Iltis find

You got quite a deal there for sure. The steel should be excellent.

 

my favorite german maker, ochsenkopf

 

Are you in Canada? Seems like more of those are found up there.

 

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I have a couple of these. They are great. The steel seems good. Nice find for $6!

 

That will match well sharp with a good handle

 

Right on. Besides, I did get a vague le French accent from his posting?

 

Canadian Survey and Exploration (as in oil, gas and minerals) Outfitters/Suppliers have marketed this brand for many decades. I've happily used these (I even purchased an Iltis Canadian version (made in W Germany) brand new in 1992) since the mid 1980s. The fit and finish of the heads and quality of steel are top notch but many folks will criticize the flat cheeks when they're used as splitters. I also have an older one (Iltis Forester; made in Austria, 1950s) that has a D shaped eye instead of an oval.
Typically I'd post pictures but I haven't decided what to do about my Photobucket account since it no longer enables 3rd party hosting unless you fork over some dough.

 

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300Six, I am finding Flickr to be pretty nice at the free level.

 

I'm surprised that Country of manufacture is not stamped on yours. This is not typical. The Iltis I bought new in Ottawa in 92 was in a Home Hardware shipment of Garant axes which all featured a red embossed maple leaf on the handle. The majority of heads were from elsewhere (already Mexican or Chinese-made?) and I suspect that Garant had quickly gathered up and assembled old inventory just before the company was taken over by Ames. In the mid 1980s a buddy of mine in Calgary sent me a box of lightly used Iltis heads (1/2 dozen of them) that had been orphaned when Great Western Petroleum went belly up.

 

An advertisement from 1961 apparently lists the following types of ILTIS axes available in Canada through the distributor H.R. Radomski & Co.:

"Original Pattern ILTIS axes"
"Canadian Pattern ILTIS axes"
"Thinner Section ILTIS axes"

Only a "snippet view" is available, but piecing together several snippet views results in this:

ILTIS AXES Give Better Performance because:
1. Science proved that the blade of an axe is distorted with every stroke.
2. To minimize this, our engineers designed an axe, thinner in section and lighter.
3. Our metallurgists developed a steel alloy that strongly resists vibration and breakage, taking a keen edge and holding it.
RESULT a lighter axe — a stronger axe — Tempered up to the eye — giving greater performance and longer life.
Let us give you full details.
Original Pattern ILTIS Axes
Canadian Pattern ILTIS Axes
Thinner Section ILTIS Axes
Canadian Distributor for "OX-HEAD" Brand Tools
H. R. RADOMSKI & COMPANY LTD.
189 CHURCH STREET, TORONTO 2, ONTARIO.

from Pulp & Paper Magazine of Canada, Vol. 62, 1961, page 200

 

I always found it intersting that they harden a big chunk of the head. They still seem to do that.

 

Good job on this one.

 

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