Some old axes a saw and a peavy

[jra1100]

wood,

Thanks for sending that. It shows me how little I know about the great tools of yesteryear. JR

PS cant rep ya or I would.

 

[xtm]

The boat anchor is a mark for certain items made in Birmingham, England. I've seen it on old jewelry and small household items that were manufactured in that industrial city. I've never seen it on a heavy work implement, but most of 'em probably stayed over there.

Coal, iron, and limestone mines were all nearby, so I believe that it is a logical guess for the origin of a short hand pick for use in cramped quarters.

Woodbooga, thanks for posting that PDF - I never knew there were so many different Axe patterns, and I know of a few not illustrated in that brochure. There is at least one - sometimes several patterns for most of the eastern states!

xtm

 

[CrappieKeith]

Great thread guys!!!!!
Very informative and yes...interesting.

 

[woodbooga]

Thanks for sending that. It shows me how little I know about the great tools of yesteryear. JR

PS cant rep ya or I would.

Put me in that category, too. Those old catalogs are awesome to look through.

In years past, Yankee magazine published a weekly feature where an expert on ye olden stuff would identify various tools, gee-gaws, kick-shaws, and doo-dads. It's like every task had its own specialized tool.

A while back, I was doing some research on the tool manufacturer who lived in my house in the 1800s. (The foundation of the factory and foundary, as well as the remnents of the millpond dam are still there.) I came acrosst a lot of really cool stuff not related to my primary search. I'll see if I can re-trace the trail of breadcrumbs to find some of the other links.

 

[TraditionalTool]

Not to be overly fussy, but your odd shaped axe is actually a bearded axe. A goosewing axe has an upswept point that extends above the eye along with the long edge below the eye. A bearded axe only has the edge below. Or at least that's my understanding.

Mine too, but I have heard them referred to goosewing axes commonly. That is not a very elegant one, but it looks like a decent tool. Cherish any tools that came from your family, clean them up and hang them on the walls if nothing else. I like to use kerosene with wet/dry, start with 400-600 and then use 1000.

If you ever try to use that goose wing broad axe, be sure to stand on the opposite side of the log. I've seen recent photos of fellas trying to work one between their legs. Make sure you've paid up your AD&D insurance if you do it that way.

xtm

xtm,

Not for nothing, but that is some of the worst advice I have heard given on this site. You might want to try what you advocate before you advocate it. That is exactly the way to a disaster with an axe, if you were to do that you would be very sore at the end of a day's work, since your standing wrong for the task at hand.

Rather, stand on the SAME side of the log and swing to your dominant side. This means right handed people swing on the right, left handed people swing on the left.

Some of the more modern axes designed for hewing timber, which the goosewing, bearded, and broad axes are all designed for, will have the handle with an offset for the side it is being used on, as well as not scraping your knuckles as you use it to shave with, in front of you. It is more common to use a broad axe like that however.

I'd love to see you hewing timber on the opposite side of the log from which you are hewing. make sure you have your lobotomy insurance paid up!

 

[clearance]

Can't really see the imprint well. Here's a cool primary source document. Even if your manufacturer isn't listed, still pretty cool.

PDF is ~8MB.

http://rosetools.bizland.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/americanaxeandtool.pdf

The homepage:

http://www.roseantiquetools.com/

Thanks Wood, cool site.

 

[xtm]

xtm,

Not for nothing, but that is some of the worst advice I have heard given on this site....

I'd love to see you hewing timber on the opposite side of the log from which you are hewing. make sure you have your lobotomy insurance paid up!

I stand corrected, head hung in shame. :blush:

It's nice to know that there is a bigger know-it-all than me around here...

xtm

 

[TraditionalTool]

I stand corrected, head hung in shame. :blush:

It's nice to know that there is a bigger know-it-all than me around here...

xtm

xtm,

No problem, at least your man enough to know you were wrong.

I once thought that would be easier myself, but I tried it and found out I was wrong.

I wouldn't call myself a know-it-all, but some things I have learned the hard way...unfortunately this was one of them.

Anyway, not to worry, hewing is not done by many folks anymore, it's just idiots like me that want to build log homes that do that type of stuff...:monkey:

And even so, I'm having my timber milled on the sides and not hewing it.

I did give a broad axe to the log craftsman that taught me how to build recently. He's gonna hang it on his wall in the living room. He immediately took it home with him, and said..."I don't want this at the yard, someone will ask me to build them a home using it..." :-/

On thing I can say is that in many cases you don't swing a hewing axe with a full swing, in most cases you use shorter chopping action, if the wood is fairly green it will cut pretty easy. It doesn't take a lot with a sharp tool.

The other style used in this type of work is an adz, and that is done in front of you, swinging between your legs. This is also dangerous as you can hit your shins easily, so one must take care in doing this. In fact this could be more dangerous than the hewing axe. There are both types of examples in older log homes, adz is more popular today, not exactly sure why, but I suspect it has to do with the fact that much of the timber is milled flat on the sides these days, it's quicker and the waste can be milled into slabs and sold.

Neither hewing or adz work is too easy, but can be learned quickly. It is back breaking work, IMO.

Regards,
TT

 

[jra1100]

Tt

Do you know why the old timers hewed the sides of the logs? It would seem to me that speed would be of the essence when building in northern locations like N Iowa, where the winters can get as cold as -36 degrees (not common, but I've seen it) and it appears to me to be a hug waste of time and energy. I know there must be a reason, but I don't know what it is. JR

 

[xtm]

We have a broad axe and adze at the old home place. I'm gonna give 'em both a closer look the next time I'm over there. I do recall that the axe handle has an offset bent into it - and I believe that the blade is forged to one side of the "eye". Both tools were implements used for dressing up and fitting replacement crossties for the M&O Railroad.

