If I'm reading the caption correctly it would indicate this last axe he used was most likely a military issue standing nearby--and not necessarily "his" last axe. Years ago it was common among farm youth to take the standard 6# sledge and hold it horizontal at arm's length and then with the wrist action only, rotate the head back to your nose and then vertical again. If you couldn't do that you had some growing up to do.
I'd be surprised if it's really an axe that Lincoln handled. It has the look of a factory axe not of a hand forged axe. And curved handles weren't popular yet at the time of the Civil War. That said, it could just be a very well made hand forged axe with an early hand made curved handle. The handle certainly looks hand made. It's a great story anyway.
Thank you for that submission. What I really like is the dainty (wonderfully thin) handle. Good luck to anyone trying to get ahold of something like that today.
Wow! That's one of the more fascinating things I've seen in a long time. Seven-pounder, whew! I thought a four-pounder was heavy, and a six-pounder borderline unmanageable.
Never trust a card in a museum display for accuracy. The people that make them up usually have no special interest or background in the subject being recorded.
As for handmade versus factory, wouldn't an army issue axe of the period been more likely to be factory, Collins etc?
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