It followed me home (Part 2)

[Agent_H]

Steve Tall has a real talent and I imagine it has to be a labor of love because that qualifies as work unless you get a kick out of it :thumbup:

Thirteen might be a record. I just dug out another sickle bar tooth yesterday and a first for me a penny.
Remember this thread. Its always interesting.

Nails are hands down the best wedge material. The last owner of this one seemed to agree.

 

[jblyttle]

jb, I think I'm lucky when I come home with 3-4 items and you come home with 100s! Always amazed at the stuff you find but it's a matter of location, location, location.

And that was 13 nails in the Walters, gotta be some kind of an award for that, seems to me that SoCal was the last place the was settled in the entire country and they didn't use axes.

I put a bunch of time and effort into looking, networking, and tracking this stuff down and have developed relationships with a few local cleanout guys. This isn't luck and it is the result of effort- but I will wholeheartedly grant you that it would not be this way and as good as it is without the location.

BTW- the silver axe head is a near perfect Plumb rafting head, and the one above it is a super nice KATCO Oakland Maine wedge.

 

[Square_peg]

Nails are hands down the best wedge material. The last owner of this one seemed to agree.

You win! That's the most nails ever.

 

[garry3]

You win! That's the most nails ever.

Rickoffs record of thirteen sure didn't stand for long.

It also looks like Agent H might have found some pretty fresh boys axes to go along with that Pulaski.

 

[garry3]

I put a bunch of time and effort into looking, networking, and tracking this stuff down and have developed relationships with a few local cleanout guys. This isn't luck and it is the result of effort- but I will wholeheartedly grant you that it would not be this way and as good as it is without the location.

BTW- the silver axe head is a near perfect Plumb rafting head, and the one above it is a super nice KATCO Oakland Maine wedge.

Yep, I bet you have forgot more about picking than Frank and Mike on American pickers ever knew. They are just rank amateurs. Free style-N my a$$.

 

[jblyttle]

Yep, I bet you have forgot more about picking than Frank and Mike on American pickers ever knew. They are just rank amateurs. Free style-N my a$$.

I'm sure that's not true. I have a narrow focus and area of relative expertise. There are those that know more about these items than me, if not the picking of them, and there are those that have an infinitely wider range of knowledge than I do. I don't know coins/old signs/cars/pottery/military items etc etc etc.

But, for what I do, I'm pretty good, and I thank you.

BTW. I had to show this for scale.

 

[Agent_H]

You win! That's the most nails ever.

I believe anything over 11 really needs some preplanning. Can’t add it to the nail total but it did claim my drill bit that is sticking out of the tongue next to it.

Rickoffs record of thirteen sure didn't stand for long.

It also looks like Agent H might have found some pretty fresh boys axes to go along with that Pulaski.

You are right sir. One was a boy’s axe and the other was a “Hudson Bay” pattern of sorts.
I think I picked these up at a yard sale in June-July 2014. I just stuck up a picture for nail’s sake but it got me looking at some pictures I hadn’t in a while.
Where are they now? Flashbacks:

Those three ended up being an Evansville Pulaski.

No name ridged Hudson Bay. Red with sticker orginally.

Firestone Supreme Boy’s Axe.

This is straying from our thread topic so I should probably try to guise this in an “It followed me home” post as well.

The *49 Jersey is relatively new but it shows the scale of the Cooper’s axe head I just picked up. 2 1/2lbs. It has a circular maker’s mark with text and a “C1” but I haven’t cleaned it up to read what it says.

Backside.

 

[Hickory n steel]

My favorite thing there and there is tons of good stuff is that large bench stone. The stone is 12"x2.5" and there are two stones. It sits in oil and it flips and locks into place. I've never seen one like it.

Those little red vises are cool, but I'm assuming they're probably modern imports right ?

 

[jblyttle]

Those little red vises are cool, but I'm assuming they're probably modern imports right ?

Oh yeah you know it, but they were $1/each. I couldn't pass them up.

 

[RICKOFF]

Pulled the 13 nails out of the Walters and found 8 finish nails below I filed the top of the haft so I could see them better and will not try to get them out because I want to use the haft again but will pull the wood and metal wedges out. The Walters stamping is really hard to get a good shot of and I don't think I want to clean it up much. As a matter of fact I'm seriously conflicted about removing the natural patina that comes with age other than some rusted ones that need the vinegar.

