I picked this beauty up today.

jblyttle

jblyttle

Joined
Sep 3, 2014
Messages
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Look at the condition of this axe! Although the handle looked great, close to the head was wrapped in duct tape, so I was worried that it was damaged. But, for $3 I didn't care at all. However, when I removed the tape I saw that the original owner must have wrapped it for protection on the day he bought it. The wood looks factory fresh, AND the head is undamaged and tight. I don't really need a full sized axe, so it's already looking for a new home, but...



 
That's a beauty !
I'm new to axes but I'd buy a collins for $3 all day long, nice score.
 
If your's is blessed with the 'flat slab' type (only 7/8" thick) handle that Garant markets in Canada (during the past 10-15 years) then this axe is not very old.
 
$3. THREE dollars. For a Collins. jblyttle, that is a great buy, even if it was made yesterday.

I'm interested in buying it from you. Been looking for a Collins for a while. I want to put it head to head with my Gransfors Bruks.

PM me if you're interested in selling it.

Thanks
 
300Six said:
If your's is blessed with the 'flat slab' type (only 7/8" thick) handle that Garant markets in Canada (during the past 10-15 years) then this axe is not very old.
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it looks like the typical Truper/Collins handles of the last decade or so, and still produced. very flat sided and not very nice to the hand(or eye). same handles that are available at Lowes and HD usually.

by the head itself, im sayin its not more than 20 years old. i bet the blue wedge is aluminum.

OP, how is the steel? have you put a file to it to check yet?
 
Twoinch said:
it looks like the typical Truper/Collins handles of the last decade or so, and still produced. very flat sided and not very nice to the hand(or eye). same handles that are available at Lowes and HD usually.

by the head itself, im sayin its not more than 20 years old. i bet the blue wedge is aluminum.

OP, how is the steel? have you put a file to it to check yet?
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I wasn't suggesting that the steel was of poor quality (made in USA, it had better not be) but only that this was obviously a recent-made product. Those slab handles have hugely disappointed me ever since I came across the first batch of them on new axes (all Canadian Garants) and then found these same 'cheesehound' wood handles gracing the haft bins at the same store not long after. When manufacturers are willing to shave readily-visible material costs by 50% (traditional 1 1/2 inch thick hickory blanks down to 1 inch) then I suddenly become very very suspicious of what they've similarly done to the head metal specs. Could be s.e. Asia-pressed wrought iron/soup cans with a skiff of steel plating. Hickory standards will gradually turn into Oak and Ash, then Spruce and Fir, and ultimately become Poplar and Willow (and plastics) for all I know.
I haven't bought a new axe in 30 years so it's highly unlikely I will ever sway whatever direction the makers choose.
 
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Confirmed, handle is just under an inch thick, and the wedge is aluminum. On one hand, I wish it was older. It certainly looks it based on the style of the head, I don't remember ever seeing anything like that in a store.

On the other hand, it IS a really nice new-condition older axe. I can't promise what the steel is, but the big fat sticker on the side of the head says Hand Forged, Made in USA. I have to believe that it is good steel.

It's currently for sale, so I don't want to do too much poking/prodding/scratching. I'm not clear on how to test with a file, as I usually sharpen bad edges with them and always expect them to cut, even the hardened edge. Is there something specific I should look for, or is it just gauging if the cut is easy or difficult? I'm interested, that will be a useful test going forward.

In any case, slightly less thrilled...but still thrilled with this find. Looks like a nice axe, and did I mention...$3!!!
 
jblyttle said:
It's currently for sale, so I don't want to do too much poking/prodding/scratching. I'm not clear on how to test with a file, as I usually sharpen bad edges with them and always expect them to cut, even the hardened edge. Is there something specific I should look for, or is it just gauging if the cut is easy or difficult? I'm interested, that will be a useful test going forward.
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a good hard ax bit should be pretty hard to cut, period. they will be nearly impossible to cut with an older "used" file, or any file that has not been treated well. i have had good ax bits ruin a good file, as in it cuts decently well when i start with the NEW file, and by the time i finish profiling and setting the edge, the file will hardly scratch anymore. if your files cut your ax bits "well" then your bits are not that hard. once you feel a hard bit, you will understand what guys talk about here, and you will compare others to it.

a hard bit will require you to hold the file at a particular angle, particular direction, particular speed, and particular pressure, or it will "skate" across the steel.
 
