Black Cockatoo Axe Brand used in Australia

O

OldBinOz

Joined
Sep 7, 2017
Messages
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Do the experts on this site have any knowledge of the Black Cockatoo brand used in Oz (prior to the 1950s), please? Not to be confused with Brades Cockatoo which used a White Cockatoo (Sulphur Crested Cockatoo) symbol.
Who the manufacturer was? What stamping/s was/were used?
No Advertisements on old newspapers in Trove enlighten me - or I don't know how to ask the question.
Only a few people I've asked have actually heard of them - none have ever seen one.
I actually held one (head only) in my hands back in 1958 - and have had reoccurring O.C.D. wet dreams about them ever since being told about their qualities when I was in my early teens. The bloke that should still own that particular head thinks it could still be around the place (farm) somewhere - but isn't going to waste his 'valuable' time searching for it (but I would volunteer - if he would let me).
Asking the question here in Oz makes me think I'm asking for hen's teeth - or rocking horse poo!
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Reading all/some of the more interesting posts on this thread is a 'tour de force' - I'm bogged down at "Next Page will be 104" - worn out, just from reading, I am.
[First post - hope I've not blotted my copy book].
O.B.
 
You've intrigued me! Start digging and see if you can beat incumbent ax history guru Steve Tall to the punch.
 
Brades, a reference here - https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/fame-372-no1-hatchet.1325429/

a5c15418efef73b86465fcc09ce2b5df_f16244.JPG


vintage-1-lb-brades-cockatoo-racing_1_6d14524328684b689ee5c095aff95431.jpg
 
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300Six said:
You've intrigued me! Start digging and see if you can beat incumbent ax history guru Steve Tall to the punch.
Click to expand...
Actually 300Six I wrote the post so that it would intrigue Steve T as I reckoned he would know, if anybody did. O.B.
 
Kevin Houtzager said:
And are you sure that it isn't a Brades? Only one who uses a cockatoo in there branding as far as I know?
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99.999% sure it isn't a Brades. It is specifically worded "Black Cockatoo" with a side view of a flying black cockatoo. I have a cousin who worked in the State Forestry Commission back in the early 1970s - he had heard it mentioned often by older workers but has never seen one and my 85 year old uncle has heard of but never seen one.
Many (most?) people see an axe head and only see an axe head - nothing else, if they are not interested. Heck, I'm just as guilty as them (although if I happen to swing an axe that is particularly sweet I will then take a lot more interest in it). O.B.
 
300Six said:
You've intrigued me! Start digging and see if you can beat incumbent ax history guru Steve Tall to the punch.
Click to expand...
A little further history/info: These axes were reputed to be THE best axe for the very densest hardwoods (mainly Acacias) - Waddi/Waddy (A. peuce), Gidgee (A. cambagei), Rosewood (A. rhodoxylon) et al.
I have taken every tooth off a chainsaw chain, checking a Rosewood post about 12 months after the post was cut. Posts & rails up to 60 years old are cut quite easily with a chainsaw if they have been sprayed or soaked with water for at least 24 hours prior to cutting (accidental find, many years ago). I recently used my old Sater Banko 3.5 lb to trim Rosewood branches from a trunk that was required for turning and it handled the fresh timber OK - but I wouldn't dare use it on an old dry stick. O.B.
 
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OldBinOz said:
99.999% sure it isn't a Brades. It is specifically worded "Black Cockatoo" with a side view of a flying black cockatoo. I have a cousin who worked in the State Forestry Commission back in the early 1970s - he had heard it mentioned often by older workers but has never seen one and my 85 year old uncle has heard of but never seen one.
Many (most?) people see an axe head and only see an axe head - nothing else, if they are not interested. Heck, I'm just as guilty as them (although if I happen to swing an axe that is particularly sweet I will then take a lot more interest in it). O.B.
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I haven't seen any information on the "Black Cockatoo" trademark, and found no examples of a "Black Cockatoo" axe among the vintage axes that are posted online, but I learned that the made in Australia version of the (Brades) Cockatoo axe was made by Cyclone (the same maker of the made in Australia version of the Dandenong brand axe also made by Kelly).

Hand Tool Preservation Association of Australia Inc
Australian Makers Database
 
Steve Tall said:
I haven't seen any information on the "Black Cockatoo" trademark, and found no examples of a "Black Cockatoo" axe among the vintage axes that are posted online, but I learned that the made in Australia version of the (Brades) Cockatoo axe was made by Cyclone (the same maker of the made in Australia version of the Dandenong brand axe also made by Kelly).

Hand Tool Preservation Association of Australia Inc
Australian Makers Database
Click to expand...
Thanks very much, Steve.
I had thought about Cyclone but couldn't find any further info. This is nearly as bad as searching for Unicorns in a Brigalow scrub. If I had the wherewithal I'd do a tour of the central western towns and their little museums as I reckon there would be a chance of finding and photographing one.
Old advertisements in local newspapers are a handy source that I am still exploring in my spare time but I think it would boil down to being able to source long established shop keepers records (if they still existed, that is).
Obsessions are terrible things!!!!
I think Cyclone may have also made the Hytest axes - and possibly a couple more that are/were not well known.
Still searching...
O.B.
 
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