Fulton Axe, Plumb Head

D

Dporourk

Joined
Feb 23, 2018
Messages
8
Found an axe. Curious of its age. Curved Long Handle style with a yellowish/white wood tone. The last 4 inches or so is painted red. (looks original) There is "FULTON" etched in small print on the side of the handle. No other visible marking on the handle. The head has a flat back with "PLUMB" etched in the middle of one side.

I've done some google searching but no luck finding this one.

Thanks,
Dan
 
it's probably like my bingmaster (bingmaster handle, kelly head) where someone took a handle and put it on a different head,
Dvmb9bX.jpg



could you get us a picture? the easiest sites to use are imgur.com postimage.com and flickr.com
 
Handles are 'consumables' when it comes to axes. Plumb red-stained ('mahoganized' is what they called it) all of their wood handles and black-painted the heads since the end of WWI. But we're always keen to 'rubberneck' what you've got. Plumb pared down their lineup of models considerably starting in WWII.
 
Thanks for the info. I have almost 0 knowledge about the history of axes. Any idea on the age? Wondering if its old enough to clean it up and put it on the wall in my woodworking shop.
 
The 'line-framed PLUMB' stamp goes back to about 1919, screwed-in conical wedges became OEM during the 20s and 30s into the early 40s and epoxy-set hafts began in 1955. "Plumb" as a prestigious axe stamp mostly died out after Ames/True Temper took over in the early 1970s and entirely so after Cooper Tools bought-into-the famous name franchise in the early 80s. If your's isn't a 'National' pattern (introduced in 1948) it will take some sleuthing to figure out the age. As I mentioned before: we need pictures.
 
Sears Roebuck used to sell replacement handles under the Dunlap brand. Dunlap was Sears' second line production, under their Craftsman top line products.
 
Dporourk said:
Thanks for the info. I have almost 0 knowledge about the history of axes. Any idea on the age? Wondering if its old enough to clean it up and put it on the wall in my woodworking shop.
Click to expand...
Any classic/vintage north American (especially ID stamped) axe that hasn't been beat to death, or entirely worn out, is worthy of being resurrected. There are increasing numbers of dedicated/persistent (or foolish?) folks out there welding up, rebuilding and re-profiling 'thoroughly trashed' axes in hopes of either 'making a buck' or believing that they're going to re-live the 'good old days'.
 
300Six said:
Any classic/vintage north American (especially ID stamped) axe that hasn't been beat to death, or entirely worn out, is worthy of being resurrected. There are increasing numbers of dedicated/persistent (or foolish?) folks out there welding up, rebuilding and re-profiling 'thoroughly trashed' axes in hopes of either 'making a buck' or believing that they're going to re-live the 'good old days'.
Click to expand...


Yea I have no intentions of bringing it back from the dead and using it as i have a new axe I use for chopping wood, but I will take a pic when I get home and perhaps you can tell if it still looks original or if someone tried resurrecting this one already. Its definitely been heavily used though.
 
Dporourk said:
Yea I have no intentions of bringing it back from the dead and using it as i have a new axe I use for chopping wood, but I will take a pic when I get home and perhaps you can tell if it still looks original or if someone tried resurrecting this one already. Its definitely been heavily used though.
Click to expand...
If the newbie axe is a recent offshore, no-name or box store - origin critter you may be pleasantly surprised if you put the oldie through it's paces doing the exact same tasks. Quality of steel, blade hardening, cheek profile and overall finishing all contribute towards making a 'lively' chopper.
 
Dporourk said:
Yea I have no intentions of bringing it back from the dead and using it as i have a new axe I use for chopping wood, but I will take a pic when I get home and perhaps you can tell if it still looks original or if someone tried resurrecting this one already. Its definitely been heavily used though.
Click to expand...
That's foolish, because this axe is most likely better and something you owe it to yourself to experience.
 
That handle has the exact paint scheme as my grandfathers 1950's boy scout hatchet. The only difference is the handle has Boy Scouts instead of Fulton on it. jblyttle posted another axe with the exact same handle coloring. I personally have a rixford head with a montgomery wards handle if that helps. To summarize, the handle's a replacement.
 
That head is not 'modern' (namely WWII or newer) and it's got a lot of miles on it judging by the length of the blade, the blade profile and steep angle of the grind. Thankfully the previous owners chose not to use it as a sledge (or as a wedge) which would have mushroomed the poll. Dimpling of the blade at the heel (namely hammer marks) is symptomatic of head removal during preparations for fitting and installing of replacement handles. The handle on it is vintage too based on the presence of an unclipped butt swell and overall thinness of the haft.
 
Dporourk said:
Thanks for the info. I have almost 0 knowledge about the history of axes. Any idea on the age? Wondering if its old enough to clean it up and put it on the wall in my woodworking shop.
Click to expand...

I don't know how old your Plumb as is but if your intention is to have it around simply as a neat old axe (and there is nothing wrong with that at all) then maintaining it in a similar condition to how it is right now might be and option.

You could grab some gloves, WD-40, and a softer wire bristled brush and repeatedly scrub most of the rust off. The handle you can just add BLO to until it doesn't take any more. The head would be clean/dark and the handle that is exposed from the paint might take on that beautiful color that old, work-worn wood gets after being fed.

Red and white was a popular color scheme.

ST383cQ.jpg
 
I think I will do that! Thanks for the info! And to get my facts straight, this is probably early 1900 manufactured?
 
Dporourk said:
I think I will do that! Thanks for the info! And to get my facts straight, this is probably early 1900 manufactured?
Click to expand...
The framed PLUMB stamp originated in 1917 and was fully registered in 1920. Before that time the Plumb logo featured an anchor motif. Seeing as the head on yours appears to be an older style this renders a timeline of 1920-1940.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top