It followed me home (Part 2)

[Hickory n steel]

Ya bummer, it looked Dayton to me all day long.
Not anything wrong with Dayton, I just wanted to will this to be a Connie LOL!!

Probably more specifically a Delaware / wedge Dayton which I don't think is a super common pattern.

 

[Miller '72]

well miller, i found my spiller like that, rusted and un recognizable. its always fun to play the wire wheel lottery. mind you the rust was even heavier. i found it under a lawn mower trailer at an estate sale.

Any pictures of your Spiller?
Anything from Maine that rhymes with my name has got to be good.

 

[Miller '72]

Probably more specifically a Delaware / wedge Dayton which I don't think is a super common pattern.

That is incredibly specific and I am searching that now without luck. That's got me curious, thank you Hn'S
Funny I find that in my last stop before home at a brick and mortar shop in Western MA for $4. I had to ask her if she had any axes and she pointed to this guy outside.

 

[garry3]

Duly noted and corrected.


Only one out of four in the household working.

Those Strickers must have been a lazy bunch, huh?


Bob

Probably just a smart bunch.

 

[Square_peg]

I think both the Dayton and the Michigan pattern aren't given the respect they deserve.

 

[Hickory n steel]

That is incredibly specific and I am searching that now without luck. That's got me curious, thank you Hn'S
Funny I find that in my last stop before home at a brick and mortar shop in Western MA for $4. I had to ask her if she had any axes and she pointed to this guy outside.

https://goo.gl/images/tMiKw8
The drawing of a Dayton is weird, but I just look at all and use what I've seen of real world examples to determine which a head would be.

 

[phantomknives]

Any pictures of your Spiller?
Anything from Maine that rhymes with my name has got to be good.

only picture i have, i salvaged an old straight handle for it. price rounded out to be about 42 cents. its 4 pounds and barely used

 

[Miller '72]

only picture i have, i salvaged an old straight handle for it. price rounded out to be about 42 cents. its 4 pounds and barely used

a

That is really nice
The straight handle is great, makes it look ready for business no fussing around.

https://goo.gl/images/tMiKw8
The drawing of a Dayton is weird, but I just look at all and use what I've seen of real world examples to determine which a head would be.

Ok I gotchya. I have used that same ID template / chart.

 

[jake pogg]

I haven't got used to how heavy it feels compared to my expectations looking at it. A surprise kind of like looking at something you think is regular metal, but pick it up and it turns out it is made out of lead.

Bob,if it's ok with you,i'd like to put in my $0.0002 on this...(loose thoughts,more questions than any certainty...).

I'd guess that the feeling of massiveness comes from there being SO much thickness in the sides of the eye.

That,and the parameters of that eye are sure odd...I could almost say that it's a possibility that it was a discarded forging,unsatisfactory in some way...Except,the axe have been worn down in Some kind of service....(btw,is that an over-laid bit that is worn clear through,by chance?Down to soft iron?Or is it just the sharpened edge reflecting light-colored-like?).

The iron that was used for the sides is of a rather poor quality;almost certainly it was the remnant of a wagon tyre(about 1/2" thick,minus forging losses?)...One can see the weld seam running clear down the middle of the poll(thank you for such decent photos,btw).
Such material,1/2",is not really sufficient thickness for that size tool....Not an US axe,a Scandinavian one-maybe,and as a matter of fact by how the blade is forged slightly narrow in front of the eye,it is reminiscent of Sweden and the like(GB still forges like that today).
Inverse taper of eye is also from that neck of the woods,apart from above.
So,if i had to find fault with material or workmanship,i'd say that the iron was of a very insufficient refinement.Also,the welds don't look so hot....(Not that it's their Job to look hot,and the tool Did remain integral through what appears to be a long ordeal,but them Are lousy welds).

So,so far-the axe was thrown together out of poor stuff,quick and dirty one may say,with this tiny eye,and a very significant poll...(for an axe that size-won't you say?).

One possibility is that it was initially a forge tool(set-tools,having to transmit the blow,normally have very heavy sides of eye,also,eye don't need to be very big,the handle is static,just for holding onto).
Maybe a hot-cut for copper sheet?Some other lighter-duty forging action?(fishing here.......)
No mushrooming like most struck tools,but a smart smith never did let that stuff build(naturally).

And the last point of strangeness/uncertainty:Judging by it's construction detail and material,it was never ground at the original manufacture.However,it bears signs of Severe grinding,even maybe cutting...Was it used in some weird manner,where it got all beat to...,on Top(and bottom)?...That i can't find any plausible reason for...

Sorry for such pointless,long-winded essay...Neat tool,whatever it's fate was.Hand-forged tools have lots of soul about them.

 

[jblyttle]

I think both the Dayton and the Michigan pattern aren't given the respect they deserve.

