Dunlap pick axe found.

[LEGION 12]

Found this in a basement Dunlap made in the U.S. Anyone ever heard of this company ?

 

[LEGION 12]

 

[Square_peg]

Dunlap was a Sears brand. 'Craftsman' was their A-line and Dunlap was their B-line. Still good stuf by and large.

 

[rjdankert]

Found this in a basement Dunlap made in the U.S. Anyone ever heard of this company ?
. . . .

I picked up a DUNLAP Jersey pattern axe head awhile ago. I did some internet searches to see what I could find out about it. If I remember correctly, DUNLAP was a second or third tier brand used by Sears with CRAFTSMAN the top of the line.

Is the head stamped DUNLAP?

 

[LEGION 12]

If the head is stamped I can't tell until I clean it up its pretty rusty.

 

[300Six]

If the head is stamped I can't tell until I clean it up its pretty rusty.

For the head to be overly rusty and yet a haft decal to still be visible suggests to me the former owner made a purchase of a new handle many years after allowing the original gettup to languish long enough for the original haft to have weathered away.

 

[LEGION 12]

For the head to be overly rusty and yet a haft decal to still be visible suggests to me the former owner made a purchase of a new handle many years after allowing the original gettup to languish long enough for the original haft to have weathered away.

Or it sat and was never used.

 

[Square_peg]

The age of the haft looks about right for the age if the head. I bet it's original.

 

[LEGION 12]

How do you think I should go about cleaning the handle on this ? Wipe it down with water let it dry and put a few coats of BLO ?

 

[Square_peg]

How do you think I should go about cleaning the handle on this ? Wipe it down with water let it dry and put a few coats of BLO ?

No, don't use water. A rag dampened with BLO would wipe much of the grime off of it. Or you could wipe it with mineral spirits. But in any case stay off the label!

 

[300Six]

No, don't use water. A rag dampened with BLO would wipe much of the grime off of it. Or you could wipe it with mineral spirits. But in any case stay off the label!

Good advice but highly unlikely we'll see picks become hot collectibles anytime soon. But with these items it's lucky that the heads readily separate from the hafts; perhaps hide the haft away somewhere (or display it?) and get out there with a new handle and use the head in a real work setting or in a gravel pile in order to authentically remove all the rust scale and crud.

 

[LEGION 12]

Good advice but highly unlikely we'll see picks become hot collectibles anytime soon. But with these items it's lucky that the heads readily separate from the hafts; perhaps hide the haft away somewhere (or display it?) and get out there with a new handle and use the head in a real work setting or in a gravel pile in order to authentically remove all the rust scale and crud.

Im going to beat the crap out of that pick

 

[300Six]

Im going to beat the crap out of that pick

Good for you!
I always got good mileage out of picks (loosening clay, hard pan, prying boulders, breaking concrete) but seemingly no one (modern generation anyway) uses them anymore, except maybe for lifting man-hole covers. I have to admit the 2 or 3 that I have (guaranteed to be well over 50 years old) that are languishing in the garage are on the verge of being put out on recycle day.
However, of all the simple tools I've ever worked with in 50 years I 've never seen anyone ruin or break a pick, whether it be a haft or head. Mr Pulaski certainly created a wonderful and useful forest fire-fighting tool but he neglected to look at how well mattocks and picks held up (to desperate leverage and prying) through their generous eyes and thick hafts.

 

[Square_peg]

However, of all the simple tools I've ever worked with in 50 years I 've never seen anyone ruin or break a pick, whether it be a haft or head.

I've bent a few picks while digging hard pan soil. We got stuff around here that's like natural concrete. One pick I folded over almost 90 degrees. That was back in the 1980's when I was young and full of piss and vinegar. I have a few good vintage picks now, both full size and one-hand varieties. My favorite is this old Klein-Logan which some blacksmith repaired by forge-welding in a new tip.