It followed me home (Part 2)

Square_peg · May 18, 2015

rjdankert said:
Guess it must have followed me home. I happened to look out my front door one day and there it was.

That's awesome! Super cool with the tang locked in like that. I have just one pike and it has a socket instead of a tang.

Square_peg · May 18, 2015

osage outlaw said:
The other one was only $6. I couldn't find a name on it. It just said full tempered on it.

The no name 'Full Tempered' is probably a Swedish import. The blue color is a hint but the eye size begin fat like that suggests it was made for an Ash handle. And the thin cheeks say 'Europe'.

Square_peg · May 18, 2015

osage outlaw said:
Do you have any information on the Winchester? Whats with the -Special- stamped on it? I've noticed they go kind of high on ebay.

I've read that a large percentage of Winchester tools on the market today are counterfeit. Somebody realized that gun guys love anything with the Winchester stamp and pay good bucks for it. It's a shame. It has some collectors steering clear of anything Winchester.

http://www.realorrepro.com/article/Winchester-Tools-fake-and-forged-marks-mismatched-pieces

http://www.thewinchesterstore.com/home_fakes.htm

garry3 · May 19, 2015

Square_peg said:
I've read that a large percentage of Winchester tools on the market today are counterfeit. Somebody realized that gun guys love anything with the Winchester stamp and pay good bucks for it. It's a shame. It has some collectors steering clear of anything Winchester.

http://www.realorrepro.com/article/Winchester-Tools-fake-and-forged-marks-mismatched-pieces

http://www.thewinchesterstore.com/home_fakes.htm

According to that first link Winchester bought Mack Axe Co. Never heard of Mack Axe co but Winchester axes I find on a regular basis. Unfortunately the Winchesters I have are not good enough to be counterfeit.

300Six · May 19, 2015

Square_peg said:
Oh, but they did!

From the Seattle Hardware catalog sometime in the late 60's.

That's a 'yes and no'. Folks expect mauls and highway/mining/construction axes to tolerate poll abuse but the term 'rafting axe' meant very little to me or anybody else. Doesn't say in there that the poll is hardened. The Stro-Bro Swede import says 6 1/2 lb! That's well up there in maul territory and certainly not something I'd want as a utility axe.

Creek_Stomper · May 19, 2015

osage outlaw said:
I stopped at an antique swap meet and brought home a few tools. The hatchet on the left is a Winchester. I got it for $20. The other one was only $6. I couldn't find a name on it. It just said full tempered on it. The draw knives were a total of $17. The handles are shot but the blades are in great shape.

Interesting, I just recently saw a similar winchester hatchet, but instead of the hammer poll it had a (broken) claw like a tommy axe. I haven't seen many broad-bits with claws, nonetheless winchesters. Unfortunately I was cashless at a cash only place, and it was gone when i returned.

Square_peg · May 19, 2015

300Six said:
That's a 'yes and no'. Folks expect mauls and highway/mining/construction axes to tolerate poll abuse but the term 'rafting axe' meant very little to me or anybody else.

Those construction axes are rafting pattern axes. By this time I suppose log rafts were already becoming rarer even here in the NW. So why not market the hardened poll to other trades.

And the 6-1/2 pounds was with the handle weight added. It says it's a 4-pound head. 4-5 pounds is the standard weight for rafting axes. BTW, the Stro-Bro is a Gransfors Bruk.

300Six · May 19, 2015

Square_peg said:
Those construction axes are rafting pattern axes. By this time I suppose log rafts were already becoming rarer even here in the NW. So why not market the hardened poll to other trades.
And the 6-1/2 pounds was with the handle weight added. It says it's a 4-pound head. 4-5 pounds is the standard weight for rafting axes. BTW, the Stro-Bro is a Gransfors Bruk.

I'll be the first 'old guy' to admit not even knowing about the existence of hardened poll axes until I joined this forum. From my own experience a standard utility axe (at least during the past 50 years that I've used and gathered up Ottawa Valley 'choppers') is anywhere from 2 1/4 to 3 pounds.
Peg; I know that you have one or two rafting pattern axes and there are others on here that also own some. Surely they aren't all 4 lb and up! JPLyttle; what's the gross weight of the one you have?

Samon · May 19, 2015

Check out this bad boy..