Familiarity breeds contempt.
People want things that are different, but Daytons far and away seem to be the most common pattern that I see. There has to be a reason for that.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Familiarity breeds contempt.
People want things that are different, but Daytons far and away seem to be the most common pattern that I see. There has to be a reason for that.

Sounds about right to me.
Imo a nice older Michigan in the right handle is a real attractive axe.

 

[Steve Tall]

What was Harvey doing in 1914?


Bob

Who knows? The census indicates that Z.O. Stricker (son of H.H.) moved in with his parents sometime between 1910 and 1920 and was working as a blacksmith by 1920, while H.H. Stricker stopped working as a blacksmith during this period. The business directory suggests that Z.O. Stricker (not H.H.) was already running the blacksmith business by 1914. My guess is that H.H. Stricker "retired early" due to health issues.

 

[crbnSteeladdict]

Who knows? The census indicates that Z.O. Stricker (son of H.H.) moved in with his parents sometime between 1910 and 1920 and was working as a blacksmith by 1920, while H.H. Stricker stopped working as a blacksmith during this period. The business directory suggests that Z.O. Stricker (not H.H.) was already running the blacksmith business by 1914. My guess is that H.H. Stricker "retired early" due to health issues.

What is interesting, Zenas Oswin Stricker died in 1928 before his father( HH Striker died in 1935). Harvey's grandson Augustus(born 1905) occupation is listed as businessman.

 

[Steve Tall]

What is interesting, Zenas O Stricker died in 1928 before his father( HH Striker died in 1935). Harvey's grandson Augustus(born 1905) occupation is listed as businessman.

Thanks for those details. I will correct my earlier post that misspelled his name.

 

[crbnSteeladdict]

Thanks for those details. I will correct my earlier post that misspelled his name.

Thanks for those details. I will correct my earlier post that misspelled his name.

Who knows what is the right name. I guess he died too young to pass his blacksmith skills to Augustus. Different source lists his name Zeaus O Stricker

 

[rjdankert]

Bob,if it's ok with you,i'd like to put in my $0.0002 on this...(loose thoughts,more questions than any certainty...).

I'd guess that the feeling of massiveness comes from there being SO much thickness in the sides of the eye.

That,and the parameters of that eye are sure odd...I could almost say that it's a possibility that it was a discarded forging,unsatisfactory in some way...Except,the axe have been worn down in Some kind of service....(btw,is that an over-laid bit that is worn clear through,by chance?Down to soft iron?Or is it just the sharpened edge reflecting light-colored-like?).

The iron that was used for the sides is of a rather poor quality;almost certainly it was the remnant of a wagon tyre(about 1/2" thick,minus forging losses?)...One can see the weld seam running clear down the middle of the poll(thank you for such decent photos,btw).
Such material,1/2",is not really sufficient thickness for that size tool....Not an US axe,a Scandinavian one-maybe,and as a matter of fact by how the blade is forged slightly narrow in front of the eye,it is reminiscent of Sweden and the like(GB still forges like that today).
Inverse taper of eye is also from that neck of the woods,apart from above.
So,if i had to find fault with material or workmanship,i'd say that the iron was of a very insufficient refinement.Also,the welds don't look so hot....(Not that it's their Job to look hot,and the tool Did remain integral through what appears to be a long ordeal,but them Are lousy welds).

So,so far-the axe was thrown together out of poor stuff,quick and dirty one may say,with this tiny eye,and a very significant poll...(for an axe that size-won't you say?).

One possibility is that it was initially a forge tool(set-tools,having to transmit the blow,normally have very heavy sides of eye,also,eye don't need to be very big,the handle is static,just for holding onto).
Maybe a hot-cut for copper sheet?Some other lighter-duty forging action?(fishing here.......)
No mushrooming like most struck tools,but a smart smith never did let that stuff build(naturally).

And the last point of strangeness/uncertainty:Judging by it's construction detail and material,it was never ground at the original manufacture.However,it bears signs of Severe grinding,even maybe cutting...Was it used in some weird manner,where it got all beat to...,on Top(and bottom)?...That i can't find any plausible reason for...

Sorry for such pointless,long-winded essay...Neat tool,whatever it's fate was.Hand-forged tools have lots of soul about them.

Wow! A lot of stuff packed in that post. Its been awhile (40+ years) since I studied metals but I decided to pursue a different career and haven't kept up, so I'm basically back to square one. I read the post a few times and have some (probably dumb) questions.

What thickness do these two observations refer to?

"I'd guess that the feeling of massiveness comes from there being SO much thickness in the sides of the eye."

"The iron that was used for the sides is of a rather poor quality. . .
Such material,1/2",is not really sufficient thickness for that size tool"​

I take it from the observation above (second quote) that the metal in the axe body can be identified from an image. Do you have any images to share that would illustrate this? One other thing about identifying the metal by looking at an image is that the metal in my axe would be the same down to the edge if the bit were used up?

