It followed me home (Part 2)

[jblyttle]

"I love the mindset of getting the best deal possible, but I'd pay $5 for a vintage handle any and every day " Those are .75 Canadian dollars.

A good axe handle go for $30 around here. There is still forestry happening locally. At three chain saw dealers, one didn't sell handles, another the bins were empty, only the third one had axe handles in the bins. The thing is, I don't have a boys axe without a haft.

Around here you can get good single and double bit handles at Lowes if you are selective for $10-11. You have to thin them a bit, but you can get good ones, and in any length as long as you want 36"...

 

[A17]

The no-name hatchet, estwing hatchets, TT sledge, and rasps followed me home last week but the rest of it are early birthday presents that I got today. They appear to be a paper label Plumb rafter (my first rafter!), a SSFF no name but quality double bit, a Chinese hatchet that will be mentioned in another thread, a Chinese hoosier pattern single with Tempo-bond (get it?) in the eye, a TTFE pulaski, a no-name annealed brush blade and hardware, butcher's saw, a Stanley string level, a Sur-form, and a Stanley 100 foot tape. Sorry about the pic quality, my cellphone doesn't like cloudy days.

 

[Square_peg]

Don't leave the 100' tape in the sun. The dark box will heat up and warp.
Ask me how I know this.

 

[Miller '72]

The no-name hatchet, estwing hatchets, TT sledge, and rasps followed me home last week but the rest of it are early birthday presents that I got today. They appear to be a paper label Plumb rafter (my first rafter!), a SSFF no name but quality double bit, a Chinese hatchet that will be mentioned in another thread, a Chinese hoosier pattern single with Tempo-bond (get it?) in the eye, a TTFE pulaski, a no-name annealed brush blade and hardware, butcher's saw, a Stanley string level, a Sur-form, and a Stanley 100 foot tape. Sorry about the pic quality, my cellphone doesn't like cloudy days.

Loving the Flint edge pulaski

 

[Downwindtracker2]

Usually with a haul like that, you get a You Suck or something like that, in a good way of course, but after working still on three axes rehabs. I can honestly say I don't envy you one little bit. Notice the use of the word bit.

 

[A17]

I know. I have approx 20 hammer heads and 10-15 axe heads awaiting hafts. Plus a pile of stuff that needs cleaning. I have a bit of a mess to claw through, right?

 

[muleman77]

Good stuff in that junk pile A A17

 

[Peck Price]

Super nice birthday present A17, but I must admit that rafting pattern makes me jealous. I don’t find those here in SE KY.

 

[A17]

I've been collecting axes for 7 years and I've only seen 2-3 other rafters, one M5'er and a neighbors 1 or 2 GBA miners axes he used while working with a tunnel crew. I don't know if he has 1 or 2 because there's always one in his around the property work truck and one in his shop, but they may be the same one as I've never seen both at once. I thought ebay was the only way I'd find a rafter, then a 2nd or 3rd gen logger gave my brother that head. The moral of the story is, you just never know where uncommon heads will pop up.

 

[tanglediver]

Grivel G1 & SA

They call them "axes".

 

[Peck Price]

Oddities do pop up in my area. There is a junk store here and the owner travels to auctions “up north.” I bought an Emerson and Stevens (sp) Connecticut boys axe with the original handle for $15. It was the first Connie I had ever seen in the wild. And last week I found a mint Collins Hudson Bay. First HB I had run in to.

 

[Downwindtracker2]

I like the hitting the Sunday fleamarket, the sellers collect at the Saturday garage sales or at couple of mid week junk auctions. This saves me running around. One of my friends, he has since passed, loved selling axes, axe collectors paid well. There was always two or three serious ones there at dawn. I've found it hard to deal on drawknives. For that I think I will just go and buy a new one. Where I've found the great deals are: braces, bits, eggbeater drills, Yankee screwdrivers and drills, handsaws, and wood chisels. The English and Swedish chisels are great prizes. The American ones have good steel, but are a clunky design.

An antique store I visit has tools, but he has overhead so the deals can be good, just not screaming good. I've cleaned him out of his good stuff unless I want a crosscut saw. Not. The thrift store that use to carry hardware and tools doesn't any more. I had gotten a Sandvik boys axe and a GBA swamping DB there.

 

[crbnSteeladdict]

This haul took few weekends of attending estate sales.
Never heard of Aetna Co. Now, I have matching set of hatchet and saw (Those came from different places)
I am so lucky I have found another 6 lbs Warwood hammer to replace the one that ended up in NM.
I have never been obsessed with knives, but I have to say: in case of this machete it was love from the first sight. I grabbed it in my hand and knew I had to have it. It is pure monster made from 3/16 (maybe even 5mm) thick steel.




Sargent hammer
Aetna hatchet and J. Dumas machete.

 

[A17]

I see some contributions to the unusual wedges thread.... What the heck is the huge thing poking out near the poll of the one axe?

 

[Downwindtracker2]

That looks to be a good pre war saw. The genuine little Stillson pipe wrench is cute. In the small sizes, I like them to use instead of the heavier Ridgids.

 

[A17]

By the by, my southern honeyhole burned down. A few days till I'd have visited it and it may be a pile of ashes. I'll see if it only got partially burned or if I'll have to poke through the ashes for the remains of the scythes, the double bit hatchet, and some plane irons that I saw there last time. The one place within miles of where I stay that has tools and it's the one thing that burns. Here's an article on the fire. Antique store destroyed by fire | News | avpress.com

 

[crbnSteeladdict]

I see some contributions to the unusual wedges thread.... What the heck is the huge thing poking out near the poll of the one axe?

Reminds me of galvanized gutter spikes. What a shame, I suspect it was original haft that came from Charleston, WV.

That looks to be a good pre war saw. The genuine little Stillson pipe wrench is cute. In the small sizes, I like them to use instead of the heavier Ridgids.

Interesting you mentioned Stillson. I've found bunch of pics of Aetna Co wrenches that resemble Stillson ones.
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/aetna-tool-co-stillson-pattern-wrench

 

[Downwindtracker2]

Have you looked up Aetna Co. ?

 

[A17]

C crbnSteeladdict , some info on aetna can be found here: Progress is fine, but it's gone on for too long.: Vanished Tool Makers:: The Southington Hardware Company, Southington, Connecticut

 

[Yankee Josh]

This is a long post. I hate doing such long ones but I've got some things to say and things to share! I brought another few things home over the past few days. My first hoosier pattern! An old one too. 7"x6-1/2" bit. It's an inlaid bit so there's plenty of life left in it.

The eye has almost 3/16" taper both in length and width. No makers mark left but it's a real nice one.
Also a 1950's craftsman toolbox given to me by a gentleman I work for. A 1921 edition of Disston lumberman's handbook. 154 pages and is very informative.
These next items mean an awful lot to me... The homestead my father and his 19 brothers and sisters grew up in has finally been knocked down. It's been falling down for decades so we haven't been able to get in there to look around. It'll be burned by the local FD this weekend for training. I climbed through the rubble and found some things that belonged to my grandfather. As I've mentioned before he was a blacksmith and wheelwright. I found an axle end(the item I'm touching) the hub and a collar.

Also a hook, a "the i-D-l top" shovel handle and an old pitchfork. I'm very happy to have some more items from my grandfather!

And then lastly I found a "knoxall" #2 flat shovel with a "rivetless socket" while bringing shingles to the dump.

I've got two more goodies coming in the mail any day too! Thanks for looking and have a great afternoon!