We have recently started selling carving tools from Henry Taylor Tools Ltd. We also have a number of French tools from Auriou, which resumed making carving tools a year or so ago, in addition to its well-known rasps!
Henry Taylor Tools Ltd in Sheffield has made carving and woodcraft tools since 1834, and in Sweden we have used them since at least before 1920. Their logo, an acorn (Acorn Tools), is often recognised. Or, as the 1920 catalogue below puts it in Swedish: "The English Acorn brand. Extra prime quality". When we placed our first order with Henry Taylor, we noticed that the carving tools we buy are the same ones that have been sold for almost a hundred years. Even the item numbers are the same!
An extract from a 1920 tool catalogue shows these tools. As you can see, they have the same item numbers today as almost a hundred years ago!
Henry Taylor gouges are made from the finest steel and hardened so that, together with grinding and honing, they take a superbly sharp edge!
What should these tools be called? The collective Swedish name is bildhuggarjärn, carving tools, but there are many different names. Many Swedish terms come from German and some from English. Today we read books and magazines, watch films or look online, often in English. For the record, here is an attempt at a Swedish–English glossary:
Skölp (håljärn) – gouge
Rakt håljärn – straight gouge or straight chisel
Rakt järn – straight gouge
Skölp med rakt järn – straight gouges
Skölp med rakt snedlöpande järn – skew gouges
Snedlöpande järn – skew chisel
Bakböjt järn – back-bent gouge
Svängt järn – bent gouges
Böjt järn – spoon gouge
Getfot, rak – straight V-tool (V-parting tool)
Getfot, böjd – bent V-tool
Välvningsjärn – spoon gouge, bent
Makaronijärn – macaroni tools
Fluteronijärn – fluteroni tools
Fiskstjärtsskölp – fishtail gouges
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