ID this double bit?

M3mphis

M3mphis

Joined
Jan 13, 2011
Messages
2,562
Picked up this double bit axe today. The only visible marking says "C31" right in the very middle. Had red paint kinda reminds me of the council tool red paint job, who knows. Also has ribs inside the eye. This is full-size 10" across. Anyone recognize the "C31"???

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Thanks,

Matt

Sorry for the crappy cell phone pics!
 
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Nobody???? I've seen some others out there with stamps of C and a number. Is that a forest service thing?

Matt
 
bearhunter said:
i looked but couldnt find anything myself. sorry... maybe someone will chime in for ya.
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Thanks, bearhunter. I came up blank too. Whatever it is, it's seems like a good one. Nice and hard bits, in good shape, HT'ed far into the bits. They eye has a nice gradual taper and also has ribs.

I found a Kelly Perfect SB 3.5lb Jersey pattern with a "C43" stamped into it...
 
Operator1975 said:
If it has ribs in the eye, it was most likely made by Kelly...
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Good to know. I have an old rusty double bit with a ribbed eye, and I was wondering.

Another maker that did this is Vaughan. From Old Jimbo:
"This type of grooving locks the handle in nicely and used to be a factory thing - actually forged in. Here's a picture of such grooving/ribs - and it's on a Vaughan head of all things!"
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http://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/vaughangrind.html
 
Disclaimer - I have been told it is a Kelly thing. Is that 100%? No. I have one with these ribs, and it is my wifes grandfathers. I was told from an old timer that the ribs meant it was Kelly. As far as I can tell, Vaughan is their own deal, and Kelly did not make axes for them. Again, not 100% on that.

Now this is what I like, a little disturbance, a little debate! Lets see what we can find out. Hell half of me hopes Steve is correct.
 
I've got a 1.5lb head with ribs and zero markings of any kind. I'll get a pic tonight. No idea what it is.
 
ive got a newer collins hatchet (made in mexico - NO i did not buy it, i found it at a campsite) and it has ribs in the eye.
 
I've got this head that I scavenged from a friend's shed. I'm going to rehandled and give it back. Anyway, I don't think this is a Kelly, Norlund, or Vaughn. Obviously, I might be wrong. I had casually assumed that this was a mexico made collins or something because the bit is a little soft and the pattern reminds me of the collins. This weighs in at 1.5lbs.

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Personally, I don't see how the ribs would do much more than make rehandling slightly more difficult. Since the ribs run the parallel to the direction the head can slip, what good are they???
 
M3mphis said:
...Since the ribs run the parallel to the direction the head can slip, what good are they???
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More compression of the wood and increased surface area for more friction? More resistance to the head pivoting slightly? Marketing ploy?
Whatever it is, the new Velvicut Hudson Bays have them.
 
M3mphis said:
Nobody???? I've seen some others out there with stamps of C and a number. Is that a forest service thing?

Matt
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I have a Powr-Kraft single bit stamped B33. It also has ribs in the eye. I believe Montgomery Wards would rebrand tools under the name Powr-Kraft so they probably had the heads stamped in order to keep track of them. B33 might be a code Montgomery Ward used to identify the actual maker of the head. Maybe your C31 has a similar story.
 
Here is a BD I have. You can see it used to be red also. I suspect yours and mine both were made under contract for a store or distributor so had a paper label in the store, and the stamp in the head was to identify the batch or contract to keep it straight in the factory.

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And the majority of Belknaps were made by Kelly, so I guess that makes sense. Of course I was not aware of any other manufacturer that did the ribs in the eye deal, so this is some good info on here.
 
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