It followed me home (Part 2)

Kevin Houtzager said:
Wouldn't that be a Rockaway?
Click to expand...

Kevin, my impression is that the "Rockaway" is a pattern unto itself and they too can have pointed or rounded lugs.

I do see discussions other places that refer to them as Rockaway patterns but I feel they are trying to describe the lugs/ears when the dimensions of the two are actually quite different.

I could be misinterpreting this as well.
 
I stopped by a garage sale this morning and picked up several older American made hand tools but this Billins and Spencer Co., Hartford Conn USA (OTTO’s hammer) 2lb ball peen was the most interesting. As far as I can tell it looks like their older markings.

Billins & Spencer Co. by Agent Hierarchy, on Flickr

billings_b_triangle_logo.jpg


http://alloy-artifacts.org/billings-spencer-company.html

It’s marked with what I think is the name “Otto” on one side and “Frank Strejc” and “OGS” on the other.


Billins & Spencer Co. by Agent Hierarchy, on Flickr

Billins & Spencer Co. by Agent Hierarchy, on Flickr

Billins & Spencer Co. by Agent Hierarchy, on Flickr
 
Agent_H said:
I'm beginning to think there were a couple other makers that produced rounded lug Jerseys as well.
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Kevin Houtzager said:
Wouldn't that be a Rockaway?
Click to expand...

Just my two cents, but I have given up trying to put axe patterns into generic terms. I'm not suggesting that folks should stop using generic terms, but for my own categorization, I describe an axe head by the manufacturer, the name they used, and a time frame for when the head was made. Below are three examples of "Jerseys".

Kelly "Jersey" from a 1892 article (pointed lugs, 2 lbs.):


https://books.google.com/books?id=a...QgxMAI#v=onepage&q=jersey pattern axe&f=false


Plumb "Jersey" from 1965 catalog (round lugs, 3 - 4 1/2 lbs.):




Council Tool "Jersey" today (round lugs, 3 1/2 lbs.):






Bob
 
most of the variation in jerseys is poll size and toe shape. my spiller has a toe that rises 1/2" from the top of the poll whereas my kelly perfect only goes about 1/4"
 
Growing up and living just north of Hartford, here is one B&S tool I have inherited from my grandfather's...well used tools.
pb5KWoW.jpg

vEM04pp.jpg

ytusKPw.jpg

I am trying to find any markings on an old ball peen he had. May just be a B&S...or a Plumb...or?? :)
yKB5GsB.jpg

wMge8Js.jpg

S02gt4y.jpg

I am still using all tools I own...some more than others :)
 
I know nothing about Billings & Spencer. When Agent_H posted his hammer and Steve Tall the colorful ad I couldn't resist finding out about B&S. Now I may be the only one who didn't know the connection between Billings & Spencer, so my apologies. Since I am interested in old tools and guns, this was fun for me. Of course, YMMV.

Christopher Miner Spencer, 19th-century Arms Manufacturer
Spencer Repeating Rifle Garners Civil War Contracts


"In 1860 he patented his most famous invention, the breech-loading repeating rifle, which allowed ammunition to be loaded into a chamber at the rear of the gun barrel rather than at the muzzle. By 1862 he had established the Spencer Repeating Rifle Company in Boston, Massachusetts, in order to produce the firearm for the Union army during the American Civil War."

Wikipedia on Spencer - account of how he got the contract:
"On August 18, 1863, Christopher Spencer walked into the White House carrying one of his rifles and a supply of cartridges. He walked past the sentries, and into Abraham Lincoln's office. After some discussion, he returned the following afternoon, when Spencer and Lincoln were joined by Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War and other officials, and the group then proceeded to walk out on the Mall. Near the site of the Washington Monument, they engaged in target shooting."​

"In 1869 he partnered with Charles E. Billings to refine the accuracy of—and expand the applications for—drop forging, a process of producing complex shapes from metal by, quite literally, dropping a heavy hammer or press with a die pattern onto the metal."
https://connecticuthistory.org/christopher-miner-spencer-successful-19th-c-arms-manufacturer/


Bob
 
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rjdankert said:
I know nothing about Billings & Spencer. When Agent_H posted his hammer and Steve Tall the colorful ad I couldn't resist finding out about B&S. Now I may be the only one who didn't know the connection between Billings & Spencer, so my apologies. Since I am interested in old tools and guns, this was fun for me. Of course, YMMV.

Christopher Miner Spencer, 19th-century Arms Manufacturer
Spencer Repeating Rifle Garners Civil War Contracts


"In 1860 he patented his most famous invention, the breech-loading repeating rifle, which allowed ammunition to be loaded into a chamber at the rear of the gun barrel rather than at the muzzle. By 1862 he had established the Spencer Repeating Rifle Company in Boston, Massachusetts, in order to produce the firearm for the Union army during the American Civil War."

Wikipedia on Spencer - account of how her got the contract:
"On August 18, 1863, Christopher Spencer walked into the White House carrying one of his rifles and a supply of cartridges. He walked past the sentries, and into Abraham Lincoln's office. After some discussion, he returned the following afternoon, when Spencer and Lincoln were joined by Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War and other officials, and the group then proceeded to walk out on the Mall. Near the site of the Washington Monument, they engaged in target shooting."​

"In 1869 he partnered with Charles E. Billings to refine the accuracy of—and expand the applications for—drop forging, a process of producing complex shapes from metal by, quite literally, dropping a heavy hammer or press with a die pattern onto the metal."
https://connecticuthistory.org/christopher-miner-spencer-successful-19th-c-arms-manufacturer/


Bob
Click to expand...
Very cool Bob, thanks for doing the legwork - that is quite interesting!
 
Agent_H said:
I'm beginning to think there were a couple other makers that produced rounded lug Jerseys as well.
Click to expand...

These were hijacked somewhere but were listed as from a 1935 AD, 6 Pages of Axes - Diamond Edge Shapleigh, etc.

mpY0wE1.jpg


aeRZjws.jpg


Ty2kJXD.jpg


Just as examples other makers who did rounded lugs. Something to keep in mind with unmarked/illegibly marked ones?
 
RJDankert

Thank you for the research and posting about Billings and Spencer!!
I never connected Spencer of B&S Tools to the Spencer Rifle before!! Amazing history!

Anyone else see and love the movie "The Unforgiven"?

I just finished reading thru the links provided in your post and then some!!
 
Agent_H said:
... this Billins and Spencer Co., Hartford Conn USA (OTTO’s hammer) 2lb ball peen was the most interesting. As far as I can tell it looks like their older markings...

Click to expand...

FWIW, an almost identical stamping from Billings & Spencer appears in this Scientific American article from 1890 (bottom center):

BookReaderImages.php


Hammer-BillingsAndSpencer.PNG


35689238324_e00a05065a_b.jpg


The listed weights are different, and the orientation of the stamp on the hammer head is different, but the stamp looks identical, except for "THE".
 
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Steve Tall said:
FWIW, the identical stamping from Billings & Spencer appears in this Scientific American article from 1890 (bottom center):

BookReaderImages.php


Hammer-BillingsAndSpencer.PNG


35689238324_e00a05065a_b.jpg


The listed weights are different, and the orientation of the stamp on the hammer head is different, but the stamp looks identical.
Click to expand...

SteveTall!
Man you deliver on the history, I can't read enough!!!
Thanks!

Miller from CT
 
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