Photos Found the motherload in my Grandfather's buildings.

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Noswad0208

Joined
Sep 8, 2014
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Looking for some info/ID help.

oJJqZAG.jpg

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The ones that are marked with grey are all (as of yet) unIDable. They have some slightly visible logos/markings but for the most part are a bit too rusty to really see anything yet. The one marked green says

"True Temper
RED WARRIOR
Kelly Workst"

The one marked yellow says
"True Temper
Kelly Perfect"

Closer pic of yellow
FSA9R3E.jpg

It has some interesting angles.
4o26UTk.jpg


The one marked red is a Plumb and it also has a "J" on the other side (possibly more letters but only J is visible).
yGOpAtw.jpg


The one marked blue is a Collins.
jQJY3VP.jpg


My granddad says they were my late Great Uncle's forest service axes. They both seem like stainless steel.

The one on the far right (grey, but only because there are no visible ID marks right now) has a stamp on both sides of the poll, can't tell what one says but the other looks like "3 1/4"

Also found this huge Plumb in a junk pile.

SCRIwL0.jpg



Sorry for the bad photos, they were all taken in low light. Any info would be very appreciated, especially on the forest service double bits.
 
The machetes are usually marked just above the handle. Most old ones like that I find are either Collins Legitimus or Ontario Knife.

Does the Jersey 3rd from the left have eye ridges? If so it's almost surely a Kelly Woodslasher.
 
Proportionally, the red and blue marked double bits look smaller - the tongue going into the head on the blue marked one especially - cruiser axes?
 
Square_peg said:
The machetes are usually marked just above the handle. Most old ones like that I find are either Collins Legitimus or Ontario Knife.

Does the Jersey 3rd from the left have eye ridges? If so it's almost surely a Kelly Woodslasher.
Click to expand...

I can't read any of the words in the machete yet, but I can make out an alligator and the numbers "945."

I didn't see any eye ridges but I will check when I go work on them some more.

Agent_H said:
Proportionally, the red and blue marked double bits look smaller - the tongue going into the head on the blue marked one especially - cruiser axes?
Click to expand...

The handles on both of them are pretty slim, especially the Plumb, and they feel a lot more nimble to swing.

What is the tongue? I'm pretty new to axes so I'm not sure of a lot of terms yet.
 
The tongue is the part of the handle that goes through the head.

Hold one of them up to the gray marked double bit and see if there is a noticeable difference in the eye sizes:

pGpXjW1.jpg


PC5AQUO.jpg
 
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Great finds! They will all clean up well and make great users. The axes are definitely not stainless steel, but they are all high quality carbon steels. Congrats!
 
I just went out and checked again. The red painted one three from the left does have ridges in the eye. It makes sense for it to be a Kelly because it was right next to the two Kelly double bits.

The two forest service Plumb and Collins axes (red and blue) both have noticeably smaller eyes than the other three double bits.

The short handled single bit on the far right has very deep stamps right on either side of the poll. One I believe says 3 1/4, the other looks like it may be a logo, looks like a set of scales maybe?

The one second from right with the broken handle says"CHEMICAL AXE 1946"

Any worthwhile new info from those?

SC T100 said:
Great finds! They will all clean up well and make great users. The axes are definitely not stainless steel, but they are all high quality carbon steels. Congrats!
Click to expand...

Thanks! The reason I said the forest service ones seemed stainless was because they've been sitting in my grandpa's garage since the 70's and have pretty minimal rust compared to the others that were in the same building.
 
The two smaler ones are obviously cruisers. It's interesting that he had two 32" double bits. 36" is most common for DB but 32" is often better for bucking or clearing a trail. The Chemical Axe is a Sager made by Warren Axe & Tool Co.

The set of scales could be a Woodings Verona logo like this.

vintage-woodings-verona-tool-works_1_07216c1c5e4d98503ff4c34d94084de9.jpg
 
Square_peg said:
The two smaler ones are obviously cruisers. It's interesting that he had two 32" double bits. 36" is most common for DB but 32" is often better for bucking or clearing a trail. The Chemical Axe is a Sager made by Warren Axe & Tool Co.

