Berg Chisel Labels
I’m surprised at how many variations of handle labels there are for E.A. Berg chisels, so I decided to try to find and list as many as I could.
The list of labels shown below is likely incomplete. Also I am not making any attempt to attribute dates or chisel types to the labels. I wish I could. Maybe this will help get the ball rolling in those areas.
E.A. Berg took great pride in their brand and they were always very consistent in how they presented their product. A good example is the layout and the wording of their chisel handle label. I have never seen a Berg Handle label where the wording, word placement, logo placement, or oval around the perimeter changed. The shark also always appears to be the same color as the lettering and the perimeter oval. The things that do vary are the background and foreground colors, plus changes in the appearance of the typeface and the shark logo itself.
I’ve used my own naming convention for the label names and corresponding abbreviations. I’ve named the background color first and the color of the shark logo, lettering, and oval label outline last. The first and last descriptors are separated by a period. So a blue background with gold flake shark, lettering, and oval would be “Blue . Gold Flake”, or “B.GF” for short.
I hope that this information will evolve and improve over time. If you have photos of other Berg label variations, please let me know. Same for any other new information that you might have on labels shown or not shown.
DT.Y(S) – Dark Teal . Yellow (Scroll)
Added Sept-5-2015 (You can find a detailed post about this label here.)
I believe that this is the first type of label that Berg put on their chisel handles. Also, it is the only Berg handle label I’ve seen that is made from embossed paper. All of the other Berg labels shown in this post are decal-style labels.
Photo Courtesy of Stephen G
DT.Y – Dark Teal . Yellow
Added Nov-25-2013
DT.Y2 – Dark Teal . Yellow 2
Added Nov-25-2013
DT.GF – Dark Teal . Gold Flake
Added Nov-25-2013
LT.Y – Light Teal . Yellow
Added Nov-25-2013
LT.G – Light Teal . Gold
Added Nov-25-2013 (This is a poor photo, but the best I have right now.)
LT.GF – Light Teal . Gold Flake
Added Nov-25-2013
PB.B – Pale Blue . Black
Added Sept-10-2015
LB.DGF – Light Blue . Dark Gold Flake
Added Nov-25-2013
LB.GF – Light Blue . Gold Flake
Added Nov-25-2013
B.GF – Blue . Gold Flake
Added Nov-25-2013, Modified name Nov-26-2013
B.G – Blue . Gold
Added Nov-25-2013
B.G – Blue . Gold (A second look)
Added Nov-25-2013
B.GI – Blue . Gold Indistinct (A variant of B.G, possibly due to wear or poor printing)
Added Nov-26-2013
B.BL – Blue . Black
Added Nov-25-2013, Modified name and title Nov-26-2013
DB.B – Dark Blue . Blue
Added Nov-26-2013
C.B – Clear . Black
Added Sept-10-2015
Glen: The Berg catalog and advertising illustrations from the 1930’s show scrolls above the shark in the oval, but I have never seen an actual tool stamp that has that scroll. Have you?
I noticed that, too, and I’ve wondered the same thing. I’ve never seen a Berg label on a chisel that had those scrolls on them.
Randall, Glen
You both seem to know a great deal more than I do about the Berg chisels. I see some Berg chisels over here in Finland but seldom any where the stickers are intact.
Do you have access several Berg catalogues? My attempts to find any have been futile.
I think we all know some different things about Berg chisels, so it’s nice to be able to share our combined knowledge.
I don’t have any Berg Catalogs, just a few images from a 1936 and a 1939 catalog. I see there is a reproduction of a 1936 Berg catalog on eBay today (July, 24, 2014), but it’s a bit too pricey for me.
I also have some pages from a 1965 Bahco catalog showing Berg and Jernbolaget chisels and cutlery.
I received some berg chisels, for Christmas.I know nothing about them other than what I’ve read.
Set of six chisels 1026-955.
Set number 9188. it’s in a wooden box with a 3×1 1/2 oval label,blue/gold.it’s the actual box made for these chisels.I’m not sure what there worth is and they are in almost perfect unused condition.im not sure I should use them.
Nice Christmas gift, Don!
If you do decide to use them, I’m sure they will perform beautifully. 🙂
is there a common font