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Restoration as ArtPost WWII/Cold War Era Western GermanyVery Nice Vintage 8 Piece Supreme Drop ForgedBeech Wood Handled Chisel Set inFitted and Hinged Wooden BoxIndividual Chisel Handle Decals:SUPREME QUALITY PRODUCTEach Chisel Embossed:DROP FORGEDWEST GERMANYSizes are 1/4", 5/16", 3/8", 1/2", 5/8", 3/4", 1", 1-1/8"
Set came to me as eight with original decals and some handle damage. Each chisel body was removed from the handle, tangs straighted and reset with proper decal orientation. The color of one decal is slightly different. Handles were cleaned and coated with clear lacquer. One handle had some previous repairs, which I feathered in and finished, maintaining the original decal. The box was in bad shape top and bottom with 2 layers of 1/16" veneer delaminating. I replaced the top and bottom with 1/8" solid quarter sawn Ash and one side was totally replaced while the bottom had one layer remaining intact, so the Ash was laminated on top. It makes for a different appearance inside the box, but I practice doing as little destruction as possible. I finished the box with amber shellac and several coats of clear nitrocellulose lacquer.
Supreme Quality Tools and Products were blind manufactured for importers in several facilities in West Germany, with forges clustered in and around Solingen. These were distributed and sold mostly in the United States and the UK immediately following World War II and into the 1950's. Supreme Products also produced drafting tools, measuring instruments, and Vernier Calipers. Later versions of the chisels would include the name SteelCraft with an almost identically shaped logo.
With leather capped Beech handles, these bevel edge chisels are not typical bench chisels like the Stanley EverLast or the No. 60 with the full tang and striking head. These chisels were designed for more delicate work and use with a mallet and not a hammer. Many chisels in Germany were used by carvers. Because importers wanted to sell them into the homeowner market, many of whom didn't know what a mallet was (including your's truly before I knew better), often used the equivalent of a framing hammer, destroying many of the leather capped Beech handles, bending the delicate tangs and assuming they were simply cheap. I have found these chisels flatten and hold an edge very well. This set is ready to go back to work or in a collection, but factory grinds were preserved and not honed. My goal was to preserve these important relics of post World War II / Cold War era. I have one chisel embossed Brit Zone Germany, meaning it was forged during Occupation in the section of Germany under Brittish control immediately following the war and prior to the Soviets building the Berlin Wall. This chisel is for sale in a different listing.
Please read the description and view pictures carefully. Our goal is to provide you with a great buying experience. We are selling vintage items and accept returns if you are unhappy. We would prefer not to cost either of us the inconvenience of a return. We respond to questions as quickly as possible.For combined shipping, please place items in your cart and request a total. We will package accordingly and give you the best possible shipping rates. We do not ship outside the continental United States. No exceptions.Each item is carefully packaged to protect it in transit. Keeping thrift in mind, I ship using recycled materials and pack according to fragility.
What you get from me. I often purchase tools that come to me with undeclared flaws. I go through them and correct as many flaws as possible and sometimes use the tool for parts if it beyond refurbishing. Replacement parts are no longer made and sourcing them is difficult and expensive. Sometimes, I must purchase another tool just for a single part. I believe in transparency and tell you what I have done. I have decades of experience restoring antique tools. Please look closely at the pictures and make sure this is the item you want before purchasing. Only the item listed is included. Items in the background are for scale reference and display suggestion only.
