A couple of Collins

[WVHILLS]

I remembered that my father had a few old axes leaned up in the corner of his shed, out of curiosity I went up there earlier and found these. I've seen a few other threads on Collins so I thought they might be worth saving. I called dad and asked him where he got them and he has no recollection, he told me I could have them and clean them up if I wanted them. I'm afraid I may start scavenging old barns and sheds in my area for axes I live in a rural area of WV with a long history of coal and timber industry...there has to be some nice old axes hidden in these parts It looks as though my dad took these to a grinder at some point :grumpy: I've tried to convince him that this is not the best way to sharpen tools. I'm going to work on bringing the edges back and finding a nice haft for the double bit.

 

[lmalterna]

Those are some good looking axes ready to return to service. My wife and I were recently in Charleston and stopped in Kanawha City to eat. While waiting for place to open we drove around and stopped at a vegetable stand. 6.00 bought me a rusted, somewhat pitted but little used Sager/ Warren double bit with a nice fat handle to shave down!! Once I got the coal dust off it that is

There are treasures lurking in every corner, just takes patience and an open mind.

Bill

 

[WVHILLS]

This guy is MUCH harder steel than the Kelly Axe in my other thread...



Also found this guy, the haft is broken and there is one tiny stamp that reads 3 1/2 M

 

[WVHILLS]

Those are some good looking axes ready to return to service. My wife and I were recently in Charleston and stopped in Kanawha City to eat. While waiting for place to open we drove around and stopped at a vegetable stand. 6.00 bought me a rusted, somewhat pitted but little used Sager/ Warren double bit with a nice fat handle to shave down!! Once I got the coal dust off it that is

There are treasures lurking in every corner, just takes patience and an open mind.

Bill

Exactly! I'm hoping that there is a treasure trove of Kelly axes hidden somewhere in the tri-state area that are left overs from the Charleston production hey day lol

 

[newsasquatch]

Love that patina on the double bit!

 

[Square_peg]

Also found this guy, the haft is broken and there is one tiny stamp that reads 3 1/2 M

I think what you have there is an old miner's axe. A miners axe was typically a full sized axe (3.5 pounds) hafted with a shorter handle, usually around 20". Made to work in tight spaces, they were expected to pull hammering duty and many have hardened polls just like a rafting axe. The corners of the poll were forged in to reduce chipping.

Yours still has a little chipping. But that's a good sign. If a poll is chipped rather than mushroomed then you know it is made of hardened steel. The body of such an axe is made of better, higher carbon steel than a common axe. That's a keeper.

 

[WVHILLS]

I think what you have there is an old miner's axe. A miners axe was typically a full sized axe (3.5 pounds) hafted with a shorter handle, usually around 20". Made to work in tight spaces, they were expected to pull hammering duty and many have hardened polls just like a rafting axe. The corners of the poll were forged in to reduce chipping.

Yours still has a little chipping. But that's a good sign. If a poll is chipped rather than mushroomed then you know it is made of hardened steel. The body of such an axe is made of better, higher carbon steel than a common axe. That's a keeper.

That's really interesting! I picked up a short haft the day I bought the "Kelly" axe and put it on that axe today after reading this :thumbup: I think it turned out ok for my second attempt at hanging an axe.



Hammer for scale

 

[WVHILLS]

Found this guy today too..