Axe Information - Overall View/Thoughts

[Operator1975]

So, for anyone who doesn't know me or isn't familiar, I am big on axe history. Everything. The tool, ideas, companies, product lines, advertising, logistics, failures, logos, etc etc etc.

I feel that we truely, barely, scratch the surface when it comes to the axe.

Just wondering what everyone else's thoughts are on this matter.

Thanks!

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

In what sense, specifically?

I feel as though the tool is pretty well understood from an engineering/technical standpoint, and thus we can readily design them for nearly any context imaginable, with the ideal form morphing depending on those contexts, and for each context there will be a number of different possible forms that provide the same functional mix. As technology continues to develop and contexts of use continue to shift, we'll continue to see innovations in axes. However, these will still revolve around the same set of fundamental variables and concepts, which are essentially timeless.

 

[Square_peg]

I think much of the history is lost forever. But on these pages we continue to dig up bits and pieces. Bladeforums does the axe world a great service by archiving this information.

Already googling almost any axe question will lead you to this forum. I think it's fantastic thatwe've been able to preserve and share as much as we have. But it's trickling in slower now. We find tidbits in old periodicals, news stories and advertising. What's lacking is the first hand stories from the few remaining old timers who worked with the axe or made the axe. The latter are especially rich in knowledge when they are found.

I wonder if there is a way to reach out to those oldtimers and let them know that we want to listen. I bet many of them would love to talk.

 

[quinton]

The old timers are all dead, or thinking about things other than axes. I'm just glad I had an interest in such things, and listened to them as much as I did 40 years ago.

 

[ithinkverydeeply]

The history of them feels ever more vanishing with each generation, coupled with the fact that there are precious few books on the makers and history. I truly appreciate those who take an interest in preserving the history of mankind’s first and longest used tool.

 

[A17]

I think much of the history is lost forever. But on these pages we continue to dig up bits and pieces. Bladeforums does the axe world a great service by archiving this information.

Already googling almost any axe question will lead you to this forum. I think it's fantastic thatwe've been able to preserve and share as much as we have. But it's trickling in slower now. We find tidbits in old periodicals, news stories and advertising. What's lacking is the first hand stories from the few remaining old timers who worked with the axe or made the axe. The latter are especially rich in knowledge when they are found.

I wonder if there is a way to reach out to those oldtimers and let them know that we want to listen. I bet many of them would love to talk.

Go to small cafe's near you and talk to the loggers. "The Corner Kitchen" or something like that is 20 mins away from me and I've been told that old-time loggers drink coffee and tell, um, colorful stories there.

 

[Fmont]

I drive through Charleston West Virginia a few times a year. I figured I'd leave myself a day there sometime to haunt old Kelly grounds. I figure there might be some old granddads or great grand-daddies about or family members with stories, etc. Maybe the area has been picked clean over the years, but maybe I'd be able to pick up a few axes as well.

I wish I could afford one of the giant old hardware store catalogs that appear on eBay for hundreds of dollars. Belknap, Shapleigh/Simmons, etc. I would love to peruse hundreds of pages of goods from a bygone era. It seems they would be a great resource for documenting all the old patterns and who they were aimed at.

I bet that an enterprising individual (op75) could get a grant to explore the history of axe making and use in this country if they approached the right people. Towns and cities that have a rich history with the old trade might be willing to part with some dollars if it produced a documentary of suitable quality.

 

[Yankee Josh]

I am right there with the rest of you. I endeavor to learn as much as possible. I find myself wishing so badly that I'd been on this path of collecting and learning for a lot longer than i have. You guys that have been on this forum for a long time have, besides a few notable books and publications, provided the best resource for posterity regarding edge tools. As square peg mentioned there's hardly an axe related question that you can Google that won't bring you here. I've found it invaluable.
I'm afraid everyone is correct that most of the old timers who know the stuff we want to learn have passed. But we can hope that's not the case. Let's get out n look for em! Thanks for sharing your knowledge, stories and finds guys.

 

[Ernest DuBois]

I think much of the history is lost forever

Now S_p I wouldn't be so quick. The history remains just before our eyes and you can even reach out and touch it because when an axe gets used it leaves its tracks and these tracks are telling, as you yourself have pointed out in things you've shared from your outings in the woods - I'm thinking of spring-board notchings in particular. They reveal the sizes, the geometry, the patterns of use and maintenance and so on and so on even telling the experienced observer much about the one who had that axe in his hands from hundreds of years back and more. This analytic approach in combination with hands-on experience will tell you everything that's needed, probably even more accurately than if you were to sit down face to face at that old coffee corner with one of these "oldtimers" as you put it, though wouldn't that be fun too.
Over the course of last year and into this one, as an example, I've had the great opportunity to go delving somewhat into these things with some very talented blacksmiths, taking some old authentic axes, looking them over and even going so far as cutting into them to get at their guts and then taking to the forge time and time again to figure out how they were made. All with interesting and fruitful results helping to get a grip on the development and use(s) of one particular type of axe used in wooden construction. It's only one example of what goes on all the time even though we may not see it here on this forum's space.

 

[junkenstien]

The history of the old mfgs. is real interesting and i have enjoyed reading all of your old threads and hope you have more to come.Like all the personal history with tools on these forums just as much and am truly thankful for all the knowledge and expierence shared here.