Info on Craftman axe ???

Lostball

Lostball

Joined
Feb 28, 2015
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IMG_2749.PNG IMG_2748.PNG IMG_2750.PNG My first post over here and could sure use some info on this Craftsman axe that I recently acquired. This particular axe appears to be in really good shape. I read a lot of comments regarding the Craftsman axes and from what I could gather it is a decent axe. The one thing I couldn't find was what the "F" signified on each side underneath the bars. If anybody has any info or general comments, good or bad on these axes I would greatly appreciate it. I didn't pay very much for it so it's not going to bother me if it's bad news. Thanks in advance for any information.
 
Let's see the rest of the axe. Newer Craftsmans have concave cheeks. Older Craftsmans have convex cheeks. Either way it was likely made by Vaughan. You'd rather have the convex cheeks.
 
Square_peg said:
Let's see the rest of the axe. Newer Craftsmans have concave cheeks. Older Craftsmans have convex cheeks. Either way it was likely made by Vaughan. You'd rather have the convex cheeks.
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If this was manufactured by Vaughan & Bushnell those F's should be M's.

Those F's are OEM codes, the problem is that those who have catalogued and traced these Sears / Craftsman OEM codes really only care about wrenches and sockets so I have no clue who these F's would designate.
The only F OEM code I found information on was for Danahar in China ca 2008, but that obviously has nothing to do with this 50's-70's axe.
 
IMG_2779.PNG IMG_2777.PNG IMG_2776.JPG IMG_2778.PNG IMG_2778.PNG Thanks for the info SP. I hope These pictures help. If not I can do more. Does the "F" signify that it was made by Vaughn? I am surprised that it could be 60 years old. Thanks again
 
Lostball said:
View attachment 824238 View attachment 824236 View attachment 824235 View attachment 824237 View attachment 824237 Thanks for the info SP. I hope These pictures help. If not I can do more. Does the "F" signify that it was made by Vaughn? I am surprised that it could be 60 years old. Thanks again
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No, not as far as I know.

From what is currently known ( the ones doing the research for the OEM codes focus on wrenches...ect ) if this axe was made by Vaughan & Bushnell those F's would be M's.

This appears to be an early 70's axe axe to me , and I believe this would be around the time they stopped using that mint- ish green paint color.

Btw Vaughan has used 2 steel step wedges in the hanging of their tools for a long time, and I pretty sure they do the same no matter who they're producing the tool for. Since your handle only has 1 steel step wedge in it this is another indication that this was probably not produced by Vaughan & Bushnell.
 
Thank you HS for the information. It would be nice to know the manufacturer for sure but am I correct in saying that Sears would have not used an inferior manufacturer for their axes? This one came from the big auction site. The head is tight on the handle. The dark spots on the handle near the head are from me soaking it with BOL. I plan on removing the rust and cleaning it up more. As it is right now, all it needs is a good edge to go to work. Thanks again for the info and I appreciate everybody's comments.
 
Lostball said:
Thank you HS for the information. It would be nice to know the manufacturer for sure but am I correct in saying that Sears would have not used an inferior manufacturer for their axes? This one came from the big auction site. The head is tight on the handle. The dark spots on the handle near the head are from me soaking it with BOL. I plan on removing the rust and cleaning it up more. As it is right now, all it needs is a good edge to go to work. Thanks again for the info and I appreciate everybody's comments.
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Well at that time they would've had a decent serviceable tool produced for them, there was still a handful of american companies producing acceptable axes at this time.
 
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