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- Oct 27, 2010
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Its pretty much a weekly ritual for my son (3 years old) and I to go to the flea market. He and I get to spend some time together and I get to hunt for vintage tools and eclectica. Today, the wife decided to tag along which was almost better because I could really dig through things!
Today I brought home two axes, one bare head double bit and another hafted. I passed on several others.
First up is a True Temper Kelly Perfect 3lb dayton pattern on a 35" haft. This seller paints all his tools matte black to prevent rust, handles and all. Its a pain sometimes, but better than pitted and rusty. This one is is great shape, zero mushrooming on the poll and the weight stamp is clearly visable too! The haft has a serious warp in it and once I pulled it it was clearly not useable. I will hang onto the haft as a pattern because I really like the shape.
Next up is this double bit. It has lots of red powdery rust on it and I should have passed on it. I looked it over, the bits were decent, passed the file test and I could see the different grinds fairly well. Once I got home and hit it with a wire brush really quick I could barely make out the stamp, I got burned. It's stamped CHINA very lightly. Oh well, I'll use it to practice making hafts and it was only $12.
One of the axes I passed on was this Norlund boys axe head. It has severe mushrooming on the poll, but that was the least of the issues, it was split all the way through the center of the poll! Yikes!
The other axe I passed on was a very nice Plumb with a wonderful old haft that had been taken care of. It was just more than I wanted to spend.
It was a good day and I'm pretty happy with my haul. I need to get going on bucking out some rounds of pecan from my buddies fallen tree so I can get busy making hafts.
-Xander
Today I brought home two axes, one bare head double bit and another hafted. I passed on several others.
First up is a True Temper Kelly Perfect 3lb dayton pattern on a 35" haft. This seller paints all his tools matte black to prevent rust, handles and all. Its a pain sometimes, but better than pitted and rusty. This one is is great shape, zero mushrooming on the poll and the weight stamp is clearly visable too! The haft has a serious warp in it and once I pulled it it was clearly not useable. I will hang onto the haft as a pattern because I really like the shape.






Next up is this double bit. It has lots of red powdery rust on it and I should have passed on it. I looked it over, the bits were decent, passed the file test and I could see the different grinds fairly well. Once I got home and hit it with a wire brush really quick I could barely make out the stamp, I got burned. It's stamped CHINA very lightly. Oh well, I'll use it to practice making hafts and it was only $12.



One of the axes I passed on was this Norlund boys axe head. It has severe mushrooming on the poll, but that was the least of the issues, it was split all the way through the center of the poll! Yikes!


The other axe I passed on was a very nice Plumb with a wonderful old haft that had been taken care of. It was just more than I wanted to spend.
It was a good day and I'm pretty happy with my haul. I need to get going on bucking out some rounds of pecan from my buddies fallen tree so I can get busy making hafts.
-Xander