Cost me £2!

garry3 · May 19, 2015

Hard to beat cast iron. Can't imagine making roux with out one. That's pretty fancy, congratulations.

Square_peg · May 19, 2015

300Six said:
Peg; I know that you have one or two rafting pattern axes and there are others on here that also own some. Surely they aren't all 4 lb and up! JPLyttle; what's the gross weight of the one you have?

I have 4. Two 5-pound Plumbs, a 5-pound Walters and a 4-pound Collins. If it's going to be used as a maul or striking tool then it should have some weight behind it.

But there were also many smaller hard-poll axes made back near the turn of the last century. These poll axes became known as 'killing axes' when they found favor in the cattle slaughtering houses. One of these is in my to-do pile for treatment like that miner's pick got.

My killing axe has seen heavy poll use and needs to have the poll re-forged.

Square_peg · May 19, 2015

Forgot one of the rafting axes that I sold last year - 5-pound Norlund.

jblyttle · May 20, 2015

Samon said:
Check out this bad boy..

Cost me £2!

What a coincidence. I reclaimed this from the scrapyard a couple of days ago and cleaned it the night before your post. Mine was pretty grimy and the label was crusted over. I've already cooked strip steak on it. I paid $2 and cleaned this Griswold is probably worth $40-50 but this may be one of those items that is too useful to let go. I could use a bigger one though...I have faith in the yard sale gods. They will bring one to me.

Now, the questions is- do these count as "followed me home" or "what did you rehang"?

Square_peg · May 20, 2015

Another lover of cast iron here but this is an axe forum...............

rjdankert · May 20, 2015

Square_peg said:
. . .
My killing axe has seen heavy poll use and needs to have the poll re-forged.
. . .

That is interesting, thanks for posting. I've never seen or heard of a killing axe. Wonder why they didn't put a straight handle on them like a DB or Pulaski?

jblyttle · May 20, 2015

Square_peg said:
Another lover of cast iron here but this is an axe forum...............

Agreed, twas a one time transgression but the coincidence was too much. From now on if I ever have anything to show it will be surrounded but edged tools.

Samon · May 20, 2015

My bad! I must have mistaken this thread for another one..

Sorry!

garry3 · May 20, 2015

Square_peg said:
I have 4. Two 5-pound Plumbs, a 5-pound Walters and a 4-pound Collins. If it's going to be used as a maul or striking tool then it should have some weight behind it.

But there were also many smaller hard-poll axes made back near the turn of the last century. These poll axes became known as 'killing axes' when they found favor in the cattle slaughtering houses. One of these is in my to-do pile for treatment like that miner's pick got.

My killing axe has seen heavy poll use and needs to have the poll re-forged.

Nice killing axe. Those are not easy to find. I seen one in use yesterday while watching a documentary on WW1. They where effective. I did think the haft was straight.

Like you I own four or five rafting patterns and have sold some also. nothing under 4lbs, yet.

The Plumb National axes are the smallest I see with hardened polls but strangely enough they are not all hardened polls.

Steve Tall · May 20, 2015

300Six said:
I'll be the first 'old guy' to admit not even knowing about the existence of hardened poll axes until I joined this forum...

A few years ago, I was surprised to find a hardened poll after a vinegar soak of an axe I bought at the local Goodwill store. After examining pictures of axe patterns in an old catalog, I identified it as a "rafting" pattern. At the time, there were no previous references to "rafting axes" in the forum archives, so I started this thread in 2011:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/895103-quot-Rafting-Axe-quot

300Six · May 20, 2015

Steve Tall said:
A few years ago, I was surprised to find a hardened poll after a vinegar soak of an axe I bought at the local Goodwill store. After examining pictures of axe patterns in an old catalog, I identified it as a "rafting" pattern. At the time, there were no previous references to "rafting axes" in the forum archives, so I started this thread in 2011:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/895103-quot-Rafting-Axe-quot

Thank you Steve (and all you others) for this enlightenment. So I'm not alone in having been in the dark about these. Presumably, through this forum, more folks will become aware, and maybe a domestic maker will even re-introduce these but at a more convenient 'utility-purpose' weight. 4 pounds and up certainly douses my enthusiasm and means I'll carry on with using an ordinary axe while out in the woods.