Collins axe head

N

norcal

Joined
Oct 17, 2015
Messages
5
Really not sure where I got this axe, but have had it for awhile. Just getting ready to re-handle it and noticed something about the eye. Stamped COLLINS and part of a silver sticker you can make out COLLINS AXE. Note in the photo, the top part of the eye, approximately 1/2 inch is recessed. Why & what for? Anything else you can tell me about this axe head will be appreciated. Thanks!

http://s19.postimg.org/3ukobi3er/Collins_Ax2.jpg

http://s19.postimg.org/irt5cign7/Collins_Ax3.jpg
 
good tools, i have two of these Collins axes.
sharpen it up
hang it
use it
all good
buzz
 
Collins are great axes. I found one cast off in a camp site due to broken handle. Rehandled it and now serving firewood duty with my mom and her husband out on the pacific coast. Also have a short handle one I got for a good deal at local pawn shop. For emergency duty here at home.
 
norcal said:
Really not sure where I got this axe, but have had it for awhile. Just getting ready to re-handle it and noticed something about the eye. Stamped COLLINS and part of a silver sticker you can make out COLLINS AXE. Note in the photo, the top part of the eye, approximately 1/2 inch is recessed. Why & what for? Anything else you can tell me about this axe head will be appreciated. Thanks!

Collins_Ax2.jpg
Click to expand...

That label looks like an exact match for a Collins Homestead, like this example:

s-l1600.jpg


According to YesteryearsTools, the Legitimus brand was used from 1875 to 1966. Collins was bought by Mann in 1966. Collins axes were made by Mann (in Lewistown, PA) after the takeover, between 1966 - 2003. So I'd say this axe was made by Mann in Pennsylvania (note that the full label says Lewistown, PA, USA).

My guess is that the "recess" in the eye is just some sloppiness in the manufacturing.
 
Great reply Steve! Thanks. There is a "hint" of blue. Not sure you can see it in the photos and it is so slight.
 
From what I've seen of the Mann era, Collins axe heads, that ugly "recess" is the taper of the eye. Instead of a smooth taper, seems Mann made a stepped taper, I've seen it on several Homestead heads.
 
Here's another example of what it looked like when it was newer.

1.jpg


Decent steel, comparable to a modern Council regular line axe. But the flat cheeks on these make for an axe that doesn't pop the chip well, hence not a great chopper.
 
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