Twoinch said:
a good hard ax bit should be pretty hard to cut, period. they will be nearly impossible to cut with an older "used" file, or any file that has not been treated well. i have had good ax bits ruin a good file, as in it cuts decently well when i start with the NEW file, and by the time i finish profiling and setting the edge, the file will hardly scratch anymore. if your files cut your ax bits "well" then your bits are not that hard. once you feel a hard bit, you will understand what guys talk about here, and you will compare others to it.

a hard bit will require you to hold the file at a particular angle, particular direction, particular speed, and particular pressure, or it will "skate" across the steel.
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Well, I've only done a couple, so maybe I ruined a file and don't know it yet. Maybe I sharpened a so-so axe. When I go to sharpen a known good one, I'll pay attention.
 
I checked the bins at Rona (Eastern Canadian big-box competitor of Lowes and Home Depot) this morning and their genuine Garant axes (now allied/bought out etc etc with Ames/True Temper/Collins....?) feature the cheesy 7/8" hickory slab handles. Some say "assembled in Canada" on the paper label (the red-painted "Canadian-deluxe model" whereas the physical head-stamped generic black-paint headed ones say "made in India").

This whole recreational/occasional-use handtool business has become so global, flighty and cheapened by 'lowest price-nevermind any aspirations to quality' that I would love to hear from someone new and enthusiastic to this game how vintage axes, hammers, shovels and rakes compare in field trials to what is become standard fare these days. I am entirely out of that loop, don't buy modern stuff and did most of my down and dirty work 30-40 years ago and am still using those very same tools.
 
Twoinch said:
a hard bit will require you to hold the file at a particular angle, particular direction, particular speed, and particular pressure, or it will "skate" across the steel.
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Exactly right.

And a patinad hard bit will challenge the very best files. The oxidation layer is very hard. In this case start your filing in one small patch to get through the oxidation layer. Then work out from there lifting the layer with the slightly softer steel below. This is the only way to file a very hard axe.
 
jblyttle said:
Well, I've only done a couple, so maybe I ruined a file and don't know it yet. Maybe I sharpened a so-so axe. When I go to sharpen a known good one, I'll pay attention.
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you wont have to pay attention. you wont have a choice. you will know immediately once it happens, and probably be slinging a few choice words every few minutes too..

i have one plumb that even brand new files barely cut, and they are ruined very quickly. its too hard in reality. an expensive ax to sharpen.
 
Have this exact axe. Served me well, can be difficult to sharpen, heavy.

Zieg
 
This is good to hear. In truth, I am in such a mode of finding old axes and axe heads that I acquired so many that I am forced into a cycle of selling. The whole thing that brought me to this was a search for "my axe", and "my hatchet". I have so far found, easily, such an overabundance that I am unexpectedly in the buy/sell mode rather than the "my axe" mode. Personally, I want a boy's axe and a hatchet. My personal current favorite for the "keeper" is a 3.5lb head on a boy's axe handle by RE King. I took down a 6-8 inch hardwood in my yard last weekend and sectioned it up. This thing was throwing huge chunks. In my limited experience, it is definitely more of a chopper. It was light enough to handle that I could hear it swish in the air as it came down, but had enough weight to really bite. I thought that my favorite hatchet would be an old carpenter's hatchet. So far I really like them for splitting small kindling, but I'm starting to feel like a proper camp axe with a 17-19" handle will be my preference for being able to chop some as well as small splitting.
 
:)]i am new to axe head collecting, but 3 bucks sounds like a deal to me. where the head body flares out, is that typically called a ramp? i have
a true temper fire axe head. looks like stainless steel. i got into a very competitive bidding war over this fire axe head and ended up paying
$100.00 for it. looks great. fit a new hickory handle approriate for the head. i am always open to constructive criticisim, so let it fly. as a new
member i will eventually put up pics after i scope out the site some more. bought a plumb off of e-bay for $20.00 dbl bit and a craftsman dbl bit
for $10.00. my real concern is a hammer pull 4140 steel hawk by craig barr at deer mountain forge. cant find a handle, not even at the house of handles.
wondering if what i have is even crafted by craig barr. i know i am jumping around here topic wise just wanted to introduce myself with a little info.
 
The label and the handle were made in usa, while the head was in fact made in El Mexico. Bevels painted blue, no true bevel.
 
Operator1975 said:
The label and the handle were made in usa, while the head was in fact made in El Mexico. Bevels painted blue, no true bevel.
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Don't believe that a label that says Made in USA is in fact referring simply to itself. Also, the blue painted area is in fact quite different in level than the rest of the face. Not just painted on.
 
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