Assistance ID'ing Axe Maker - Circle W

V

VIVIsect

Joined
Jun 13, 2016
Messages
3
Hello Folks

First post, popped in and out for referencing in the past.

I grabbed a thrift store find today, a single bit 3 1/2 lbs axe.
It had a fair amount of rust crust on it, but looks to be never abused, no mushrooming still relatively sharp and looks to have be used infrequently.
It had an old movers tag (moving company) on the handle and weight was stamped so I grabbed it.

I used some 220 and WD40 to try and clean it up a little first to see if I could make out a mark with limited success.
I found stamped on the left side of the cheek the weight, right underneath it a W in a circle (Not an M unless the guy stamping was hungover and put it upside down) and what I could only make out to be a word underneath with ending with ED.
It looks like it might be GED as part of a longer word...Forged possibly?
The only stamp that may be a match that I found was "Welland Forge Limited" in some older literature. There is a Welland Forge in Welland, Ontario...however I see nothing of them making Axes.

It is soaking in vinegar currently, curious to see how it cleans up.

*Edit* Got a pic up, should have taken one of the whole head. :p
Tomorrow a better picture(s).

Thanks in advance for any info.

Marc

2itsp6b.jpg
 
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Bit of a takeoff on cartridge manufacturer's rimfire stamps, except that Winchester stamped an 'H' on theirs. We'll have to wait to hear what Steve Tall has to say about this.
 
My money's on Wetterlings, with a partial S A W stamp, and DROP FORGED partially visible.

An example from an old auction listing:

Head is marked "SWEDEN DROP FORGED"
• Head is marked with S.A.W. logo; good strike, moderate depth
• Head weight is marked 3-1/2
$_1.JPG
 
Steve Tall said:
My money's on Wetterlings, with a partial S A W stamp, and DROP FORGED partially visible.

An example from an old auction listing:

Head is marked "SWEDEN DROP FORGED"
• Head is marked with S.A.W. logo; good strike, moderate depth
• Head weight is marked 3-1/2
$_1.JPG
Click to expand...

LMAO!
It had me scratching my head.
 
Much appreciated...Wetterlings eh? I feel like a kid who just won the huge stuffed animal at the fair...I have been close to pulling the trigger on Swedish axe heads on eBay and one falls into my lap...Thrift store super bargain!
I am going to do more cleaning today and we'll see how bad that pitting is.


:D

Marc
 
Steve is the best for hound-dogging of IDs but before you get all carried away and dance in the street maybe you want to contact Ms Kalthoff at the current version of Wetterlings AB to substantiate this. Swede stuff was budget or bargain priced in n. America for quite awhile after WWII up until the Asians got into the game in the 1960s and ruined European aspirations (including British bike and car makers!) of capturing (or even maintaining) market share in darn near anything.
 
VIVIsect said:
Much appreciated...Wetterlings eh? I feel like a kid who just won the huge stuffed animal at the fair...I have been close to pulling the trigger on Swedish axe heads on eBay and one falls into my lap...Thrift store super bargain!
I am going to do more cleaning today and we'll see how bad that pitting is.


:D

Marc
Click to expand...

If it is a wetterlings than I'm sure it's a quality tool, but Swedish aren't magic or anything.
They just get overhyped because their current Steel quality is on par with vintage axes.
 
Ok, I cleaned it up quite a bit however it is going to take more work to make it look a little more pretty.

I have tried to take pictures to catch the second circle above and left of the W, it's there I can see the faint outline if I tilt it just right in the light. However my crappy phone camera is not cutting the mustard. I'll have to bust out the DSLR for a better pic...see if I can catch it.
I also can make out the N above the GED.

Unfortunately the pitting is deep enough that it wiped out most of the fine stamping.

Vinegar did a good job, though had I been more patient I would have set up an electrolysis bucket.
A little elbow grease and a new handle, it will serve me well.

Yes I know Swedish Steel is about as magic as Damascus, but they use generally high quality ore to make their steel and that is all you can ask for.
I have an ASO Hatchet (Axe Shaped Object) that I think came from Canadian Tire and was left by the previous owner, it is Chinese and if it had any temper on it I would eat my keyboard.
It is like trying to use an ice cream cone to chop even small kindling. I spent time putting a rough sharpening on it just to make do when we popped out to roast wieners the other weekend...I came really close to throwing into the bush.


Really I would have been happy with a Collins...I have an old Collins Machete that I traded some military badges and a $10 bucks when I was in my teens. It was in mint shape and they guy was all, "It's an antique!"
To his credit it had the sticker on it, completely unused with leather sheath.

Thanks again to all that helped.

I will shoot a picture and stuff over to Wetterlings as suggested.

BTW, any suggestions on where to get a good handle for this?

Thanks again folks!

Marc
 
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