FYI CT FSS boys axe

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FLINT77

Joined
Apr 8, 2013
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A seller on the bay has a bunch of these for sale. must be new old stock? hopefully they are legit? Seems like the FSS version was 1080 steel?
 
FLINT77 said:
A seller on the bay has a bunch of these for sale. must be new old stock? hopefully they are legit? Seems like the FSS version was 1080 steel?
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I know Whiskey River had a run made at one point.
 
Right. 1080 steel.

But I don't see any FSS stamp in that bay ad. Looks like just a standard boys axe. The Council re-issue FSS boys axes were clearly stamped FSS, even those from Whiskey River. I have 2 of them.
 
what are all those letters for?
fun yankee industrial cool tomahawk forestry secret service?
 
flexo2 said:
what are all those letters for?
fun yankee industrial cool tomahawk forestry secret service?
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I believe the thread title translates to
" For your information an Ebay seller has a bunch of federal supply schedule marked Council tool boys axes for sale ".

FSS is usually stamped on axes shovels and pulaskis made to spec for federal supply schedule contracts.
 
Square_peg said:
Right. 1080 steel.

But I don't see any FSS stamp in that bay ad. Looks like just a standard boys axe. The Council re-issue FSS boys axes were clearly stamped FSS, even those from Whiskey River. I have 2 of them.
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5 or 6 images down shows the FSS stamp. I don't have mine nearby to compare. Mine was from the second run WR did.
Price is pretty good if they are legit.

www.ebay.com

Council Tool Forest Service FSS 28” Camp Boys Single Bit Axe Curved Handle | eBay

Discover durable Council Tool Forest Service FSS 28” Camp Boys Single Bit Axes with a curved handle for all your forestry and woodworking needs.
www.ebay.com

I just thought the FSS stood for "Forest Service Stuff". Shows you what I know.🤷‍♂️
 
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The handles are.. odd. The first one on the left looks like a typical Council Tool handle from the era. The other two look like B grade hardware store replacements. Can we get a shot of the wedges?
 
I will say Council has gone through periods in the past where sourcing sufficient handle quantities was a challenge and they used mixed sources.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
I will say Council has gone through periods in the past where sourcing sufficient handle quantities was a challenge and they used mixed sources.
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That would make sense here. The FS wasn't too concerned about handle quality or grain orientation as I remember. I may have that wrong though.

wonderboy1377s said:
S Skweeker

All 3 look like this.
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Thank you. If those are plastic wedges then they're probably legit. Looks like it from the pic. I pulled the trigger on a spare or gift to a friend.
 
I think it had something to do with the aluminum wedges cracking during testing. My most used boy's axe is a CT and the aluminum wedge hasn't been an issue but I don't swing it like I'm trying to take someone's head off either. It's a light duty tool in my book. Neither plastic nor aluminum will swell when wet so there is that.
 
I've never once heard of an aluminum wedge cracking, and even if it somehow did it wouldn't impair its hold on the wood. The FSS standards were written independent of what Council was necessarily making. Someone evidently thought plastic wedges were the bee's knees and wrote it in.
 
What Ben just said. 25 years ago when a Forest Service engineer, who had been tasked with writing new specs, was sent to me about the specs, I told him the plastic wedge was a bad idea. But engineers rarely listen to hands on workers, in my experience.

There are a lot of advantages to a Aluminum wedge. The biggest disadvantage to a Aluminum wedge is that it only works well with a new manufactured axe (or any other hafted tool) which allows it to be sized for that tools eye. Re-hafting requires a wood wedge that is easy to resized to fit the tool to be re-hafted.
 
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