I can't really see the logo on there very well. For German carving tools, Lamp, Ulmia, and Two Cherries come to mind first. But that logo doesn't really look right for any of those from what I can see.

 

Zwilling made by JA Henckels. Solingen, Germany. Better known for kitchen cutlery.

Here's a poor quality screen capture of the symbol.

 

Yeah that looks like Henckels. Those 2 people are twins! Zwillinger are twins in german. And thats the good stuff! Not to be confused with the new Henckels International(fancy way of saying made in china)

 

Yeah that looks like Henckels. Those 2 people are twins! Zwillinger are twins in german. And thats the good stuff! Not to be confused with the new Henckels International(fancy way of saying made in china)

- SMP

Yup.

Zwilling J.A. Henckels kitchen cutlery is their premium line. We've had our Zwilling kitchen knives and steak knives for over 30 years; bought them when we were stationed in Germany. Blades are forged.

Henckels kitchen cutlery is considered entry line, and could be made anywhere like South Asia or China. The blades on these knives are stamped steel.

Still, I wasn't aware that they made chisels for carving wood. I recognized the Zwiling logo when I saw it in the pic.

 

Yeah that looks like Henckels. Those 2 people are twins! Zwillinger are twins in german. And thats the good stuff! Not to be confused with the new Henckels International(fancy way of saying made in china)

- SMP

Yup.

Zwilling J.A. Henckels kitchen cutlery is their premium line. We ve had our Zwilling kitchen knives and steak knives for over 30 years; bought them when we were stationed in Germany. Blades are forged.

Henckels kitchen cutlery is considered entry line, and could be made anywhere like South Asia or China. The blades on these knives are stamped steel.

Still, I wasn t aware that they made chisels for carving wood. I recognized the Zwiling logo when I saw it in the pic.

- RClark

I think at some point the parent company bought Staub and they just kept that as their chisel/gauge brand. Pretty good read on the company and differences here. I have one of the cheap sets, like under $100 for the set in wood block at Bed Bath and Beyond lol.

https://prudentreviews.com/zwilling-vs-henckels/

 

The carving gouges are Henckels. The shape (profiles) of V-tools and #9 gouges do not allow for stamping, so the kitchen knife comparison doesn't apply.

 

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(redundant post, ooops)

 

Much thanks everyone, apologies for the poor image. I had Henckels in the back of my mind somewhere but couldn't bring it forward. When my buddy (who doesn't really do woodworking) gave me a box of old chisels that were his late father-in-law's, I saw those Henckels and knew I'd struck Gold. I've been using the small V tool to add beard and hair to Tom Hines 5 minute wizard whittle (by way of Doug Linker). Still need to buff out the rust and strop the edge on a couple but love how these cut.

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I discovered that I have some variations of Henckels. In this photo the top tool, a long bent V-gouge is a Marples. Note the round handle with brass ferrule. The other three are Henckels. They are somewhat short (7-3/4") and the twins logo, "GERMANY" and product number are embossed in red on the handles. I also have two older Henckels with dark wood, octagonal handles. The handles are stamped with the 8-digit product number and a profile number like "71-3mm". Only one of the older Henckels has the twins logo and "GERMANY" stamped into the shank. The newer Henckels have nothing stamped into the shanks. I also have some very similar small carving tools with no markings, but all other aspects of the tools are identical to Henckels.

 

Phil, thanks for including the images of your chisels, that's really interesting watching the manufacturer change little details over time. Although sometimes I wish they'd choose one way and stick to it.

 

mobrien - The older Henckels have the dark handles like in your first photo. The most important factor is the steel. I suggest that you try to remove the rust and pitting from the gouges you have. One of my favorite carving tools is a #3 fishtail gouge from Herring Brothers. It was badly pitted when I first received it, but the Sheffield steel takes a very sharp edge.

 

Here is the tool roll given to me several years ago. The Herring Bros fishtail is on the right. The Marples long-bent V-tool is in the center. These were deeply pitted.