Craftsman boys axe

[00ChevyScott]

Picked up this Craftsman boys axe from a guy at work for $15. Looks like a decent axe. Gonna sand down the handle and oil it, then work on securing the head better.

 

[lmalterna]

Bringing home strays now?? LOL! You are on your way.

I have a couple Craftsman Boys axes- really nice little axes. That one looks like it has been treated well. A little fine tuning and it will be a gem.
My wife claimed my tiny Craftsman salesman hatchet- uses it in the kitchen
Bill

 

[00ChevyScott]

Bringing home strays now?? LOL! You are on your way.

I have a couple Craftsman Boys axes- really nice little axes. That one looks like it has been treated well. A little fine tuning and it will be a gem.
My wife claimed my tiny Craftsman salesman hatchet- uses it in the kitchen
Bill

Well I'm learning that I can buy vintage axes with character and history dirt cheap. It sure beats buying lots of expensive knives and is sure cheaper than buying more guns haha.

 

[lmalterna]

I went from long range rifles, to chainsaws, back to custom knives and now on to axes
With each change, I can sell one and buy many. I have grown to appreciate the satisfaction in bringing a decades old tool back to service and maybe adding a touch of finish out of respect for it's years.

Every old axe has stories buried in its use.

Bill

 

[Alocksly]

Well I'm learning that I can buy vintage axes with character and history dirt cheap. It sure beats buying lots of expensive knives and is sure cheaper than buying more guns haha.

Oh lord and 'aint that the truth!

And since we're on the subject of Craftsman, does anybody know anything about their fabrication? Did they contract out for axes stamped with their logo or did they do it themselves? I have an inherited Craftsman double bit (with some little bit of the original paint job still left) hanging in the shed and other than it was probably purchased in the Seattle area in the 50s I don't know much about it.

 

[Square_peg]

That's a fine axe. Definitely a keeper. It's probably from the 1950s or early '60s. The key features are the convex cheeks and un-clipped fawns-foot handle. The ones with convex cheeks were made with good steel. Later models had flat cheeks and clipped fawns-feet. I think that by the mid-60s they were selling flat-cheeked axes but I don't know the date of the switch for sure. I need to research a collection of old Sears catalogs at a local museum.

That Craftsman stamp came out around 1950. Prior to that they used a logo with a single oval around the word Craftsman. The single oval was short lived. Before that was the more common double oval stamp.

Sears Roebuck bought the Craftsman name in 1927 and started selling axes under that logo right away. Prior to that Sears house line of axes were Fultons. They had been selling Fultons since before the turn of the century. After they introduced the Craftsman line they continued to sell the Fulton line as their bargain axe, with the Craftsman being their premium axe. I think Fultons were still made up until around 1940. I read once that Sears actually had their own axe factory for a while. But I've never been able to find any information about exactly where it was or for how long it was in operation. Most Sears hardware and tools are made by someone else and affixed with the Craftsman label.

Some later Craftsman axes were made by Vaughan. And I think Operator said they employed another maker as well, maybe Mann Edge Tool Co.? Op?

 

[Double Ott]

Many of those older Craftsman tools were excellent. I have a Craftsman double bit that was my Dad's. It holds a keen edge.

Tom

 

[300Six]

Guaranteed the steel and manufacture in that head is 'top drawer' even though it was sourced-out. As well that handle beats the pants off anything available now for being nice and thin and curved just right. Matter of fact the foot is not even clipped which will get a real rise out of Square-Peg. Do what you have to (which won't be much) to get that axe back on the road and then you can snub your nose at those with deeper pockets that chose to spend $100-200 in trying to match yours through buying "fashionable-exotic new".
The 'Craftsman' name has got to be a conundrum. "Pimps & Queers" (Simpson-Sears in Canada, Sears-Roebuck in USA) has always offered a lifetime guarantee on 'Craftsman' tools. Will they supply you with an equivalent new tool if you bring that one back?
My buddy (teenager at the time) found a beat-up hammer in a roadside snowbank 50+ years ago and cheerfully used it for another 20 years until the leather handle material shredded. I accidentally spied the name 'Craftsman" on that head (we're talking 33 years ago, and this required using a wire brush) and he got himself a brand new 'top of their line' hammer, no questions asked, as a result. No leather rings this time but it was their very best.

 

[00ChevyScott]

Well I put it and my new Kelly axe to work today with a buddy. I'll say this, a chainsaw would've been much cleaner, quicker, and easier, but it sure was satisfying when that thing crashed down knowing we did it all by hand.

 

[300Six]

Well I put it and my new Kelly axe to work today with a buddy. I'll say this, a chainsaw would've been much cleaner, quicker, and easier, but it sure was satisfying when that thing crashed down knowing we did it all by hand.

Money saved from not having to join a fitness club or gym, and tangible results in an instant. Good for you. Do you have a fireplace at home?

 

[00ChevyScott]

Money saved from not having to join a fitness club or gym, and tangible results in an instant. Good for you. Do you have a fireplace at home?

Yes, but there won't be much use for it in Texas for at least 6 - 7 months haha. Plus we were pretty tired, so chopping it up will have to wait for another day. The core of this tree was unbelievably hard. I'd love to chop it up by hand but I'm not sure that's going to be a feasible option haha. I'll split it by hand, but I think a chain saw is in order for sectioning it up.

 

[300Six]

The core of this tree was unbelievably hard. I'd love to chop it up by hand but I'm not sure that's going to be a feasible option haha. I'll split it by hand, but I think a chain saw is in order for sectioning it up.

Chicken. That's what this is all about. The better the axe, the better the grind and the better the user the faster and easier she'll go. And no more memberships to fitness clubs.

 

[Square_peg]

Nice work. Thanks for the pics.

 

[Prekrime]

I have heard that if you bore some deep holes down in the stump and pour milk in them the stump will rot from the inside out...haven't had any stumps in a while to try it out.