early wm beatty & son phila - #7 beef splitter photos

A

azmica saws

Joined
Jun 20, 2012
Messages
6
new kid on the block here ..... so, i hope this edge tool is acceptable in the axe forum.
this is "as found" and i have not decided whether to leave it as is .... or re-handle it.
overall length is ~28 in. the forged carbon steel edge is 14 in. and it weighs 5 3/4lb
i believe that there was one model even larger, but i have not seen an example
just thought i would post these for (practice) & anyone who might be interested.
michael
IMG_4713.jpg
[/IMG]
IMG_4720-1.jpg
[/IMG]
IMG_4719-1.jpg
[/IMG]
IMG_4718-1.jpg
[/IMG]
IMG_4716-1.jpg
[/IMG]
IMG_4714-1.jpg
[/IMG]
 
WOW! What a brute! I vote to rehandle her! A piece like that deserves to be nicely dressed. :cool::thumbup:
 
Amazing piece!
bow.gif


And are cleavers welcome here? Well heck yeah! We even have a cleaver discussion thread here.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/953042-The-cleaver-discussion-thread

And I'm with Forty-Two, definitely re-handle that monster.

I bet you've got a forge-welded edge on that blade. A look at the end of the blade would probably tell us. It's old! Some heat would help you straighten that tang. And it's far enough from the edge that you've have no worry about tempering the edge. A mapp gas torch would do the job.

What would look cool is fitting a brass bolster over the tang and then a nice hardwood handle over that. You might want to make a copy of that tang and use it to burn through the new handle. That way you're not re-heating the tang too many times. Do you know a local blacksmith?
 
I vote re-handle as well. That tang is probably pretty soft back where it needs to be straightened but some heat isn't a bad idea when you straighten it. And i agree with Pegs, brass bolster would give it a vintage look.

One alternative to burning the tang hole is to rip the handle block into 2 equal pieces, then use a router/Dremel/chisel to cut a groove to match the tang shape in each half then glue the halves together and shape the handle. If you need help with that, i know a guy. :)

and one more thing? we need to see more pics of what's in your box. I see something pretty and sharp under that axe, can't tell what it is.

randy
 
"and one more thing? we need to see more pics of what's in your box. I see something pretty and sharp under that axe, can't tell what it is."

no randy .... we really don't want to go there - trust me on this. there are enough big sharp steel things here that it would open a can of worms quite impossible to close. the amount of steel here has been responsible for grounding a number of ships that navigate with the magnetic compass. the sharp thing you are prolly referring to ..... is a greenlee dished slick. the ax is a gorgeous early keen kutter faller with the octagonal handle.

anyway - i know that beatty and sons (plural ... with an "s") tools were stamped primarily with "chester pa" - correct me if i am wrong.
i would be grateful for anyone who could tell me what the chronological significance of the singular "son" and "phila" in the stamp is. this is the only example that i have seen marked this way - and have been, so far, unable to find historical information that would shed some light on this.
michael
 
Last edited:
Ah yes, Beatty and Sons - another local yocal maker (to me anyway).

So lets see about some time frame on them - it is confusing overall.

William Beatty - 1806-01839 Willam Beatty and Son - 1839 - ?? William Beatty and Sons - 1840 - 1882

So already the confusion begins. And we havent even talked about the cow logo yet.

One of the early early blacksmiths to have a reptutaion as a great blacksmith - Beatty was quite an act to have to follow. Any pieces of theirs usually go for good money -(were out of the game pre 1882 afterall, or were they?), plus the quality and the story of them has a lot to do with it as well.

I could probably do another Axe Manufacturer thread on them, but thats for another time. Some basics though on Beatty -

There is confusion out there to how many sons were in on the original project/business here - William obviously the father, and then 2 sons for sure, perhaps a third. That is not known for sure. Plus there were other Beattys in the mix in Pa - William, sons John and William P, potential third son Thomas. John Beatty who might(and probably was) of relation. So hard to know the exact history through and through.

Beatty Markings and Meanings -

Good luck here - be ready to do some research. Beatty is well known for the cow logo - as which there are around 15 variations of just the cow, let along the wording, pictures/stamping/location, etc. So you will find many different imprints along the course of time, all due to many factors - businesses in multiple locations, who was running the business at the time, controlling interests in the business, technology available, etc etc. Do the math. Lots of variations.

Sites on pieces I have in my collection are - Chester, and Philadelphia PA. Chester somewhat more common. However the variety of logos/stampings is immense, all things considered for mid 1800s.

Articles they produced were of course axes (especially broad/hewing), cleavers, and house items - such as boys axes, hatchets, etc. One must remember the time - In some cases items like this were scarce, so an axe would serve not only as a felling item, but then also limbing, bucking, rough hewing, cattle killer, chicken killer, in house basic processor, etc etc. Times dictated what you had and what you could do. The axe was gold then, pure gold.

Ok back to Beatty(sorry). One can see markings with dates, without dates, cow, no cow, cast steel, chester, phila, weight, etc etc. From what I have seen and researched and read, the regular beatty or beatty and son(s) marking loner is older than one with the cow, however I dont know if anyone can confirm that for 100% pure fact. Also one must remember, that as was seen in most of the axe industry, another competitor came in, bought out Beatty(John B Black Co) and continued to use Beatty markings due to the following Beatty had. This makes it of course hard to date any markings unless they themselves were dated. Oh, and Johns middle initial - B - yeah that was for......you guessed it - Beatty. So who knows what the relationship was there.

The inclusions of different locations - Chester, Philadelphia, etc could mean multiple things. Different manufacturing locations. Perhaps Philadelphia was a business office, seeing the important hub it was. On and on. Hard to say.

