Finnish/Earlier Scandi axes - Kirves

Saw this yesterday on the Finnish Vintage axes Facebook page:

"Very rare Mariefors bruk 24/2 and the page from the catalog Mariefors bruk
Thanks Lauri Häkkinen for the photos!"
https://www.facebook.com/finnishaxes/photos/pcb.1035145839960079/1035145533293443/?type=3&theater


The catalog referenced was from 1920. I looked it up and thought this comparison of the 24 (Hults modell) and the 12 (Laaja modell) interesting:



I tried Google Translate on the column headings and got these Swedish translations:
eggens bredd - the width of the egg
slipade - cut
polerade - polished​


I could not find the 24 in the 1922 catalog. Here is the 12 :





Bob
 
These probably all look the same after a while but I am quite impressed with this Billnäs 12.3.

20.5” overall length. This length matches up pretty close to the specs of a Wood Slasher house axe/large hatchet that I have and enjoy.

Hunaja.12.3 by Agent Hierarchy, on Flickr

The head has the raised Billnäs name mark and the model number is legible. Touches of blue paint here and there. There seems to be a good amount of the bit left on it that leaves it easier to get a good grind. It is sharp enough to split kindling but probably needs a little touch up to be great.


Hunaja.12.3 by Agent Hierarchy, on Flickr


Hunaja.12.3 by Agent Hierarchy, on Flickr

I think I have found the shape and curves of what I would like the handles to be like given the option of carving one for these Kemi heads. The handle is very thin, slips right into the eye and has a pretty nice swell on it. The angle it enters the collar seems right for bit presentation. It also smells quite strong of campfire, stove, or maybe even smoker – you can smell it from about 3” away. Kind of cool.


Hunaja.12.3 by Agent Hierarchy, on Flickr


Hunaja.12.3 by Agent Hierarchy, on Flickr


Hunaja.12.3 by Agent Hierarchy, on Flickr


Hunaja.12.3 by Agent Hierarchy, on Flickr


Hunaja.12.3 by Agent Hierarchy, on Flickr


Hunaja.12.3 by Agent Hierarchy, on Flickr

This one came from the guy that runs the Vintage Finnish Axe FB page that gets cited here from time to time. He also included a postcard made from pictures of some of his more interesting/classic vintage Finnish axes that I will attempt to scan just for fun.


FinnishPostCard by Agent Hierarchy, on Flickr
 
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Left to make the guess, I'd say the handle is not your own as I first thought it was AH. The smell coming off it from up close is thinned down pine tar. Do you have an idea of the wood sort on that one?
 
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Ernest DuBois said:
Left to make the guess, I'd say the handle is not your own as I first thought it was AH. The smell coming off it from up close is thinned down pine tar. Do you have an idea of the wood sort on that one?
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Ernest, you are right that the handle isn't my handiwork. I have rehandled several larger and smaller versions in the past - I meant I am impressed enough with this one that I think this is what I am going to shoot for in future endeavors as far as overall shape, fitting, and the belly into the throat. I have a handle in the works for a smaller model 61 that needs final shaping that could I can pretty much match to the shape and thickness of this one.

You are also most likely correct that the smell is pine tar. Not having used pine tar to treat anything before I did not recognize it. Tart, tangy pine with earthy undertones? - if one can have a favorite range of smells, this one just landed near the top of my list. Growing up we burned a lot of fir/pine as it is what surrounded our home and the smell does evoke that now that you've mentioned it. It also reminds me a bit of chicory. I wiped it down with BLO and mineral spirits and it made the smell stronger if that makes sense.

As far as the wood? I assumed Birch given its color, grain, and perceived density in hand. It seems quite similar in hue to a handle that I had previously made from Birch. Would a closer picture of the grain help in identification?
 
Well the handle comes out pretty close to how the Finnish army would like to promote kirves handles anyway. Pine tar is great to work with but only if you really love pine tar. In fact, that is about the only reason for using it. If you say birch, it's good enough for me.
 
Agent_H, late request, but way back on page 21, the last photo you posted was part of a puukko marked "OM" with a slash thru the O, who made it? Thanks, John
 
Ernest DuBois said:
I think to get some of his (Øystein Myhre) work you must promise to sacrifice your first born. Very high priced.
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I have sent messages to posters in Norwegian bushcraft blogs/sites but never received a response. I haven't been disappointed as I don't receive strange offers in Norwegian in my inbox. While oceans and major geographical features don't create the divides in today's modern age that they would have in the past, I wonder if culture and language might play a larger part. This isn't a commentary on Norwegian culture by any means.

Much of the world may speak/read/write/and understand English but trust of strangers might be quicker between two people who share a first language. For example, I can only imagine what my Russian looks like run through Google translate. My Finnish probably comes across as a child (an uneducated one at that) for instance.

My best luck for finding anything from overseas has been actually through making contact here and then developing some sort of rapport. That has always been with someone from a different country who speaks English to a much higher degree than I can communicate in their native or local tongue. I also wonder if the hassle of shipping from country to another is a deterrent.

You are geographically closer to Norway than me but but still a world apart to a certain degree?
I usually think better on the second pot of coffee...
 
Agent_H said:
I have sent messages to posters in Norwegian bushcraft blogs/sites but never received a response.
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It's an interesting angle, and carpentry or building/restoration, or forestry sources then? Then again, if you're a bush crafter that common ground may be a good beginning point.
 
Agent_H said:
I have sent messages to posters in Norwegian bushcraft blogs/sites but never received a response. I haven't been disappointed as I don't receive strange offers in Norwegian in my inbox. While oceans and major geographical features don't create the divides in today's modern age that they would have in the past, I wonder if culture and language might play a larger part. This isn't a commentary on Norwegian culture by any means.
Click to expand...
Here's an anecdote from Saturday's sports section (3 Feb 2018 page S12) of The Globe & Mail regarding this year's NHL (Nat'l Hockey League) decision not to allow their professional players to participate at the Olympics.
Carpenter by day, national goaltender at night, Pal Grotnes completely flummoxed a Team Canada composed of multimillionaire NHL stars as he blocked and kicked out some 50 shots while keeping Team Norway in a 1-1 tie with Canada, the clock ticking down (at the World Championships in 2008). He didn't quite pull it off - Canada's Rick Nash scored in the dying minutes to give Canada the win - but he sure had everyone talking about the carpenter goaltender and the improbable success of the Norwegians. They had reached the quarter finals with but a single former NHLer in the lineup. That player, Anders Myrvold, who had briefly played for the Detroit Red Wings, said his teammates not only had "Viking blood" but were everything from carpenters to mechanics to electricians - even a genuine "hockey plumber".
"If you need anything," Myrvold said with a straight face, "just give us a call. No point asking the Canadian team - all they can do is play hockey".
 
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