Axe head found

upnorth

upnorth

Joined
Nov 25, 2006
Messages
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Well fellas I really haven't put a lot of effort into learning about axes. But I do pop on here now and then to learn from you guys. I do a lot of metal detecting and I used to come across many axe heads up in the Boreal. Now that I'm down in the grasslands I still find some now and then. To me this looks like some kind of generic junker, but what do I know. I can't find any distinguishing marks on it that I can see right now. Is it worth hitting with electrolosis ? Does it look like there is enough of it left to re-use ? Toss it ?







 
Pretty far gone, I'd say. If it was just in some random spot then I wouldn't suspect that it had historical provenance beyond "somebody dropped a hatchet here." Not real sure of the size but it looks like a 1 3/4 pound hatchet.

You'd have to take off a lot of scale to get down to good metal, but tossing it in the electrolysis bath ain't gonna cost you much but some washing soda and a few watts of power. If nothing else you'll have a kindling splitter you can pass on to some kid who would like it. I'd guess removing that rust is going to take off any maker's marks.

Your mileage may vary...:)
 
Cute little bugger! Your call as to devote any more time on it. From what I can disappointingly see (for you!) is $5 for a "foundling" and maybe $10-25 for one that has been cleaned up. As a newbie on here it has already been quite apparent that a chunk of rusted metal with no brand imprint has very little value here. Now it just happens to be I actually enjoy using axes. If this head cleans up and there is a distinct dividing line between hardened steel blade and soft steel body then at very least you've got something useful for yourself. I don't know what the Chinese are foisting off as 'quality axes' these days but likely what you've got is going to be much better. Clean it up, put a handle on, whack it into a tree, and then get back to us.
It is badly rusted don't you know! Rust-hardening (reference to Smokey Unik the legendary stock car engine king that rust-tempered the cylinders of all of his engine blocks) is not at all a negative but this one has definitely taken a lengthy nose-dive and will only be a collector's piece if it somehow says "Michelangelo" or "prop. of Henry Ford" or "T. Edison, Eli Whitney, Oliver Winchester or maybe E. Remington" on it (none of whom made axes, far as I know).
 
I guess that it's something that only a dung beatle could love. I might zap it, but more likely will just toss it.
 
Certainly, I would be cleaning that up. I think you may be surprised at how it looks under all that rust. It will be pitted, sure, but that axe has seen things and been places, it deserves more than the trash. Just my 2 cents.
 
Zap it and clean it. It'll take some work and it'll always be pockmarked, but it's worth fixing.
 
Better axes are still available cheap. I'd rather spend my time on a better one. I'd keep that one around in a box of rusty stuff though.
 
Doesn't take much work to toss it in an electrolysis tank and then take a motorized wire brush to it. After that all it takes is a bit of filing or grinding (depending on your equipment) and a quick-and-dirty hafting on a cheap hardware store or rough homemade handle and you've got a usable beater tool for ultra cheap or free. Still good steel even if it's uglied up.
 
Thanks all for your opinions. As I said, I don't know a whole lot about axes. I think that i'll zap it and play around with this piece as a learning tool. Maybe it will become my new beater axe. I have never re hafted or whatever you call it, an axe before. And I kind of like the idea of this being a learning tool. Surely this old axe has better steel than my dump bin China beater that has lived in the car trunk for years. This sounds like a winter project.
:thumbup:
 
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