bro.s) on it i think the first letter was b but there isnt a trace to be sure, can anyone fill in the gaps and tell me something about the brand?
 
Hi Larry, as Don says, Buck Bros.

Old enough and the chisels are good chisels--which for Buck Bros. mean clear until about the 1950s or so.

Older still it will be Charles Buck and or say Cast Steel on it. Those are fine chisels.

Take care, Mike
 
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