Esq1997
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That’s where I discovered it!!!
Axe restoration thread
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Drptrch
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Esq1997
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I used medium walnut.
Kingbilly68
ArboristSite Lurker
My first axe restoration. True temper I found in an old garage.
Kingbilly68
ArboristSite Lurker
Before pic
I got out bid on some nice heads. One Collins with an absolute perfect poll, a double with two old hand planes, went to $50. I think the buyer wanted the old planes. Trouble with the online actions. I've got several nice axes because the person wanted the other items in the lot. Here's the four I brought home.
This is probably the only ax I have with a proud handle.
You got the Elwell Inn the end then!
And you stuck it in a block wall!
Shows the quality of the steel
Thanks, you beat me to it. I was going to say it's one Bad Azz axe.
I like to know the history of my axes. I found quite a bit on Elwell going back to the 1500's.
I always thought the Stanley's were middle of the line quality axes, but I may be wrong. Mann Ax bought out Collins's holdings in the US in 1966. But, Stanley bought out their holdings in South America and Mexico. Stanley had a no compete clause in the purchase, so Mann could not market products with the Mann or Collins name on them south of the border. If you look at the pic of the Stanley, you can see an M at each end of the logo. Some of the Ax historians "think" that may stand for Mann Made, and Mann actually made the axes for Stanley. Just an educated guess.
I always thought the Stanley's were middle of the line quality axes, but I may be wrong. Mann Ax bought out Collins's holdings in the US in 1966. But, Stanley bought out their holdings in South America and Mexico. Stanley had a no compete clause in the purchase, so Mann could not market products with the Mann or Collins name on them south of the border. If you look at the pic of the Stanley, you can see an M at each end of the logo. Some of the Ax historians "think" that may stand for Mann Made, and Mann actually made the axes for Stanley. Just an educated guess.
I'm going to step on some toes again. But, that's just me. You guys are taking some beautiful heads, putting them on beautiful hafts, and not taking 5 minutes to learn how to hang them right. I have 100+ year old axes that were hung properly, with the original haft in them, cut flush to the eye, and they are still tight. To me, sticking a 1/4 to 1/2 inch out of the eye is just being too lazy to do it right. Trim the handle so it slides through easy then squash the wood to make it tight. You are going to find, if you use them, that because the part of the haft inside the eye is not tight to the eye, in time it will let the head slide into the squashed part and eventually come loose. It's like finding a beautiful Model A with a rust hole in the floor, and just screwing a piece of plywood over it. It's flat, it stops the water getting in, you can't see it, and it's easier than welding a proper patch in. I guess it's a BBR thing?
Esq1997
ArboristSite Operative
Before I started restoring axes myself, I had this one done professionally. It’s. 12” x 3.5” Puget Sound pattern. The only marking I can find is under the bit, which I photographed. Does anyone have any thoughts of who might have manufactured this double bit?
Wow, that thing is cool. The way you finished the top of the haft is beautiful. I can pass this chore on to you. In my early days of collecting, and playing on computers, I found a printed table of makers marks. I had been looking all day and had tried every combination of words I could think of for searches. I didn't know how to copy and print stuff, so I was waiting for my son to get home. When I went back later, someone else used the computer and erased my page. I tried using every combo of words, and have looked for that chart many times since, and have never found it. It must be out there somewhere? Good luck.
Just did a search for, "list of axe makers marks" and found a bunch of them, might take a while to go through them all.
Esq1997
ArboristSite Operative
I’ve been scanning the web for quite some time and have not been able to identify this axe by the “10” stamped under the bit. Kind of odd. It’s a huge axe.
Idk anything about it, but I don't think that's a 1.
(I'm just following along for the education
)1815 Netherlands?
http://www.nobelantik.dk/www/Fnetherlands_Date_Code.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_colonization_of_the_Americas
You can see a 4 under the Elwell logo. I would assume that means a 4 pounds? The handle is quite heavy, the whole thing feels like 8-10 ponds. It's heavy, and I would not like to be on the user end all day!
That first axe is very old and I'd swear I've seen that "lip" at the edge before, but I can't remember where. It might have been called a "Chip Slinger" or something similar. edit: Yep, a Kelly Chip Slinger!I got out bid on some nice heads. One Collins with an absolute perfect poll, a double with two old hand planes, went to $50. I think the buyer wanted the old planes. Trouble with the online actions. I've got several nice axes because the person wanted the other items in the lot. Here's the four I brought home.
Stanley's are middle line. They were made by Mann, and Mann also made axes for Collins from the 60's onward. I have a beefy Stanley, it was my first single bit and it is a good user, but it has flat cheeks and isn't the greatest. It splits well, is a nice wedge-beater, and is made from good steel, but I wouldn't use it for felling or bucking. You can see it on the far right side of this picture.
I only recall hearing of two manufacturers with stamps on the bottom of the axe, one was an eastern company, either Snow and Neally or Emerson and Stevens, and the other was Mann so I'd guess it's a Mann. To the best of my knowledge, only Kelly, Warren, Mann, Sager, and maybe Plumb made Pugets in any real numbers, so it is almost definitely one of them at least. No, @TNTreeHugger I do not think it's Dutch. Americans were the only people to make large quantities of double bits, and we are the only nation to produce Puget Sound axes, so named because they were designed for the massive old growth trees in the PNW.
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