Tim,
Firstly, I assume we are talking strictly about Winsted Edge Tool
Works products. I don't have anything actually made by T.H. Witherby
so I simply cannot speak about those tools.
Secondly, I do not feel comfortable specifically stating that any one
maker is better than any other. The primary reason for this is that
such a statement is very hard to prove. Put two tools side by side
and run them through their paces: quantitatively measure wear,
hardness, edge holding ability, etc. Then I can tell you which is
better. Without a quantitative comparison, all I have is a "feeling"
and that could mean anything.
Don't get me wrong, I love my Winsted Edge Tool Works chisels. I
don't intend to be dismissive or pejorative. But since you mention
Swan, I do not think that WETW tools are reliably or substantially
better than Swan chisels. Of the dozen WETW tools I own, a couple
might be and a couple are definitely not. I have at least two WETW
chisels that have let me down. One is a lot softer than I would
expect, perhaps someone did something untoward to it, and the other
one would not know "flat" if it came up and bit it on the
hindquarters.
WETW was in business for about 72 years. They had at least 5
different foreman, likely more. In that time they made some really
great chisels and I am sure there are some dogs out there. I KNOW
there are some dogs out there. There were probably bad days at the
forge and in the hardening room. In general, they are very fine
tools. But I cannot say that they are substantially better than a
Swan or half-a-dozen other makers.
I think every tool has to be judged on it's own merits, taking some
generalizations into account. And as far as price, I once bought a
Swan chisel for $3.99 on an unnamed auction site. I don't think you
could do that with anything that says Witherby on it. The real
problem is that there are so few Swan chisels on that auction site
that it is difficult to be conclusive.
When I say, "But this quality is commonly matched and even excelled
by manufacturers..." I do think there is at least one manufacturer
that makes a reliably better chisel than WETW. But I won't name
names. The first reason is that it is just my "feeling". The
second reason is that those kinds of things sometimes stick, become
popular knowledge and unfortunately/artificially inflate prices.
Keep in mind, this is just one man's opinion. There is plenty of
room for others.
I also agree with J. Thompson, PEXTO are good tools but it is a cheap
name. It sounds like 1950's gimmick and it looks just plain ugly. It
can't compete with Witherby and Swan, nice old British names.
Nathaniel
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