It followed me home (Part 2)

I took quite a few photos of this... Not every day you find a hog splitter made in 1841!!! Underhill-Boston . 32" long and weighs 12lb 10oz.
First a couple of how it looked when I got it;
QXChrg3.jpg
M1OD7N3.jpg

I wire wheeled it and cleaned and coated it with ballistol.
rnF0Pov.jpg
RUZAILn.jpg
u5w9p2m.jpg
lRIFfsS.jpg
1TKen6k.jpg
WpoiMdu.jpg
kmF0Nbj.jpg
TzgWbHQ.jpg
YbzUuMw.jpg
oZSjSF5.jpg

I find this thing so cool! I just can't believe after nigh on 200 years old it survived in as good of shape as it is. It's right up there with cool factor in my book. Also I recieved my latest Thomas Lamond book. This is a great resource and one I highly recommend.
Qs9RFp4.jpg

I'm gonna go find me a hog! Haha.
 
I took quite a few photos of this... Not every day you find a hog splitter made in 1841!!! Underhill-Boston . 32" long and weighs 12lb 10oz.
First a couple of how it looked when I got it;
QXChrg3.jpg
M1OD7N3.jpg

I wire wheeled it and cleaned and coated it with ballistol.
rnF0Pov.jpg
RUZAILn.jpg
u5w9p2m.jpg
lRIFfsS.jpg
1TKen6k.jpg
WpoiMdu.jpg
kmF0Nbj.jpg
TzgWbHQ.jpg
YbzUuMw.jpg
oZSjSF5.jpg

I find this thing so cool! I just can't believe after nigh on 200 years old it survived in as good of shape as it is. It's right up there with cool factor in my book. Also I recieved my latest Thomas Lamond book. This is a great resource and one I highly recommend.
Qs9RFp4.jpg

I'm gonna go find me a hog! Haha.
What an interesting piece from historical point of view.
I will speculate it was made in 1841 but re-steeled later on by Underhill Co.
Other option: 1841 would be catalog number in similar fashion like Collins Co. used to do.
Definitely worth of further research.
https://www.davistownmuseum.org/bioUnderhill.html

Underhill Edge Tool Co.
Boston, Massachusetts and Nashua, New Hampshire

1852-1890

Tool Types

Axes, Adzes, Chisels, Edge Tools, Hammers, Hatchets, Picks, Shaves

Directory of American Toolmakers Information

George W. Underhill (July 19th, 1815-October 13th, 1882), John H. Gage and a few others formed this company initially as "Nashua Edge Tool Co." In 1879 they acquired the Amokeag Ax Co. and were bought out by the American Axe & Tool Co. in 1890. Though the plant closed, the brand was still used. The Nashua location was their center of manufacture while the Boston office operated strictly in sales and distribution. George W. Underhill acted as Superintendent until 1875 and a Director until his death.

Identifying Marks

UNDERHILL/EDGE TOOL CO. (sometimes on same line)
 
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What an interesting piece from historical point of view.
I will speculate it was made in 1841 but re-steeled later on by Underhill Co.
Other option 1841 would be catalog number in similar fashion like Collins Co. used to do.
Definitely worth of further research.
https://www.davistownmuseum.org/bioUnderhill.html

Underhill Edge Tool Co.
Boston, Massachusetts and Nashua, New Hampshire

1852-1890

Tool Types

Axes, Adzes, Chisels, Edge Tools, Hammers, Hatchets, Picks, Shaves

Directory of American Toolmakers Information

George W. Underhill (July 19th, 1815-October 13th, 1882), John H. Gage and a few others formed this company initially as "Nashua Edge Tool Co." In 1879 they acquired the Amokeag Ax Co. and were bought out by the American Axe & Tool Co. in 1890. Though the plant closed, the brand was still used. The Nashua location was their center of manufacture while the Boston office operated strictly in sales and distribution. George W. Underhill acted as Superintendent until 1875 and a Director until his death.

Identifying Marks

UNDERHILL/EDGE TOOL CO. (sometimes on same line)
It does look re-steeled. But I don't know enough about it to really add much to that discussion. I know there's others on here that can though!... and thanks for that info. I referenced this publication;
15708263203192446052356820065598.jpg
The two pages therein;
15708263380378926835811107819105.jpg
15708263646062101201026813391115.jpg
 
It does look re-steeled. But I don't know enough about it to really add much to that discussion. I know there's others on here that can though!... and thanks for that info. I referenced this publication;
View attachment 1211866
The two pages therein;
View attachment 1211867
View attachment 1211868

Super cool piece! I love it. Surely looks re-steeled. Could have been re-handled, too.

1841 could be the date of manufacture or it could be a date the company thought it was founded.
 
