Hi Everyone,
I have recently purchased three hatchets from an antiques fair in the east Midlands of the UK. One is marked "Genuine Plumb" on the head and has some markings stamped on the handle "tested FL*** USA. The stars are letters I am unable to read due to the stamping being very faint. Would anyone know what the word is. My uninformed guess is that it might be FLINT. I vaguely recollect the word Flint being associated with an axe brand. The hatchet is 2Lb 3oz in total weight with an overall length of 15 1/2 inches. head size is 5 3/4 pole to cutting edge and with a 3 1/2 inch cutting edge. It is in very good condition with the only downside that it has been used by a "hammer monkey" at some point thus the pole is dented and the pole edges burred over. fortunately this is only to a minor extent and easily tidied up. I am concerned that it might be one made when plumb outsourced manufacture to the far east, China or Taiwan, I hope not. All 3 together hatchets cost me a reasonable £30 (40 USD). Perhaps some explanation is needed here, vintage axes/hatchets are just not as easily found here in the UK as I think is the case in the USA, thus I suspect prices are higher here. Similar to the US places to find them are car boot sales (British equivalent to flea markets) where prices can be very cheap £3 (4 USD) for a small hatchet up to around £15 to £20 (20 to 25 USD) for axes, but you have to search long and hard to find them. Antique fair prices vary from OK to total rip off. Ebay uk is an expensive way to collect much more often than not. Over recent years especially with the growing popularity of Bushcraft axes/hatchets have become collectable so harder to find here thus the increasing prices, there is always someone wanting to make a good profit selling to enthusiasts.
While om the subject of prices I am looking to buy a small 1.2 acre woodland. it is blind bid with a guide price of £20,000 to 30,000 (25,000 to 40,500 USD). As the UK is densely populated in the main central area and land at a premium you have to take what you can get. Woodland with easy access, and with traditional British trees, located away from populated areas is especially sort after so I will count myself lucky to get ownership. I say traditional British tress because lots of woodland here are commercial spruce/pine plantations which personally I have zero interest in. If I get the woodland the the evergreens will mostly go from vertical to horizontal in short order. I will deal with them to plant native deciduous trees in there place. I have to say pine here means awfull construction timber full of knots and soft as cheese, no use at all for anything creative. To be fair I believe I might have a different opinion for evergreens in some parts of the US. There are two exceptions to this evergreen rule, Yew wood and Box wood, yew has excellent grain is quite hard and often a striking appearance, Box wood makes superb chisel handles, it is rock hard, even a sharp metal file hardly touches it. I really enjoy restoring axes/hatchets but opportunity to try them out is extremely limited at the moment. In the UK you have to have a very good reason for transporting sharp tools (Knives, axes/hatchets) or you can end up in serious trouble if you get stopped by the police, its is almost equivalent to transporting firearms in the US. legal carry for a knife here means a penknife with a blade no longer than 3 inches and it must open manually, no flick knives or ones that lock open. You can collect larger knives but you need to keep them at home unless you have a very good provable reason to have them with you when you are out and about. Knife crime is very common here in big cities and while I know this not a forum for politics I hope it is permissible to say the socialist government we have do not help at all.
I apologise for writing at length and going off subject, I hope this will be ok and that some of it might be of interest. I do tend to write at length and if some info on the history of British axe makes would be of interest please let me know and I will do that.
I have recently purchased three hatchets from an antiques fair in the east Midlands of the UK. One is marked "Genuine Plumb" on the head and has some markings stamped on the handle "tested FL*** USA. The stars are letters I am unable to read due to the stamping being very faint. Would anyone know what the word is. My uninformed guess is that it might be FLINT. I vaguely recollect the word Flint being associated with an axe brand. The hatchet is 2Lb 3oz in total weight with an overall length of 15 1/2 inches. head size is 5 3/4 pole to cutting edge and with a 3 1/2 inch cutting edge. It is in very good condition with the only downside that it has been used by a "hammer monkey" at some point thus the pole is dented and the pole edges burred over. fortunately this is only to a minor extent and easily tidied up. I am concerned that it might be one made when plumb outsourced manufacture to the far east, China or Taiwan, I hope not. All 3 together hatchets cost me a reasonable £30 (40 USD). Perhaps some explanation is needed here, vintage axes/hatchets are just not as easily found here in the UK as I think is the case in the USA, thus I suspect prices are higher here. Similar to the US places to find them are car boot sales (British equivalent to flea markets) where prices can be very cheap £3 (4 USD) for a small hatchet up to around £15 to £20 (20 to 25 USD) for axes, but you have to search long and hard to find them. Antique fair prices vary from OK to total rip off. Ebay uk is an expensive way to collect much more often than not. Over recent years especially with the growing popularity of Bushcraft axes/hatchets have become collectable so harder to find here thus the increasing prices, there is always someone wanting to make a good profit selling to enthusiasts.
While om the subject of prices I am looking to buy a small 1.2 acre woodland. it is blind bid with a guide price of £20,000 to 30,000 (25,000 to 40,500 USD). As the UK is densely populated in the main central area and land at a premium you have to take what you can get. Woodland with easy access, and with traditional British trees, located away from populated areas is especially sort after so I will count myself lucky to get ownership. I say traditional British tress because lots of woodland here are commercial spruce/pine plantations which personally I have zero interest in. If I get the woodland the the evergreens will mostly go from vertical to horizontal in short order. I will deal with them to plant native deciduous trees in there place. I have to say pine here means awfull construction timber full of knots and soft as cheese, no use at all for anything creative. To be fair I believe I might have a different opinion for evergreens in some parts of the US. There are two exceptions to this evergreen rule, Yew wood and Box wood, yew has excellent grain is quite hard and often a striking appearance, Box wood makes superb chisel handles, it is rock hard, even a sharp metal file hardly touches it. I really enjoy restoring axes/hatchets but opportunity to try them out is extremely limited at the moment. In the UK you have to have a very good reason for transporting sharp tools (Knives, axes/hatchets) or you can end up in serious trouble if you get stopped by the police, its is almost equivalent to transporting firearms in the US. legal carry for a knife here means a penknife with a blade no longer than 3 inches and it must open manually, no flick knives or ones that lock open. You can collect larger knives but you need to keep them at home unless you have a very good provable reason to have them with you when you are out and about. Knife crime is very common here in big cities and while I know this not a forum for politics I hope it is permissible to say the socialist government we have do not help at all.
I apologise for writing at length and going off subject, I hope this will be ok and that some of it might be of interest. I do tend to write at length and if some info on the history of British axe makes would be of interest please let me know and I will do that.
