Henry Taylor old/vintage woodcarving tools
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- This topic has 9 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 4 years, 7 months ago by Larry Geib.
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18 July 2019 at 8:54 pm #591256
I am hoping for some help from you regarding age of some (mostely) Henry Taylor tools I got from my mother, which was inherited from her father for some 30 years ago.
The formeost reason I am wondering, is the number of chisels/gauges as my grandfather did not have that much (other) tools to work with to create his almost magical furniture. This makes me wonder if these tools might have been something in the family for a longer periode of time; and got me curious of the age on these.
From what I can see, most have “H. Taylor” and “made in England” on them, and most are made of beech handles. The handles might have been changed though, as they are in mint condition, and there are some without handles too.
Any help on the subject is most appreciated.
Picture enclosed.
Thank you.[attachment file=”591257″]
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You must be logged in to view attached files.20 July 2019 at 11:40 pm #591925Added.
It does not say made in England, rather just “England”; a few with “Sheffield”. And the oaknut.
(Never mind the top left items on the picture.)
I am trying to learn woodcarving, first step for me is to get the tools really sharp. If these turn out to be very old tools, I will get some more practice on some other set before I start on these.
Any hints on elsewhere to get help?
Please and thank you.Well, you are very lucky. That looks to be a decent and very usable set of tools. From the lengths of some of the blades, well used and from the appearance, well cared for. Apart from a few ‘exotic’ curved shapes, most are the kind of gouges that are used every day.
it’s hard to tell the age; Taylor have been (still are, fortunately) in business for a long time. The use of the word ‘England’ etc in the name certainly pre-dates the EEC and may very well be 1950s or even pre-war. There’s a bit of research needed there on the British rules for marking items in a restricted trade era.The handles appear to be user-made. I say this because I bought most of my Taylor tools unhandled and made my own. They have octagonal sections which is very useful in preventing them rolling off the bench. Some are unhandled. There is a method of work which uses the tapered shank above the bolster to refine its own hole from a drilled blank but it’s a little complicated…. that’s for later.
Because they are made in Sheffield, they will conform to the ‘Sheffield List’ of widths and radii. You’ll see a number stamped on each one and this denotes the sweep (or radius). The Sheffield list is different to the modern Continental sweeps.
More info? I learned with a carver called Chris Pye about 25 years ago. He now has a subscription web-site, like Paul Sellers, plus a few free films on You-Tube.
Your first big task if you are serious is learning to sharpen. Not easy and will involve you in some initial expanse in buying stones etc. Chris Pye also has an excellent book on sharpening techniques but you may have to search it out……
If you visit his web-site, he has a PDF of the Sheffield List of sweeps that you can down-load and print off to work out and list which gouges you already have.Good luck and let us all know how you get on.
21 July 2019 at 9:16 pm #592177Thank you very much for you thorough reply to my post.
As you say the tools are very well cared for, and the handles are probably made by my grandfather.
I did not know there was a special list for Sheffield tools, the markings made me confused at first; so this is something I will look deeper into – thank you.
I have seen some of the YouTube videos of Chris Pye, and will definitely check out his web site.
He seems like a calm, thorough teacher and hope I will learn a fraction of the knowledge Mr Paul Sellers has given me.
Thank you again.Well, the first thing that I did with Chris Pye was to spend a lot of time on the elements of sharpening…. that is essential before cutting wood – which can’t be done with a blunt tool.
The Sheffield list is an approximate gauge of the widths and sweeps for English-made tools. It probably dates from the 19th C. In its simplest form it relates the width (in inches) of a gouge across the flute versus its sweep (radius).
In the Sheffield system, No 1 is a straight chisel, No 2 a skewed chisel. Sweeps start at No 3 (the shallowest or greatest radius) in graduations up to No 9 ( a semi circle).
First thing is to get a scale copy of the list and work out which gouges you have already.
good luck
27 July 2019 at 3:38 am #593737Some Henry Taylor’s I bought new in the 1960’s just say England on them. No idea how long they were in stock where I bought them.
Mary may also has a great tutorial on sharpening gouges which I found most useful ( except the olive oil part)
She is spot on with the safety warning. Most of the time I cut myself it’s while sharpening.She also has a video on V-tools that helped, though I don’t get the pristine v bottom she does.
The first v tool I ever had to sharpen I wound up chucking.
- This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by Larry Geib.
At least some of the octagonal cross section handles (like on the large gouge in the front row) are original. I believe that Henry Taylor still uses this pattern (One of two). I have a set of these that i bought new back in the late seventies from Brownell’s. The Henry Taylor handles were (are?) made of an exotic wood called Pau Ferro about which I know nothing except that it is very hard.
Dave
24 September 2019 at 1:11 am #611324Congrats! Lovely tools. Check Chris Pye first as it is not just sharpness you are on the hunt for. Angles on gouges are critical,…about 25 degrees needed. I have quite a few chisels and got most razor,razor sharp but they didnt slice well so I had to regrind almost all of them which took soooooooooo much time. I think Chris Pye has some free videos on youtube on the topic. Good Luck!!
24 September 2019 at 3:18 am #611349Pao Ferro is hardly grey and featureless.
It’s also known as Mirado, Bolivian rosewood,and Santos Rosewood.( also ironwood)
Despite the name , it’s not a Dalbergia, and not currently on the Cites lists.
- This reply was modified 4 years, 7 months ago by Larry Geib.
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