Thanks! Yeah it does look a little rough.
Perhaps you are right about the handle? You don't see many with that thick of a handle. It seems the older they get the thicker they are and more often it's all steel. It does appear, from what I can find online, that the handle is correct and appropriate. Maybe it broke off and was re-attached.
There are two more pages on the Underhill's in that book that I missed earlier. Evidently around that time they were stamping the year and using just the name Underhill. Their example is 1843 though;
20191012_195133.jpg
20191012_195216.jpg
It's stamped slightly different but I think it's pretty conclusive. Here's the other two pages in full; 20191012_195302.jpg
20191012_195320.jpg
Anyway thanks for your interest! I'm smiling like a Cheshire cat! It's hard to convey just how big(and did I menton cool?) this thing is! Haha. Have a great evening!
 

From Goodwill yesterday.
The barely used Shop-Vac was $10, the saws were each $6 and both straight as an arrow.
The top is a cool Craftsman with the fine tooth kerf starter on top.
The bottom is a very late production Disston with no etch, might be from the very last batch to leave the factory in 1955.
 
I got these yesterday.
6PwET1K.jpg

I was under the impression that they were in a little better shape but, besides the one on the top(that can still be salvaged I think), they've got a good amount of life left. Especially the D.R. Barton in the middle.
Y0Nf70A.jpg

I think the two stamps are AW3? Not sure what that means? Anyone know? Steel composition?
4SP5DtX.jpg

This was prior to filing last night;
glEkwFX.jpg

And after filing;
YK6x6oB.jpg

I'll finish honing it this evening. I'm not sure on the make of this one but there's a good amount of carbon steel left. Really thick on this one.
yjkrJse.jpg

And I guess somebody was hammered when they decided to "sharpen" this one.

DkkNiiY.jpg

They all came on offset helves but were not hung well. The big forest king is a lefty.
15709815835064324891719589315429.jpg
Thanks for checking em out!
 
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I took quite a few photos of this... Not every day you find a hog splitter made in 1841!!! Underhill-Boston . 32" long and weighs 12lb 10oz.
First a couple of how it looked when I got it;
QXChrg3.jpg
M1OD7N3.jpg

I wire wheeled it and cleaned and coated it with ballistol.
rnF0Pov.jpg
RUZAILn.jpg
u5w9p2m.jpg
lRIFfsS.jpg
1TKen6k.jpg
WpoiMdu.jpg
kmF0Nbj.jpg
TzgWbHQ.jpg
YbzUuMw.jpg
oZSjSF5.jpg

I find this thing so cool! I just can't believe after nigh on 200 years old it survived in as good of shape as it is. It's right up there with cool factor in my book. Also I recieved my latest Thomas Lamond book. This is a great resource and one I highly recommend.
Qs9RFp4.jpg

I'm gonna go find me a hog! Haha.
So probably Jay Underhill if I have read that stuff right. That is all kinds of awesome! Inserted bit and more folds to make up blade. Can you tell how many forge welds there are?
 
Thanks for checking em out!
I have very little knowledge of this kind of axe but the wear pattern on the one is common with such broad bladeds. OK, there's a lot can be said about the why's and where-froms and all, but you posting the three up juxtaposed like that suggests to me that one consequence of the pommel is to resist this excess wear through the central sections. This wear pattern is well enough understood at least in part as, two passes of the stone through the middle for every round trip toe-ta-heel = 2 x the abrasion there.
 
And just to show how little I know, I always thought that such axes were always symmetrical to allow for both left and right hand mountings and so no claim could be made that one was either left or right because that was conditional. Silly me.
 
[Fmont=Josh that thing is incredible]
Thanks man! I feel fortunate to have found it.

So probably Jay Underhill if I have read that stuff right. That is all kinds of awesome! Inserted bit and more folds to make up blade. Can you tell how many forge welds there are?
Thank you very much!
I count 5 forge welds. 6 possibly more though? I don't have enough expertise to give an accurate answer.
According to this table either Rufus K or Samuel Graham Underhill were working in Boston at that time.
1570995511218304633112811817112.jpg
Admittedly these are estimates so who really knows?
I'm inclined to think that is probable because competing Underhill's would've wanted separate identifiers in their stamp for advertising. If there were only two, perhaps working together, just Underhill would suffice. It's fun to think about!
And just to show how little I know, I always thought that such axes were always symmetrical to allow for both left and right hand mountings and so no claim could be made that one was either left or right because that was conditional. Silly me.
That is a good point about the raised center. A pommel? Didn't know it was called that! Good to know.
And I was referring to the forest king haft being a lefty. Seems like you may have misunderstood what I wrote.
 
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It wasn't the only time someone has said their broad axe was a right hander and it's made me wonder if maybe there's something to it since the closest I've even come is the one I saw nailed to the wall on the shop in Big Hole. But I misunderstood if you were referring to the handle part.

Pommel means swell as used by some chairmakers to refer to this rise in the seat between the legs. In that instance it's similar in appearance to my eye to this feature on these axes so I've always called it a pommel there too though I don't know if the axe of the chair maker was also a pommeled axe.
 
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