Ax Head identification

T

Tommcdaniel

Joined
Jun 2, 2015
Messages
4
Can anyone identify this ax?

I have what I think is an old Boy Scout ax head that I got in 1959 or 1960. The handle is missing. I got it at the Philmont Scout Camp in New Mexico.

The only marking on it is "B4".
The head weight is approximately 2 1/2 lbs.

The ax head is 6 1/4 inches long.
The blade width is 3 3/4 inches at the cutting edge.
The pole is 2 1/2 inches long and 1 inch thick.
The eye has two ridges on the inside and is 2 inches long.
The eye starts 3/4 inches from the pole.

I thought it was a Plumb ax but these is no Plumb marking on it. It may have been a boys ax with an 18 to 20 inch handle but I am not sure.

I am trying to restore it and would like to know who manufactured it ax head.

Thanks
Tom McDaniel
 
Welcome to the forum and thank you for your post.

I have been trying to get a date of when these ridges appeared and when they stopped to help date these axes, as well as the number, letter stamps. I could be wrong here but am almost positive that you have a TrueTemper, Kelly or Kelly Woodslasher boys axe. Was it new when you purchased it? Was it also painted red?

May have looked like this when new.

P1010005_zps8d8zap7b.jpg
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Or a label like these. These are Kelly Woodslasher's.
P1010057_zps391ea1bd.jpg
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Garry
The ax head was pretty rusty but it may have had some red paint on it.

I seem to remember that the handle was a cherry red color and the ax head was black.

The ax head that i have may not be the old scout ax that I thought it was.
 
Garry
I got it new at Philmont Scout camp as an award. It had a Philmont Boy Scout sticker on it when new.
 
Tommcdaniel said:
Garry


The ax head that i have may not be the old scout ax that I thought it was.
Click to expand...

That would be my guess also. Black head and red handle as you already know would probably be a Plumb. Plumb made many official Boy Scout axes.
 
Square Peg, I had not seen the black with the Woodslasher label. Does that one also have a number letter stamp?
 
That solves a riddle Ive had for a long time. I have a black hatchet with ridges in the eye, and have never figured it out. Unfortunately though, the steel is so soft I cant even get the rust off without damaging the metal. Thanks Squarepeg for the info!
 
Crazyotter said:
That solves a riddle Ive had for a long time. I have a black hatchet with ridges in the eye, and have never figured it out. Unfortunately though, the steel is so soft I cant even get the rust off without damaging the metal. Thanks Squarepeg for the info!
Click to expand...

You may be jumping to conclusions. Does your hatchet also have a small stamp with letters and or numbers? If so I would say TrueTemper, if not it could still be a TrueTemper. That soft steel does not sound like a True Temper though or any of the manufactures that I know of that made ridged eyes. Maybe it found its way into a fire at one time?

I know for sure that Collins and Vaughn also made axes with ridges in the eyes. And it would not surprise me to learn of others.
 
garry3 said:
Square Peg, I had not seen the black with the Woodslasher label. Does that one also have a number letter stamp?
Click to expand...

No stamps whatsoever. If it weren't for the partial label I couldn't have identified it beyond the eye ridges.


Crazyotter said:
That solves a riddle Ive had for a long time. I have a black hatchet with ridges in the eye, and have never figured it out. Unfortunately though, the steel is so soft I cant even get the rust off without damaging the metal. Thanks Squarepeg for the info!
Click to expand...

This one has good steel.
 
Square_peg said:
No stamps whatsoever. If it weren't for the partial label I couldn't have identified it beyond the eye ridges.




This one has good steel.
Click to expand...

The Kelly that looks like new and is part of a camping kit has no ridges or stamps, its from 1966. Is this before True Temper started putting in the ridges?
 
The way I've heard it the letter number markings indicated military issue. I.E B Company truck 4, but I'm not too sure on that.
 
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