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Bugging y'all with another axe I.D Question! This one might be old!

DarthTaco123

DarthTaco123

Joined
Mar 28, 2013
Messages
1,730
I found this axe today, and it appears to be fairly old. I don't know if it's just a small-time smith, but the son of a gun is heavy, my guess would be upwards of four or five pounds. It's got at least one visible stamp that's marked really deep, stamped R D. There's another one by the poll but is illegible due to the mushrooming, and on the same side that R D is stamped on. The handle is very thin, and not of typical style you see in modern axes, but I don't think is original as the wedge was gone. It's been bashed on to keep it on the handle with a sledge from the looks, due to the lack of wedge. I've actually looked at this axe for a while, ever since it was sitting with a Hubbard and Blake dated to the mid 1870s, but didn't buy it because of it's condition. I noticed the proof marks today and picked it up for 8 bucks. If it's a resto-project, it'll be a long haul.
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That one does have that "old" feel to it. Too bad they bashed it from the top so much. Cool find...it could make a really interesting refurb.
 
yeah, it's a shame about the top, but it won't really matter in the end. There isn't much surface rust after I got it cleaned off, and it's got a really dark patina.
 
I see a few possibilities, but nothing I really can confirm. I browsed it quickly right after I bought it, but I'll do more in depth research. Thank's. One thought might be Reuben Dunn when he worked independently before forming Dunn Edge Tool Co.
 
After the night in water, a lot of the surface grime has come off. The R D is obviously an R D now, and the mushroomed stamp still eludes me. It didn't become any clearer.
 
Poor old head has been beat near to death but you reached out and grabbed it. For now it has a reprieve and hopefully someone will revive it. Does go to show that 'visible marks' make the difference between desirable collectable and pennies-per-pound recycle. How many 'otherwise storied' implements are lost each year only because they appear to be made of steel and are treated accordingly at the salvage yard.
 
I rescued it for eight bucks, it looked old and my brain was battling the idea of picking it up. I'm glad I did because this old head has been beaten down, but still has a LOT of life left to it. Undecided of I want to do a full restoration or not. I can only imagine the what this axe was like 150 years ago. While the toe is worn quite a bit, the rest of the bit actually is in fair condition and has teh remnants of a bannana grind on it. They didn't even wedge the damn handle though. They just kept pounding it down with a steel mallet. WHY IS SAY! WHY!
 
The stamp almost looks like a date, it almost looks like 18..... Should I do a full retroaction, filing the mushrooming etc. or leave it as is.
 
Your call. Won't be much left if you really figure on trying to straighten it out. There are millions more of old and no longer used axe heads out there and from what I can figure; as collectors and/or users the oldies still are way cheaper/better than buying new.
 
I'll probably just take the mushrooming from inside, and around the eye out, as that won't do much cosmetically, and I may file/hone the blade.
 
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DarthTaco123 said:
I'm almost thinking about putting it in the forge and hammering as much steel as I can back into the poll, but I just don't know.
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Go for it! You can't sweep filings up off the floor and put them back on an axe.

Your options then are either to wrap a wet rag around the bit as you heat the poll or to go ahead and re-heat treat the bit when you've finished with the poll. At this point it's a dead axe so you can't hurt it anymore. If you heat treat it I'd suggest quenching it in oil. Next give it an hour long soak in a 475° oven and do a file test (after cooling). It will likely still be too hard. Then give it an hour at 500° and file test again. Repeat at increasing temps until it's fileable.
 
If I forge it back in, I'll probably use a wet rag and short times in the fire (just enough to get color in the poll) or I may just file it. I really surveyed the damage and it isn't too bad, I'll probably just file it to where the date stamp is. As for the blade, I'll file the poor toe in, as well as the whole blade and then put a smooth stone. Time to resurrect this ol' hoss.
 
The forge revealed several micro cracks where it's been hammered out, so it ended up being ground off. Since the forge ugliest the color, I'm doing a vinegar bath right now. It's still a little flared from the mushrooming, but I wanted to leave the other stamp alone, which turned out to have been the weight. It looks to be 5.5 lbs, marked as 5 1 / 2
 
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