You aren't going to find who made these chisels very easily. However, I think you got a great deal at $285 - that said as long as the edge steel reflects reasonable hardness of >62 (that would surprise me very much) and the steel doesn't de-laminate on you.
As far as the picture you posted, indicators of a higher quality Japanese chisel (but not necessarily the best quality) are the handles (whatever the Japanese call ebony - Macassar ebony?) and the multiple hollows which appear to be ground with precision. The multiple hollows are not necessarily a better design, but they do take more machining and so normally aren't found on the least expensive chisels. Indicators that these are not the very highest quality are the lack of a makers stamp on the back of the blade and the fact the the soft steel is not layered or otherwise decorative. However, these are just heuristics. Not all of the best chisels have decorative steel, for example. Without knowing who made them or submitting them to a battery of tests, only time and use will tell you how good they really are.
If I were you, I wouldn't use a Tormek on them again. [member=4358]derekcohen[/member] has some good pointers for sharpening Japanese chisels, and they should be sharpened to the original angle - usually 30-35 degrees, because the harder edge steel is also a bit more brittle. Aside from that, I agree with Derek - sharpen them up and enjoy using what looks like a quality set of chisels.
If you are in the US, you might try emailing Hida Tools or Suzuki Tools (no relation to the cars) to see if they can help you out. I've bought a few things from both companies and they have both been great. Suzuki Tools in particular seems like a very friendly family business.
