Wallins Chisels

Wallins or Wallin chisels? It seems that it can be either, depending on the circumstances.

I typically see “WALLINS” imprinted somewhere on their wood-handled chisels, but once in a while, I see “WALLIN”.  The red and the burgundy plastic-handled chisels typically have “WALLIN” stamped on them, rather than “WALLINS”. I haven’t see this vary at all so far.

So, sometimes it’s a Wallins chisel and sometimes it’s a Wallin chisel. I’m quite sure that they are the same brand. To make things easy, I’ll refer to them as Wallins chisels in this article.

Wallins chisels appear to have been made in Lidköping, Sweden — at least at one time. “Lidköping” is stamped on every red and burgundy plastic-handled Wallins chisel I’ve seen. The wood-handled chisels do not provide a similar clue, unfortunately.

I’m not sure what foreign markets the Wallins chisels were made for, but I most commonly see them being used and sold in the UK.

Some patterns that I’ve notice among Wallins chisels include:

• They made chisels with sockets and tangs, although I’ve only seen socket chisels that were made for the Canadian market so far.
• The wooden handles for Wallins chisels are typically made of beech rather than plain birch or masur (curly) birch.
• The striking dome at the top of a wood-handled Wallins chisels (i.e. above the hoop) is typically higher than the one on a Berg chisel.
• The knurling on the the brass ferrule at the base of the wooden handle is normally coarse straight up-and-down lines, rather than the fine right-leaning diagonal lines found on Berg and Jernbolaget chisels — but not always.

Another noticeable thing about the Wallins chisels is the variation in decals and the blade stamps on the wood-handled chisels. I’ve included all examples that I’m aware of in this article.

First is the decal with yellow lettering and a trademark on a green background. See the chisel below,  second from the right.

Note the high-domed tops on the handles above the black rings on the Wallins chisel and the Esteel chisel (second from the left). Compare them to the minty Berg chisel that sits between the Wallins and the Esteel.

 

The simple oval label says “WALLINS | SWEDEN” with the enclosed “KB VW” trademark in the center.

 

 

Here is the trademark stamped on the flat back of blade — “SWEDEN” above the enclosed “KB VW” trademark.

 

Another Wallins variation are the ones with the Scandia decals on the wood handle. This logo is typically a red diamond enclosed by a black rectangle. The word “SCANDIA” is imprinted in the red rectangle in either plain block letters or in a more cursive style resembling writing. (See the photo below for a comparison).

 

 

This label has “SCANDIA” printed in a flowing style somewhat akin to writing. Printed on the four corners of the black rectangle is “THE BEST” (top L) “BY FAR” (top R)  and  “SWEDISH (bottom L)  “MADE” (bottom R).

 

The imprint on the blade reads “WALLINS  |  SWEDEN”.

 

This label has “SCANDIA” printed in a block letter style. Although almost illegible, the four corners on the black rectangle of this label also read “THE BEST” (top L) “BY FAR” (top R)  and  “SWEDISH (bottom L)  “MADE” (bottom R).

 

Here’s a better example of the Scandia label with block letters.

 

Again, the imprint on the blade reads “WALLINS  |  SWEDEN”.

 

My friend and fellow edge tool researcher from Denmark, Thomas Laursen, sent me the following photos of a Scandia chisel. Unlike the other Scandia chisels that I’ve seen previously, it does not have “WALLINS” stamped on the the back of blade. Instead, the back is stamped “DIAMOND STEEL” on top and “MADE IN SWEDEN” below. The blade size is shown as being 12 mm on the front of the blade.

Here’s a Wallins chisel with a Gator on the handle label. The large oval is green  and the smaller oval surrounding the gator is orange. The words:”MADE IN  |  SWEDEN” surround the gator on the green background.

 

 

Here’s a close up of the handle label.

 

“WALLIN SWEDEN” is stamped on the shaft of the chisel, just below the bolster and ferrule.

 

Here is an example of a wider chisel Wallins with the Gator label.

 

Note that the outer label appears to be blue, in this case, and the inner oval appears to be red.

 

The wider blade has a more ornate trademark stamp — “SWEDEN” above the enclosed “KB VW” trademark.

 

Wallins eventually manufactured chisels with red plastic handles, like the one shown below the black-handled one. This one has some sort of sticker on it as well, but it is illegible.

 

 

Close-ups of the red handle show “WALLIN” ( top), the Wallins “KB VW” trademark (middle), and “LIDKÖPING | SWEDEN” (bottom).

 

 

Below is an example of a burgundy-handled version of the Wallin chisel. Other than the handle color, everything else appears to be the same as the chisel above.