Does anyone recognize this? UPDATE

L4NE4

L4NE4

Joined
Aug 24, 2011
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I found this hatchet/small axe in my girlfriends grandpas garage. It is rusty and beat but it looks like a fun project. Can anyone make out a brand with the pictures? Looks like an anchor logo to me.

IMG_20111002_203841.jpg

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I did not think to get any measurements off of it at the time. I could to that later tonight but I figure the experts here can tell by the logo.

Thanks for any help.
 
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Thats it! If you mess with the lighting and contrast you can see more of the logo. That is definitely it. Are these worth anything or can I go ahead and polish her up?

Thank you!
 
Those axes are a few that when you hit them with your knuckle, say as if you were knocking, they will "ping", letting you know they were made correctly back in the day. Not sure if yours will, but they all have done that to me.
 
From yesteryearstools "Eventually Plumb added a number of other brands to his offerings. The primary brand, carried over from YERKES & PLUMB, was actually called the ANCHOR BRAND and that was possibly used into the 1930s. "

If this is the case you have an axe thats 75 years old or older, in great shape. If it were mine i'd do a very gentle cleaning using light mineral oil and a soft plastic scouring pad. This would get rid of the active rust and keep the original paint. Others more knowledgable may have other opinions though.

Nice find.

Best regards

Robin
 
Pipeman said:
From yesteryearstools "Eventually Plumb added a number of other brands to his offerings. The primary brand, carried over from YERKES & PLUMB, was actually called the ANCHOR BRAND and that was possibly used into the 1930s. "

If this is the case you have an axe thats 75 years old or older, in great shape. If it were mine i'd do a very gentle cleaning using light mineral oil and a soft plastic scouring pad. This would get rid of the active rust and keep the original paint. Others more knowledgable may have other opinions though.

Nice find.

Best regards

Robin
Click to expand...

Somewhat true. Not all the anchor brands were Yerkes and Plumb. The anchor brand was carried on for some time, and depending on manufacture date, could be a Yerkes and Plumb, could be a Fayette Plumb, or Plumb, all 3 had anchor brand associated with them.
 
Nice find....Remember to post pic's after you clean'er up !
 
Started cleaning it today. Let it sit in wd40 over night and took some steel wool to it this morning. You can clearly read the logo now.

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There is still some rust holding tight. Any suggestions? I plan on using it so I don't need it perfect but I want the rust off. What do you think about bluing it?
 
One thing I've found helpful for removing that final bit of rust is to put a scouring pad underneath my vibrating finishing sander. That seems to do a good job of removing rust without removing any metal. Usually this leaves the patina pretty intact also.
 
I've had luck with a fine metal brush chucked in a drill motor. Or if you want to go to town you can use a wire wheel on an angle grinder, this might be too much though.
 
Vinegar will take all the rust off, soak for a dayish and clean with a scouring pad (plastic), it will also show you the hardened
edge. It's good for getting rust out of the eye.

Best regards

Robin
 
vinegar huh? I will try that. I have it soaking it WD40 again. I will take it out, run a scouring pad over it and put it in a vinegar bath.

What do you guys think about bluing it? Wont it rust again if I leave the metal untreated?
 
It will rust if left totally untreated. People also keep them oiled to avoid rusting. If you leave the vinegar patina on it, that will help prevent rust to a certain extent. Cold bluing is easy and inexpensive, works well, looks good, the only thing that I'm unsure of is if it is considered to reduce value in vintage pieces...not sure. Any other thoughts on bluing folks??

Matt
 
The vinegar will darken the whole head with a much darker tone where the hardened edge is. It will also give a small amount of protection against rust. I kinda think that bluing would look a bit strange unless you ground and polished the entire head to smooth it, I don't recommend the grinding. It's a nice old axe. If it were mine i'd repaint it black which looks like original paint to me, or just oil it. Other guys may feel differently though. ;-))
Could you show us a top down picture so we can see the other profile?
Best regards

Robin
 
I will try the vinegar and see what it leaves me with. I plan on using it so I am not worried too much about looks.
 
Here is a little update

Today I got a new 32" handle for it
IMG_20120219_170523.jpg


The handle seems long so I am glad I didn't get the 36". I still need to sand down the handle and mount the head.

Thanks for looking!
 
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