It followed me home (Part 2)

A17 said:
Here's a retouched photo of the beat up dayton. ---GAME, maybe?
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I think I'm seeing something something K AXE
 
An update on a few axes or, what A17 does to axes when its raining and he's in a shop with a grinder and hammers. @Nbrackett's generously gifted TT boys axe head has been prepped for welding and the eye on my christmas present broad axe has been fixed and soon an order will be placed from Beaver Tooth Handles for a haft for it.
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I bought a few old axes from my neighbor the other day. The DB is a Vaughan Super Steel re-hung on an Indian Fire handle. The Michigan is a Craftsman (so likely a Vaughan) that is old enough to have convex cheeks. The little guy is a 3J Buck Hammer Head Hawk. The top is a Vaughan Value Brand Dayton.

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Here's the stamp on the little hawk.
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I'm pleased with the Super Steel axe. I don't find a lot of Vaughan axes up here. But I now have a Value Brand, a Super Steel and a Sub Zero.

A story about the Value Brand axe. I had sold that to my neighbor about 6 or 7 years ago. I originally bought that axe in about 1982. I bought it from an elderly gentleman named Ted Arnsburg in Wenatchee. I had worked with Ted at the local country club as a summer job between high school and college. He had a heavy German accent. He was well into his 70's then and still hard at work. A few years later I lived just a couple houses down the street from Ted. When he passed away I wanted a souvenir so I bought this axe with a broken handle at his estate sale.

I carried that thing around with me from house to house for 25 years before I ever got around to re-hanging it. That's what got me into restoring axes. At 4 pounds it became my primary splitter for several years. When the neighbor took a liking to it I sold it to him cheap and hung myself a new splitter. Now the neighbor has moved on to an assisted living home and I've bought it back. I think I'll keep it this time. The Ted Arnsburg Axe. I think Ted would be pleased.
 
The story behind the Value Brand is probably worth more than the axe. Also, if it's anything like mine, that 3J will work well on a longer handle with a thinner bevel. My 3J is my favorite hawk.(It's also my only hawk:D)
 
Here's the 36" off that brush axe, I didn't get any before pictures but trust me it was pretty bowed.

It straightened out really well, there's some wavyness on the right side but there's not much I can do about it.




Here's the crack I've got to fix after I pick up some food wood from the hsrdhard store later today.



I suppose I'll just find a way to get some glue in there then wrap it tightly with a strip of bycicle innertube until it's dried.
 
KillerGriller said:
How does one go about straightening a haft? Soak it & clamp it?
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Heat, by steam or a heat gun.

I'm no expert but I'll tell you what I did which was easy and worked well.
Make sure to wear gloves.
I put the handle over a stew pot of boiling water, covered it with aluminum foil and put a folded towel over that to help seal the steam in as best as I could.
I let it steam for 20 min then bent it back by stepping on it , then I just clamped it to a board to keep it straight while it cools.

Theres a recent thread on the subject in this forum if you just scroll down a bit , in that thread there are links to other threads with good information.
 
I had a nice little haul at the flea market yesterday.

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This brush hook was completely covered in thick rust, I picked it up and put it back down at least once before noticing a bit of a stamp peeking through. Imagine my surprise to find a crown, arm, and hammer, my very first Collins Legitimus! A few minutes with a wire brush in my drill cleaned the rust up real nice, revealing a nice and crisp mark.

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Next up is this draw knife blade stamped W.C. Bailey, whom appears to have been a manufacturer based out of NY state in the late 19th century. Anyone seen this makers mark before? Unfortunately this has had both of its handle tangs broken at some point, and welded back on. But I’d like to think that it will still make a good user, I will make some new wooden handles for it.

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An H. Cheney ball pein on a nice NOS handle.

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And finally, this 4lb Klein & Logan. The handle probably doesn’t have much life left, but the hang is tight and I will use it until it breaks.

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We also found a great cast iron kettle to use as a humidifier atop our wood stove. Probably the first non-tool related piece of rust that has come home with me in a while! It too cleaned up beautifully with a wire brush and some steel wool.
 
Square_peg said:
Love the fawns foot on that thing. It'll be a fine old haft.
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Me too, and it's really the only reason I brought the brush axe home.
As it turns out the brush axe is a bit too easy to file anyways.
I think this will be the perfect haft for my great grandfathers homestead Michigan, I've had it for years and never found a haft for it I was satisfied with.
Really they were just plain crap.

That Dayton I brought home im thinking of hanging as a house axe just for something different.
 
Square_Peg, it is a beast for sure. I don’t have a scale at home but I would guess it’s about 5-6lbs, I’ll try to remember to bring it in to work someday and get the weight.

I really like the K&L too, I’ve always preferred these tapered sledges compared to the more traditional shape.
 
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