When I was a kid, that axe and adze were taboo for me to fool with. When I got older, I wasn't particularly interested in mastering them for fear of having to labor with 'em on a regular basis.

xtm

 

[woodbooga]

When I was a kid, that axe and adze were taboo for me to fool with. When I got older, I wasn't particularly interested in mastering them for fear of having to labor with 'em on a regular basis.

xtm

If I'm dikkering with someone over price at a barn sale for an old hand tool - and can't settle on an amount, I usually let out a chuckle and say, "Hey for the best, prolly. If it's got a handle, you're just buying work."

 

[Jan Itor]

Do you know why the old timers hewed the sides of the logs? It would seem to me that speed would be of the essence when building in northern locations like N Iowa, where the winters can get as cold as -36 degrees (not common, but I've seen it) and it appears to me to be a hug waste of time and energy. I know there must be a reason, but I don't know what it is. JR

According to Roy Underhill (The Woodwright's Shop,) the sides were hewn because almost everyone planned to put some form of siding on the house when they got the time. From The Woodwright's Shop "When everyone lived in log houses, it wasn't something to flaunt."

My uncle built a timberframe house with square logs that he later covered with board-and-bat siding. He says the siding made a world of difference in blocking the cold breezes.

 

[jra1100]

According to Roy Underhill (The Woodwright's Shop,) the sides were hewn because almost everyone planned to put some form of siding on the house when they got the time. From The Woodwright's Shop "When everyone lived in log houses, it wasn't something to flaunt."

My uncle built a timberframe house with square logs that he later covered with board-and-bat siding. He says the siding made a world of difference in blocking the cold breezes.

Well that makes sense, kind of funny that now days people are willing to pay big bucks to live in a log cabin that looks like a log cabin. The one that I have been working on is in pretty good shape only because it was covered with siding at least three times since 1851. Also at several junctures new roofs were put over top of the original roof. We discover new stuff every time we work on it. The old adz marks are all over, and it is uncanny how well some of the logs are squared with these great old tools. JR

 

[xtm]

Friend of mine found this interesting German-style broad axe near Fredericksburg, Texas, many years ago. I believe that it was made for a left-handed log hewer.

xtm

 

[TraditionalTool]

I just nabbed this off the big bay on the information superhighway...I had a slightly nicer, and slightly smaller DR Barton that I gave to the log craftsman that taught me how to build hewn dovetailed homes, as a token of appreciation. I'll keep this for myself. It will hang in my log home after I get it finished.

This has a 12 1/8" length edge. Looks in pretty good shape also, and I know the DR Barton tools are good quality tools.

This was a bargain at $38!

Cheers,
TT

 

[xtm]

Nice axe, TT! Are the Barton tools stamped or otherwise marked for identification? Any idea of approx. date of manufacture?

Do you agree that the German axe is for a lefty? I swing left-handed, so might try to talk him out of it if it is.

xtm

 

[TraditionalTool]

Nice axe, TT! Are the Barton tools stamped or otherwise marked for identification? Any idea of approx. date of manufacture?

Do you agree that the German axe is for a lefty? I swing left-handed, so might try to talk him out of it if it is.

xtm

I am not sure of exact age, but the auction that listed it mentioned DR Barton being in business starting in 1832. I would say the previous one could have been closer to 1900 possibly.

Yes, they are stamped, here's the maker stamp, it's a little worn, but you can tell it's a DR Barton from Rochester NY.

As for the German axe, I agree. I don't see how a right handed person could use that axe. There was a lot of German immigrants in the U.S. that were a big influx within the hand hewn log home builders, and a lot of Irish also, but I have heard that the Germans were the ones that knew how to make axes.

In the early 1800s, around 1820 actually, the handsaws were often stamped German Steel, those are easy to date. I don't know too much about axes and/or how one goes about finding info on the vintage of such, but there are various blacksmith registries where folks dig this stuff up from.

Cheers,
TT

 

[TraditionalTool]

Do you know why the old timers hewed the sides of the logs? It would seem to me that speed would be of the essence when building in northern locations like N Iowa, where the winters can get as cold as -36 degrees (not common, but I've seen it) and it appears to me to be a hug waste of time and energy. I know there must be a reason, but I don't know what it is. JR

I missed this in the thread...sorry...

My understanding is that mainly it is to remove the sap, as the heartwood doesn't rot. I have heard Roy Underhill say that it was to put siding on them also, but I think that's something he pulled out the side of his arse...there is no reason that people would build a log home with the intention of putting siding up, IMO, and if it prevented the air from blowing in, the chinking was done wrong.

When you say waste of time, remember that the timbers were hewn to make them flat, not to add a decorative touch as-is done today.

The walls are much nicer when flat, it's way easier to hang things on them without devising extensions out of tubes and such to hold pictures flat.

Many of the homes were covered up, so it's hard to tell where all the log homes are these days. They are found all the time.

Most certainly the logs were hewn to expose the heartwood, IMO.

Cheers,
TT

 

[stihl sawing]

Nice old axe TT, how old you reckon it is.

 

[Turkeyslayer]

Nice old axe TT, how old you reckon it is.

:agree2: very cool It really makes you think about how easy we have it these days. (Not really better, just easier).