Is this a Chinese made snow & nealley?

ultrahesh

ultrahesh

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May 24, 2008
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Got this from a friend who got it from his dad. He works for the forest service here. From what I have read, due to the fact that it isn't stamped on the head, it most likely is imported. Here are some pics. I would just like to be sure


 
From the 80s until 2000 the heads were unmarked, but USA made still I believe. How's the steel?
 
I would guess US made based on the full fawn foot marked handle and the original smoothness of the head.
 
ultrahesh said:
Got this from a friend . . .
Click to expand...
Here is some Snow & Nealley information from a timeline I posted.

1998 Christopher Hutchins buys Snow & Nealley.
Bangor Daily News:
http://archive.bangordailynews.com/2003/10/25/134-year-old-tool-maker-closing-down/

2003 tool making stops "139-year-old tool maker closing down". "Now a salesperson is all that's left to sell and ship off the remaining inventory..."
Bangor Daily News Oct 24, 2003":
https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AIBAJ&sjid=ZeEIAAAAIBAJ&pg=1758,2602482&hl=en

2007 tool making resumes Snow & Nealley moves to Brewer. "makes 10 different types of axes and mauls"
Bangor Daily News April 20, 2007:
http://archive.bangordailynews.com/2007/04/20/snow-nealley-moves-to-brewer/

2012 Chris Hilty’s family buys Snow & Nealley and moves business to Smyrna.
Down East magazine:
http://downeast.com/best-maine-home-garden/

2015 Quote from Chris Hilty “The heads are drop forged right here in the US. The previous owner, before we bought the place, he had to go overseas. But we were able to bring that back, and now each axe is forged and finished in America. Right here, we finish the heads, temper them and sharpen them, so they’re ready to go as soon as you take the leather cover off the blade.”
Lehman's Country Life blog by Karen Johnson May 18, 2015:
http://countrylife.lehmans.com/us-made-cuts-the-deal-for-snow-and-nealley/

Post is here.

Bob
 
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ultrahesh said:
This has a metal wedge too. Is that common with all s&n axes?
Click to expand...

I rehabbed a SN Hudson Bay that was unmarked with their name but the weight was marked under the poll. Anything like that on your head? Just curious.
 
Agent_H said:
I rehabbed a SN Hudson Bay that was unmarked with their name but the weight was marked under the poll. Anything like that on your head? Just curious.
Click to expand...

Didn't notice this before, but there is a "SN" stamped under the poll. No weight stamped
 
So, does anyone know the significance of the SN stamp in relation to date of or country of manufacture? General consensus seems to be that it was of domestic manufacture?
 
Of all the Snow and Nealley axes I have examined, the SN stamp where the weight stamp usually is located is not particularly common which leads me to believe it was not done over a long time period. If I had to guess based on the shape of that handle you have something from the 90's but that is only a guess. There is a fair amount of guessing that goes on with Snow and Nealleys and dating exactly is a bit of a trick because there isn't anyone who seems to know, just a bunch of guesses like what I am doing. I do think by the look of it that is a USA made S&N axe, just not a particularly early one. The markings/font of the writing on the handle and the shape suggest a later manufacture to me, just before they moved out of Bangor but the overall wear and look of the head says pre China, that is what I am basing my guess on.
 
grafton said:
Of all the Snow and Nealley axes I have examined, the SN stamp where the weight stamp usually is located is not particularly common which leads me to believe it was not done over a long time period. If I had to guess based on the shape of that handle you have something from the 90's but that is only a guess. There is a fair amount of guessing that goes on with Snow and Nealleys and dating exactly is a bit of a trick because there isn't anyone who seems to know, just a bunch of guesses like what I am doing. I do think by the look of it that is a USA made S&N axe, just not a particularly early one. The markings/font of the writing on the handle and the shape suggest a later manufacture to me, just before they moved out of Bangor but the overall wear and look of the head says pre China, that is what I am basing my guess on.
Click to expand...

I'm with Grafton on this.
 
Here is some guessing:

24042159492_dbfaaebbfa.jpg

Bangor Daily News Feb 4, 1994, page 8:
https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=C2o-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=u1kMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3536,1172464

The caption indicates tools forged in the shop. That picture may have been taken before 1994. I am guessing that forging went on at S&N through the Nealley era and continued after Hutchins bought them out in 1998.

halfaxe said:
I would guess US made based on the full fawn foot marked handle and the original smoothness of the head.
Click to expand...
24892014796_df7d661ab0.jpg

Bangor Daily News Feb 4, 1994 shows two full fawns foot handles.

Tool making stopped in 2003, remaining stock sold, and most employees were let go. In 2007 "tool making resumes" Snow & Nealley moves to Brewer. I'm guessing that is when the Chinese heads appeared.

Reply in my S&N timeline thread:
Steve Tall said:
Here's the new link (to comments from the CEO of Lehman's in 2007, about the Snow & Nealley axe heads being forged in China):
http://countrylife.lehmans.com/should-lehmans-be-buying-from-china/. . .
Click to expand...

S&N axe presumably purchased in 2011 from blog
snow-nealley-axe_002.jpg

snow-nealley-axe_004.jpg

No mark on left side of head, handle marked Bangor, clipped fawns foot. Hutchins would have still owned S&N.

In 2012 Chris Hilty’s family buys Snow & Nealley and moves business to Smyrna. The axes today are forged in the US. The heads are stamped and handles marked Smyrna.

Bob (I guess)
 
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Bob, your research of the company and history of ownership is great and much appreciated. I don't think I would put most any of your information in the guessing category. There is a difference though between company history and trying to age an axe in the hand. That is where the information available is lacking and there are many unanswered questions. The answers may never be known unless a long time employee that is still living can assist or someone can compile a heck of a lot of catalogs and records if they even still exist. Some of the specific questions I have are:

What year did the first China heads show up? We have narrowed this down but not exactly...
What year did the stamping of Snow & Nealley Co Bangor ME on the side of the head stop? Did this stop all of a sudden or was it fazed out slowly?
What year was S&N stamped in place of the weight stamp like the axe in this thread and why?
What year did the rounded nice, elegant looking fawns foot handles change to the flat slab sided one like the axe in this thread?
What year did the font and design of the handle mark change to the one like the axe in this thread?
Why are some S&N axes marked October 1, 1952?
There was at least one S&N that was marked with an "M" what the heck is that about?
Were any of the axes marked differently for different distributers? LL Bean obviously but what about others?
What year did the Hudson Bay patterns change (sometime after 1968) but when exactly? There are at least three variations.
What year was the original Our Best axe head label changed?

This is the arena where the guessing is and all I can do is use the physical evidence to make some guesses. I can pretty well tell when a S&N axe is an "old one" and a "newer one" by the look of the head and the handle but that is a rough way to go about this...
 
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