The set of scales could be a Woodings Verona logo like this.

vintage-woodings-verona-tool-works_1_07216c1c5e4d98503ff4c34d94084de9.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. Still not sure on the logo, it's going to need cleaned first before I'm sure.

Here are a few more pics.

Here are the eye ridges.
IyOrkfH.jpg



The stamp/logo I'm not sure on.
KMTFam7.jpg


Other side. Almost positive it says "3 1/4"
InRQ8sN.jpg


Chemical Axe 1946 writing. This is the one second from right in the first photo of the main post.
K6rpn0c.jpg


Another of the Chemical Axe. I can't find another on google with a similar head shape, they're all either double bit or a single bit that isn't really similar. Any info?
OEqtaTs.jpg


Eye comparison pic of the forest service Plumb Cruiser (bottom), the Kelly Works Red Warrior (middle), and forest service Collins Cruiser.
XjBR2oc.jpg



Hope this helps.
 
And another question, at least half of these still have handles in good/great condition. I am going to remove the handles and vinegar soak the ones I can, but how should I go about getting the rust off of the heads that still have good handles?


ETA: I believe the machete is a Martindale 945.
 
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That looks like CT stamped on there opposite the 3 1/2 mark - Council Tool.
 
Noswad0208 said:
Thanks! The reason I said the forest service ones seemed stainless was because they've been sitting in my grandpa's garage since the 70's and have pretty minimal rust compared to the others that were in the same building.
Click to expand...

Gotcha...yeah, they may have been oiled before or had a lacquer applied. Or it was just dry enough for them not to rust too badly.

Before you vinegar soak the heads, you might try a wire cup brush on an angle grinder and WD-40. I will remove the rust, but leave the patina/"good rust" and it will eliminate the risk of damaging the handles when pulling the heads. Then a light scuffing/sanding of the handles followed by many thin coats of boiled linseed oil, and they should be back in great shape. If the heads are loose, carefully drill/pull the wedges out, hold the end of the axe handle with the head swung down, and tap the butt of the handle with a wood or rubber mallet. This will seat the head a little lower, and then you can install a new wedge.

Follow the An Ax to Grind PDF and video tutorial and you'll be in great shape.
 
Great find on all these axes, and I wish you luck cleaning them up ( use a wire wheel ) and rehanging them .

BTW you said you can see an alligator on that machete ? If so then it's most definitely gonna be a martindale made in England.
 
the "chemical axe" is a sager chemical, the jersey's are harder to find than most other patterns. they're also really tough, high quality axes
 
SC T100 said:
Gotcha...yeah, they may have been oiled before or had a lacquer applied. Or it was just dry enough for them not to rust too badly.

Before you vinegar soak the heads, you might try a wire cup brush on an angle grinder and WD-40. I will remove the rust, but leave the patina/"good rust" and it will eliminate the risk of damaging the handles when pulling the heads. Then a light scuffing/sanding of the handles followed by many thin coats of boiled linseed oil, and they should be back in great shape. If the heads are loose, carefully drill/pull the wedges out, hold the end of the axe handle with the head swung down, and tap the butt of the handle with a wood or rubber mallet. This will seat the head a little lower, and then you can install a new wedge.

Follow the An Ax to Grind PDF and video tutorial and you'll be in great shape.
Click to expand...

Good to know, thanks for the advice.

Just looked through the PDF. Cool stuff.

Hickory n steel said:
Great find on all these axes, and I wish you luck cleaning them up ( use a wire wheel ) and rehanging them .

BTW you said you can see an alligator on that machete ? If so then it's most definitely gonna be a martindale made in England.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

Yep, very clearly see an alligator or crocodile. It also has 945 which I assume is the model number. Only see one Martindale 945 on fleabay, so possibly a pretty rare find?
 
Here is the machete with the alligator.
szaiuWF.jpg


The Plumb Cruiser cleaned up nicely on the cheeks, the top, bottom, and handle need a little bit of work though.
8jE58cG.jpg
 
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