 

[garry3]

Pulled the 13 nails out of the Walters and found 8 finish nails below I filed the top of the haft so I could see them better and will not try to get them out because I want to use the haft again but will pull the wood and metal wedges out. The Walters stamping is really hard to get a good shot of and I don't think I want to clean it up much. As a matter of fact I'm seriously conflicted about removing the natural patina that comes with age other than some rusted ones that need the vinegar.

Have you ever tried boiling the rusted axe head and then oiling when it is removed from the water? It will change the looks of it so you might want to try it on some rusty scrap before the axe to give you an idea.

 

[RICKOFF]

garry Thanks, will try never heard of that, I have a no name dbl bit that will be a perfect candidate, also found another finish nail in the wooden wedge total 22 is that crazy or what.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Oh yeah you know it, but they were $1/each. I couldn't pass them up.

I'd love to find something like that for 1$, any use they could provide is certainly worth a buck.

 

[garry3]

garry Thanks, will try never heard of that, I have a no name dbl bit that will be a perfect candidate, also found another finish nail in the wooden wedge total 22 is that crazy or what.

I have done it on a couple of axes. I got the idea from rust browning and bluing guns. About the same principle as rusting traps, boiling them in walnut hulls and waxing.

I am sure some body here knows more about it than I do. Not so good at articulating it but I can do it.

 

[Agent_H]

garry Thanks, will try never heard of that, I have a no name dbl bit that will be a perfect candidate, also found another finish nail in the wooden wedge total 22 is that crazy or what.

That is a a serious amount of nails! The previous owner went about that one methodically.

Not my axe, but I would just wire wheel the crud off. I would like to see what it looks like when you get it back in commission.

I've never boiled an axe head (or any tool for that matter) so if you end up going that route it would be great to see how it turns out.

 

[jblyttle]

I've never done it so will defer to those with experience, but my first thought is that boiling water will just accelerate corrosion. Heat speeds up chemical reactions. I would put it into hot vinegar, or hot oil or something before water. I am interested to hear about the results.

 

[the possum]

Boiling it will change the oxide layer from red rust (Fe2O3) to black rust (Fe3O4). As we all know, red rust is very active and undesirable, since it will continue to eat into your steel. Black rust is much more stable and actually does a pretty good job of inhibiting further corrosion.

I'd prefer to knock off most of the rust with a wire wheel first, and then boil it if there's still red rust down in the pits, or if you couldn't quite get all the stubborn red rust off.

 

[Grimalkin]

These came in today, bottom two are Plumb Victory.

Finally got the national pattern I have been looking for, for awhile now. It has more severe pitting than I thought, so I am thinking about sanding it down. The strike is very good on both so I am really happy about that.

I really wanted the lot for just the two plumbs, so I might try to sell the rest locally, or turn them into gift axes. The rest are unmarked. The "Southern Kentucky (my best guess)" looks kind of cool, really needs some work to get that edge looking right, but there's lots of bit left. The Rockaway is something that I am just in love with, been wanting that pattern for awhile now too, the chip needs to be taken care of, but also lots of bit left on that one.

 

[300Six]

Finally got the national pattern I have been looking for, for awhile now. It has more severe pitting than I thought, so I am thinking about sanding it down. The strike is very good on both so I am really happy about that.

Another National puzzler. If I understand correctly Plumb Victory models were entirely post WWII but for how many years? Far as I know (based on Sept 10 1948 copyright date of Nationals) this stretches 'Victory' stampings over into 1949+ territory, unless the flip side of that head says 'patent applied for' in which case I'd be betting on 1948.

 

[Grimalkin]

Another National puzzler. If I understand correctly Plumb Victory models were entirely post WWII but for how many years? Far as I know (based on Sept 10 1948 copyright date of Nationals) this stretches 'Victory' stampings over into 1949+ territory, unless the flip side of that head says 'patent applied for' in which case I'd be betting on 1948.

There is no patent applied for on the flipside. I do believe it has a hardened pole though. After I sand it down and do a vinegar soak I'll find out. All the plumb victory's I've seen like this have been hardened poles. Perhaps Plumb just decided to start promoting the pattern more in 1948? I can't see the Victory's going past the 1940s.

this one is 1.75lbs, 6.25 inches long with a 4.25" cutting edge. I am really happy with this find (except for the pitting). My plan is to just sand it down enough to get rid of most the pits, I don't want a mirror finish.