Pfeil tools are very popular amongst woodcarvers but their numbering system differs from the widely used Sheffield List. The first few chisels are numbered in a similar way to the Sheffield List but after that it starts to deviate more substantially. In this article I attempt to match up the Pfeil numbering system with the Sheffield List.
While I have done my best to match up the various gouges there may be errors and omissions. If you see a mistake please leave me a comment below and I’ll get it fixed.
For the Sheffield List I’m going comparing against the chart available in the Henry Taylor catalogue as this covers a good range of tools. Matching the curve of a tool is difficult unless you have either the tool or a dimensioned drawing so this is a best guess.
Pfeil Number Mapping
| Sheffield | European / Pfeil | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Double bevel chisel |
| 2 | 1S | Double bevel skew chisel |
| 1e | Single bevel chisel | |
| 1Se | Single bevel skew chisel | |
| 3 | 2 | Flattest gouge |
| 4 | 3 | Gouge |
| 5 | 4 | Gouge |
| 6 | 5 | Gouge |
| 7 | 6 | Gouge |
| 8 | 7 | Gouge |
| 8 | The Pfeil system has an additional gouge I’ve arbitrarily made it #8 as matching the sweeps would be hard | |
| 9 | 9 | Going by the sweep the Pfeil 9 is semi-circular |
| 10 | See Pfeil #11 | |
| 11 | 11 | From the sweep this is the best match but the profile isn’t perfectly semi-circular in the Pfeil |
| 39 | 12 | 60 Degree v-gouge |
| 41 | 15 | 45 Degree v-gouge |
| 45 | 13 | 90 Degree v-gouge |
| 14 | 55 Degree v-gouge | |
| 16 | 35 Degree v-gouge | |
| 17 | Staehli gougle, v-tool with a small sweep | |
| 18 | Schaller gougle, base is like a Pfeil #11 with a sweep on the sides | |
| 12 | Flattest long bent gouge | |
| 13 | Long bent gouge | |
| 14 | 5L | Long bent gouge. The L suffix indicates long bent tools. An exact match to the Sheffield list is difficult. |
| 15 | Long bent gouge | |
| 16 | 7L | Long bent gouge. Long bent gouge. See Pfeil #5L |
| 17 | 8L | See Pfeil #5L |
| 18 | Long bent semi-circular gouge | |
| 19 | Long bent u-gouge | |
| 20 | Long bent tall u-gougle | |
| 40 | 12L | Long bent 60 degree v-gouge |
| 42 | Long bent 45 degree v-gouge | |
| 46 | Long bent 90 degree v-gouge | |
| 21 | 1a | Short bent flat chisel |
| 22 | 2ar | Short bent right hand skew |
| 23 | 2al | Short bent left hand skew |
| 24 | 2a | Flattest short bent gouge |
| 25 | 3a | Short bent gouge |
| 26 | 5a | Short bent gouge |
| 27 | Short bent gouge | |
| 28 | 7a | Short bent gouge |
| 29 | 8a | Short bent gouge |
| 30 | 9a | Semi-circular gouge with a short bend |
| 31 | See Pfeil #11a | |
| 32 | 11a | U-gougle with a short bend |
| 43 | 12a | 60 Degree spoon bent v-gouge |
| 44 | 45 Degree spoon bent v-gouge | |
| 14a | 55 Degree spoon bent v-gouge | |
| 10 | Back bent straight chisel | |
| 33 | 20 | Flattest back bent gouge |
| 34 | 30 | Back bent gougle, there seems to be a break in the Pfeil numbering scheme here |
| 35 | 25 | Back bent gouge |
| 36 | Back bent gouge | |
| 37 | 28 | Back bent gouge |
| 38 | Back bent gouge | |
| 21 | Dog leg chisel | |
| 22 | Wing parting tool. V-gouge with a strong sweep on the edges | |
| 23 | Macaroni tool. Box shaped with slight relief on the sides | |
| 24 | Fluteroni tool. Wide based U profile | |
| 1F | Fishtail chisel | |
| 3F | Fishtail gouge | |
| 5F | Fishtail gouge | |
| 7F | Fishtail gouge | |
| 9F | Fishtail gouge |
Pfeil produce many more chisels than are shown on this list and not all match up to any of the profiles / shapes in the Sheffield List easily. For example Pfeil list a wide range of items under their long bent tools but many of the appear to be a better match for spoon / short bent tools in the Sheffield List and are also listed under the short bent section.
The Sheffield List doesn’t include any specific numbers for fishtail gouges but it would be expected that the numbers follow the same pattern as straight gouges.