70s era?? Stanley Axe

S

smith357

Joined
Feb 19, 2005
Messages
579
Found a 3.5# Stanley Michigan axe at the flea market for $8, the head was in very good shape but the handle was dead. I pulled a total of 6 wedges and two long square nails from the eye. The head is marked M STANLEY M, what I can find on the net says the M M stands for Made in Mexico. The cheeks are flat and the bit is pretty thick, I figure it should make a good splitting axe to leave down at the cabin. So my question is what is the overall quality of these late model Stanley axes?

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A splitting axe is not subject to the same quality constraints as one that a long-ago pieceworker relied on to fall trees. If the geometry of the blade and the balance and weight of the whole thing works for you then merely go out and enjoy your find.
Stanley Tools (if this is the same outfit that made your axe) was a premier British/USA/Canadian manufacturer of top quality implements until well into the 1970s. Their stuff is now largely 'farmed out' and cheapened to the extreme but they still exist.
 
I'm not sure if it is a "splitting axe" per say, it's just that the thick blade is very wedge like. I have not done anything with the edge yet other than taking out a couple of small knicks, it's still almost factory blunt. It appears like the whole head has been hardened, there is a chip in the poll and the file did not get a good bite, I had to use the belt grinder to remove the minor mushrooming.


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Sure looks to be the classic "Stanley" logo of the good old days. If the blade is good and hard once you achieve the edge you want this implement really will be yours. Not at all like having to tangle with someone else's botched/butcher ideas of how edges are supposed to be.
 
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