Well hopefully this helped somewhat. This is one of the more confusing axe makers, as far as timeline and responsibility goes that I have ever seen. I can tell you their products were known for quality and dependability(I have a cleaver myself) and they are sought after. Nice find you have, no doubt.

Thanks!

Mike
 
well yes mike - thank you - if nothing else, it helps confirm that i am not losing my mind - like you, i have found the beatty record quite convoluted with more than a few gaps. i believe that this piece pre-dates the cow era - which, thankfully, would eliminate the subsequent confusion with those issues. your placing it all on one plate for scrutiny is a great help. will need to think about it a little - i am certain there are clues in it all - for those who would pay attention.
thanks again - michael
 
Robert Beatty, Robert Beatty & Son
Not much is known about Robert Beatty, the second son of Thomas. He left no direct descendants, and perhaps as a consequence, most of his personal records were lost or destroyed. We do know that Robert Beatty was born on October 27, 1790, and like his older brother, William, he probably served an apprenticeship with Andrew Lindsey and later entered the blacksmith trade. In 1810, William Beatty bought a quarter-acre tract of land in Aston Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, which I assume was in the community of Village Green. (A map showing the location of all the Beatty edge-tool factories is found in Part I of this article.) The tax records of 1811-1814 indicate that Robert Beatty was living as a freeman in Aston Township, and by 1814, he owned a lot and smith shop.4 During the War of 1812, Robert and William Beatty were mustered in as privates in the 10th Company, Mifflin Guards of the 1st regiment of the Pennsylvania Volunteers. Robert served from September 6, 1814, until January 4, 1815. He was paid the sum of $31.25 upon completion of his tour of duty5Almost immediately upon returning from the war, on March 3, 1815, Robert purchased from his brother, William, the quarter acre tract of land that he owned in Aston Township. Robert worked as a blacksmith until 1837 according to the tax records of Aston Township. This business grew and by 1825, Robert owned twelve acres, a house and barn, a stone blacksmith shop, a wheelwright shop, and another house, all with a value of $1,260.7 In 1830, his younger brother, John, moved to Aston Township and was employed as a freeman blacksmith living with Robert.
It was during this time that Robert married Mary Black on October 20, 1820, in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and on November 30, 1824, their only child, Robert Henry Beatty, was born.In 1827, Robert Beatty entered his tools in the Fourth Franklin Institute Exhibition. He received a citation that read, No. 61-For the best specimen of edge tools ordinarily used by carpenters, &c. one dozen to be exhibited.But one competitor appeared, which was Mr. Robert Beatty, of Village Green, Chester County, Penn., whose tools sustained the high character they have always borne, being superior, in the estimation of the committee, to any similar articles of foreign manufacture with which they are acquainted. The premium is, therefore, conferred on Mr. Beatty.-A Silver medal.10
 
Untangling the Beattys-A Hundred Years of Edge-Tool Makers, Part I
By Beatty, Charles I.
I have been collecting edge-tools with the mark "BEATTY" stamped on them for more than forty years, and as the collection grew and as the marks became more varied, the question arose as to who the Beattys were. The tools were marked with different initials. Some had the words "Son" or "Sons," and others included cities or abbreviations, like "Chester," "Philadelphia," "Phil'a," "Philad'a," and "Media," and the symbol of an eagle or steer was in some of the marks. It became apparent that there had to be a number of Beattys involved in the production of these edge tools, which must have occurred over a period of years
In 1999, the Early American Industries Association published the Directory of American Tool-makers, and I assumed that this directory would straighten out all the Beattys and my collection could then be labeled showing who made the tool as well as when and where they did so. The copy of the Directory came, but it told me what I already knew- that there was some confusion about the Beattys. Thus, it came about that I became involved in a search to see if some semblance of a history of the Beattys could be written.
As my research progressed, I realized that the confusion with the Beattys was due in part to the repetition of first names in succeeding generations and was compounded by the ease with which the Beattys were willing to work separately or together. There are times when they shared the same mill and produced tools collectively, but sold their tools independently. Sometimes, some Beattys were employed by another Beatty, and in other years each Beatty had his own mill, producing and marketing his own tools in competition with a brother, nephew, or uncle. In addition, the Beattys would join together in partnerships making and selling tools. I believe that these different arrangements dictated the form of their businesses. I have organized this history by separating the stories of Thomas Beatty's three sons: William Beatty (1788-1842), Robert Beatty (1790-1858) and John Beatty (1808-1886). This first part will follow William and three of his children: William Penn Beatty (1828-1878), John C. Beatty (1817-1891), and Mary Beatty Ogden (born 1822), and their descendents who continued the business until the mid-1920s
Part two of this history will follow the careers of William's brothers, John and Robert, and William's son, T.F. Beatty. John made tools under the name, John Beatty & Co., and Robert, with his son Robert H. Beatty, formed Robert Beatty & Son. Thomas F. Beatty worked as T. F. Beatty & Co. As will become apparent, it is not possible to make a clean break when splitting the family history in two because of their intertwined relationships. The published records such as newspapers, directories, and such other records were very important historically in placing the Beattys in American history. The problem was determining if there were any primary sources that confirmed these statements, and since the business records of the individuals or partnerships are almost non-existent, the research had to be focused on governmental and existing printed records. Where there were differences between published and government records, I used the government records.
Most of the edge-tool makers' living descendants whom I was able to contact have very little knowledge of the business history of their forbearers. They did, however, have genealogical records, which I used when there were differences with the printed histories. To my regret, the genealogical records confirm that I am not a descendant of any of the edge-tool makers named Beatty.
Thomas Beatty
What I learned covers more than a century of edgetool makers named Beatty. The family includes brothers, sons, nephews, wives, widows, cousins, and in-laws all producing and marking the tools under the name of Beatty. Others were brought into the business as partners, probably for their special skills, but these relationships would last for very short durations. …
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top