"(btw,is that an over-laid bit that is worn clear through,by chance?Down to soft iron?Or is it just the sharpened edge reflecting light-colored-like?)."​

Which picture are you referring to? I can try to get another image without the reflection and post.

One last question (hopefully). Are you referring to my axe or Swedish axes?

"Not an US axe,a Scandinavian one-maybe,and as a matter of fact by how the blade is forged slightly narrow in front of the eye,it is reminiscent of Sweden and the like(GB still forges like that today)"​

My axe seems to me to have a lot of thickness in front of the eye. A picture in my post shows it next to two American heads.

TIA



Bob

 

[jake pogg]

Bob,
Apologies for making it less than clear,let me see if i could fix that a bit:

What thickness do these two observations refer to?

Here i'm talking about the view of the Top of the axe,looking from above.
The weld-Seam(a faint lighter line,which is de-carburised during the high welding heat iron) is seen running along the poll.
The axe is welded of two plates,each indented(fullered)to make room for the future eye.
The measurement for the width of the eye you give is 3/8"+,so from that i estimate the thickness of the original plates to be about 1/2" each...
A common material of that day,the iron for wagon tires,often came in that dimention.
It came in 20' lenghts(as now),and the largest tire of the day being about 6' dia. would leave "drops",that would be either sold back to supplier,or used around the shop for whatever...(usually non-critical,being generally of poor quality).

 

[jake pogg]

I take it from the observation above (second quote) that the metal in the axe body can be identified from an image. Do you have any images to share that would illustrate this? One other thing about identifying the metal by looking at an image is that the metal in my axe would be the same down to the edge if the bit were used up?

First part of the question:ABSOLUTELY NOT.
No photo(other than a great magnification(100's x) ) could ever be used to identify metal in any exact way.
However,the very obvious fissures,cracks,any other defects MAY give one some vague idea of the general provenance.
That plus the rough time and location(Penn.,late 19th c.)mdo give one an approx. range of probabilities.
The way that iron seems to fissure and delaminate(on photos of side of axe),looks to me very like the so-called "wrought iron" of poor quality.
WI,in US,used to come in Grades of Refinement,single-refined,on to 5-times ditto.Refinement was costly,being very energy and time-consuming.
It served to redestribute the flaws and the impurities in iron produced by the Puddling process,and amounted to manifild folding and welding of the material back on itself.In the process the layers of slag and other impurities became thinner,finer.
Other contaminants in iron also contributed to difficulties in forming it by forging,especially among those were the dread Sulphur and Phosphorus.

2.I'm sorry,no images at hand right now...And everything in my shop is not so representatively delaminated/cracked...I'll look around....

3.Yes,exactly.If indeed the steel of the bit is wore through,then the iron of the body would protrude out of that gap.

 

[jake pogg]

Are you referring to my axe or Swedish axes?

I am referring to your axe,sir.In my usual,haphazard manner,what i tried to say was this:
Looking at your axe from the side,as it is,sideways:Where the blade issues from the eye,it's a bit narrower than at the poll-end of the eye.
That "notch",that indent,like boy's axes have,that was so common in Northern European axes,but virtually gone away in US.In your axe is more like the Swedish axes,to my eye.In those, characteristically, the base of the blade as it comes from the eye is visibly narrower than the poll(again,in side-view).
It may indicate that the smith,possibly,apprenticed in a shop that still practiced some of the old-country techniques,or just some such shade of the tradition remaining....

 

[jake pogg]

Do you have any images to share that would illustrate this?

Right here,https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/finnish-earlier-scandi-axes-kirves.1428809/page-21

post# 401,Agent_H has most kindly posted a PDF where an old Norwegian axe is being disected,etched and photographed in "lifts".
Towards the end of the series of photos,on cross-section titled "Nakken:",you can see all the multi-colored layers of the steel(the shades correspond to the Carbon content,the darker-the more C).
But,in several locations,one can see the very dark,thin,punctuated-looking lines that are the slag inclusions.
Normally,such slag is mostly Si,which is of course non-metallic,and,it's melting temperature is not that great.
In many instances during welding the slag can melt,and leak out,creating voids.The parts of a chunk of steel containing these inclusions can also just come apart at those locations,as the melting slag no longer holds them together glue-like like it had before heating.
Such is the nature of those dark fissures on your axe,it looks like to me.
Forging an axe is a difficult project,requiring very high heat(especially in composite axes,during the welding),and severe deformation forces.If the iron used is not of a very homogeneous nature,it's very likely that it would behave like that.
(blacksmiths refer to this effect as "brooming",the fibers held together by slag beginning to come apart).