Circa 1965 OAKLAND MAINE AXE making film! Awesome!

Thanks Half axe. You are indeed right. I can see part of the S on yours. I think mine also has an S but it is so faint you have to rock the axe back and forth to catch the light just right. Its the faintest I have ever seen. Hard to believe its from 1918. Who ever owned it did not use it much, it still weighs 3lb 6oz.
I remember buying it, because it was different. It kind of reminded me of the sweadish axes, thin profile overall, but with a high centerline and good bevels top and bottom.
 
Garry3 Here is the E from the E&S factory mark along with a faint image of the words Hand Made in an arch. About the best that can be done with my camera and a faint stamp. Nice axe btw.

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Operator1975 said:
I wonder how long they lived overall, with the absence of protective gearl. The dust from the grinding must of been something in that shop.
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Just what I was thinking. No eye protection. No hearing protection. No respiratory protection. Thankfully they were working with steel not lead!
 
Operator1975 said:
...I wonder how long they lived overall, with the absence of protective gearl. The dust from the grinding must of been something in that shop...
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From a study from the 1920s regarding a Connecticut axe factory (Collins is my guess), the grinders had over 10 times the mortality rate compared to the male population of Connecticut, when looking specifically at tuberculosis of the lungs:

books


(The grinding wheel dust can cause silicosis which presumably makes the lungs more susceptible to tuberculosis.)

From a letter written by a doctor in an axe factory town, regarding how long the workers last:

"... the Swedes took up the work. They would get the disease in 8 or 10 years. Now the Finns and Polanders are at it, and they last only 3 to 5 years, and the disease is more common among them..."

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from The Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Abstract of the Literature: Official Organ of the American Association of Industrial Physicians and Surgeons, Volume 2, page 340-341
http://books.google.com/books?id=s8YyAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA340&lpg=PA340&dq=axe+grinding+workers+respiratory&source=bl&ots=4TxfvD9A8d&sig=rAgGbzOkA9dUe9a1T-JP_BVE210&hl=en&sa=X&ei=-YmDUpvpFoe5igLr_4CgDg&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=axe%20grinding%20workers%20respiratory&f=false
 
I remember reading somewhere in regards to a picture from warren axe and tool co where it showed many workers grinding heads - they all died from silicosis rather early in life. Every single one of them.
 
Operator1975 said:
I remember reading somewhere in regards to a picture from warren axe and tool co where it showed many workers grinding heads - they all died from silicosis rather early in life. Every single one of them.
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This would negate that old line "What you don't know won't hurt you". 'Course here I am still kicking 50 some years after riding bicycles in and out of the dense cloud behind the DDT mosquito-fogging truck that came by once a week in May/June during the late 50s/early 60s.
 
From the Book - Axe Makers of North America :



If you can't read the caption it says -

The Warren Axe Company 1934

This information was taken out of the research files of Allan Klenman and was written about the White axe factory in Honesdale, Pa. Im sure the working conditions were quite similar to the Sager factory. "The wall behind the office buildings, which is made up of worn out and broken grindstones used in the polishing of axes., Emerson says that no less than 1200 tons of grindstones worth about $30,000 were consumed annually, and he comments on the silicosis disease which led to the early death of every person who worked in the griding department" Note the lack of protective eye and ear gear as well as no protective breathing apparatus.

I can only try to imagine what it was like doing that day in and day out. Unreal.
 
Thanks, Hardball. Great film! I still can't believe the way he lit his pipe... Give me a Zippo, please.
 
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Hi all,

Today was a good day! I found a VERY nice condition (Made in Oakland, Maine) SPILLER 2 3/4 lb. Axe head for ONE dollar! Yaaay!

HARDBALL
 
HARDBALL said:
Hi all,

Today was a good day! I found a VERY nice condition (Made in Oakland, Maine) SPILLER 2 3/4 lb. Axe head for ONE dollar! Yaaay!

HARDBALL
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Congrats, Hardball!

This thread remains one of my all-time favs. I wonder if the guy who forged your axe lit his pipe from it while it was smokin' hot!?

I'm gonna watch that movie again.
 
Hi all,

Thanks Scott. As I get older (59 July 2014) I become more and more nostalgic. I sometimes think there is a greater reason for my finding these old items, that is to say, almost like being.....directed to find the items. It's like that old Carbon Butcher knife I bought a couple of weeks ago. Once home, I cleaned the tarnish off from the (me thinks Brass) inlays in the wood handle. One can see the initials "JHI". On the other side of the handle scratched into the Brass inlay is what I suspect must be a date.....1869. Wow! that's 145 year old! If only this knife (and this Spiller Axe head) could talk.

Regards,
HARDBALL
 
Wonderful video. It makes one truly appreciate the handcrafting art that has for the most part been lost. Same YouTube page lead to a video tour of Granfors.
 
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