Any info about this Kelly Works Stiletto with Phantom Bevels?

Michigan pattern, my guess is 1950's for the age.
It looks to be in great shape without much wear at all.
They don't seem to be all that common to me, but I'm not exactly in the game like others are.

You got a great axe there, a wire wheel to remove the rust ,a file to get the bit cutting again, and some care to the handle and it'll be good to go I bet.

How does the handle look ?
 
Hickory n steel said:
Michigan pattern, my guess is 1950's for the age.
It looks to be in great shape without much wear at all.
They don't seem to be all that common to me, but I'm not exactly in the game like others are.

You got a great axe there, a wire wheel to remove the rust ,a file to get the bit cutting again, and some care to the handle and it'll be good to go I bet.

How does the handle look ?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately the handle is really warped. I'm going to take it off and fix it up/try to bend it back into shape.
 
Hickory n steel said:
Good luck.
I've had sucess , but theres no guarantee.

My method was clamping it to a board with a spacer so I could get some bend in the other direction, then using steam from a pot of boiling water.
Click to expand...
Boiling water is the safest and best way I think.

I have had no luck at all without heat. The hafts just go back to being how they were before and usually sooner than later.

Sometimes I will do it like this and just lay a heat gun on the bench while I do other things. It's not as forgiving as steaming. The heat gun has to be far enough back not to char the handle and well obviously don't start a fire.

It could also be done with a campfire and bent across your knee.

 
garry3 said:
oiling water is the safest and best way I think.

I have had no luck at all without heat. The hafts just go back to being how they were before and usually sooner than later.
Click to expand...
But it's the heat not the wet that allows the wood to be bent. This is why I wrap my hafts with kitchen plastic wrap before steaming them. And recall that indigenous arrow makers work with dry heat to straighten an arrow shaft, either over a grooved stone or with a bone wrench with a hole bored in it.

Arrow Shaft Wrench from the Thompson Site, 14RC9 - Kansas Memory - Kansas Historical Society

Kansas Historical Society
www.kshs.org www.kshs.org
 
Square_peg said:
But it's the heat not the wet that allows the wood to be bent. This is why I wrap my hafts with kitchen plastic wrap before steaming them. And recall that indigenous arrow makers work with dry heat to straighten an arrow shaft, either over a grooved stone or with a bone wrench with a hole bored in it.

Arrow Shaft Wrench from the Thompson Site, 14RC9 - Kansas Memory - Kansas Historical Society

Kansas Historical Society
www.kshs.org www.kshs.org
Click to expand...
Yes, it's the heat. I have heard of using grease for the same purpose you are using the plastic wrap. I think either way steam or dry heat dries the wood and increases the risk of breaking, so it's not a bad idea to protect it.

I have a grooved stone that is probably a companion to the wrench. Well it's a half of one, highly polished in the groove. I wouldn't call it a sanding stone at all but probably a burnisher.

Wooden arrow shafts are still being produced. Sold by the dozen and still straightened the same way. I will usually do it over a candle and check them two or three times over as many nights. No need for a wrench with such nice straight stuff to work with.
We had a local guy making shafts that would get permits to harvest Port Orford Cedar in Oregon. He told me that he was harvesting the old growth stumps left over from logging. I thought that was kind of amazing.
 
Square_peg said:
If I were to make arrows I'd use meadowsweet/oceanspray or service berry, both plentiful here.
Click to expand...
Syringa and red osier dog wood are pretty good too.
It's really time consuming to make primitive arrows. I can make a bow easier than a dozen primitive arrows and that's not counting knapping heads (which I don't do). I don't imagine stone age men had much leisure time.
Ready made shafts, and purchased supplies is so easy and no big deal when one gets broke or lost.
 
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