There was a period of time (
1985-1990) when
USM /Emhart Group owned True Temper, and perhaps they contracted with Mann (owner of Collins at the time) to make axes (some of which were relabeled by Mann and shipped as Collins)? This was not long after the Kelly Works axe factory closed.
from an earlier thread,
TRUE TEMPER timeline:
1982 True Temper's Kelly Works (Charleston WV) factory closed May 28
1985 Emhart Group buys True Temper from Allegheny-Ludlum
1985 USM (which was part of Emhart since 1976) is assigned True Temper trademarks including some Kelly axe brands that were later assigned to Barco (in 1987)
1987 Ownership name for True Temper trademarks changed from USM to Emhart
1987 Kelly Axe trademarks assigned to Barco Industries from Emhart
1989 Black & Decker acquires Emhart (including True Temper)
1990 USM changes name to Emhart Enterprises
1990 Huffy buys True Temper (hardware) from Black & Decker
1999 Huffy sells True Temper (hardware) to U.S. Industries (owner of Ames)
Records about the Mann company during its later years are hard to find, and the details are murky. YesteryearsTools says that "
The time frame and diversity has yet to be defined but reliable information reveals that sometime in the 1970s and/or 1980s some Plumb axes were being manufactured by the Mann Edge Tool Co. of Lewistown, PA." Perhaps Mann was also making axes for other companies such as USM/ True Temper during the 1980s and 1990s?
