Images(3)

Firmer Chisel

Date1770-1820

OriginEngland, Sheffield

MediumIron, steel, and wood

DimensionsOverall: 1 9/16 × 1 1/2 × 16 15/16 in (4 × 3.8 × 43cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1987-771

DescriptionFirmer chisel with a tapering octagonal elm handle and a tanged and bolstered blade of typical form.Label TextNoted for its robust construction, this straight bladed chisel was intended for general purpose chopping. Misused as a pry bar, it cracked where the blade’s steel edge portion meets the iron of the top portion.Mark(s)"P.LAW" with a crown to the right struck into the iron portion of the blade.ProvenancePurchased for Colonial Williamsburg at David Stanley auction at King's Head Hotel, Leicestershire, England, October 20, 1987, by The Mechanick's Workbench. Lot 306.