It followed me home (Part 2)

I'm not 100% familiar with the feeling of jealousy. Is it like being really really angry that all you guys get such mind blowing scores and I don't..? lol
 
Spent the past 4 days In Illinois. Near st louis. Ran into some guys from Minnesota who are metal detectors. They had 5 single bits from the same site. I picked my favorite. This one had the least amount of bit wear and a good eye. They all had these thin polls. I can't make our the stamps other than "Axe" on one side but there is a stamp just above "axe" that I can't read. Opinions on age and any other thoughts are appreciated. Weighs 4 lbs 3 oz. 7.25" long. 4.75" bit.
s5XapWS.jpg

HV3Z4sl.jpg

GJ4LxY0.jpg

9G0jwBp.jpg

wgcyq9q.jpg

R0uiB6v.jpg
 
jblyttle said:
That anvil is a 140lb Fisher-Norris Eagle, made in the first decade of the 1900's. They are one of the brands made by placing a tool steel top into a mold and casting the (cast iron) body in place onto the top. I don't know the why, but this method also produces a much quieter anvil. Vulcan anvils are made this way as well and are also quiet. Both are good, but the Fisher's are more highly sought after and are more valuable. The Brooks anvil by contrast, is a fully cast steel anvil and it rings like a bell. Both are considered excellent.
Click to expand...

I would guess that the laminated anvils are quieter because there is a very sharp transition between the two layers compared to an anvil that has been cast and tempered so the sound waves literally hit a wall and can't make the whole structure vibrate in unison which is what makes a bell ring. It doesn't take much of a discontinuity; a cast iron pan clonks rather than rings with even a fairly small crack in it.


I'm jealous, my neighbors on the other hand are probably grateful I don't have an anvil like that to play with in my back yard. ;)
 
rockman0 said:
Spent the past 4 days In Illinois. Near st louis. Ran into some guys from Minnesota who are metal detectors. They had 5 single bits from the same site. I picked my favorite. This one had the least amount of bit wear and a good eye. They all had these thin polls. I can't make our the stamps other than "Axe" on one side but there is a stamp just above "axe" that I can't read. Opinions on age and any other thoughts are appreciated. Weighs 4 lbs 3 oz. 7.25" long. 4.75" bit.
]
Click to expand...

Holy cow...now that's a high centerline. What a great axe. It may be the pic, but if you want to fell/buck with it it looks there's some filing/thinning to be done. But if it's to be a splitter it should awesome as-is.
 
SC T100 said:
Holy cow...now that's a high centerline. What a great axe. It may be the pic, but if you want to fell/buck with it it looks there's some filing/thinning to be done. But if it's to be a splitter it should awesome as-is.
Click to expand...

It really does have a very high centerline and it runs all the way back through the eye and stops before the poll. The top and bottom of the eye have thin walls but the center is thick walls because the centerline runs back through the eye.

It's a cool old axe, wish I could make out the stamps, I'm going to use as a splitter, looking forward hafting and trying her out.
 
rockman0 said:
Spent the past 4 days In Illinois. Near st louis. Ran into some guys from Minnesota who are metal detectors. They had 5 single bits from the same site. I picked my favorite. This one had the least amount of bit wear and a good eye. They all had these thin polls. I can't make our the stamps other than "Axe" on one side but there is a stamp just above "axe" that I can't read. Opinions on age and any other thoughts are appreciated. Weighs 4 lbs 3 oz. 7.25" long. 4.75" bit.
Click to expand...

I live in St.Louis. You'd think there'd be more Plumb and Shapleigh axes and tools around, but it's always been slim pickings here locally. If you ever make it over to Hermann, MO there was a very vibrant German population there starting in the mid to late 1800's. I've had a couple good finds from the antique dealers there.
 
SC T100 said:
Very cool find. I'm no expert, but it certainly has that mid- to late-1800s vibe.
Click to expand...

I'm certainly not an expert either but that's my thoughts as well. The thin poll and centerline running back through the eye is something I don't see in my Kellys and Plumbs.
 
Bridger said:
I live in St.Louis. You'd think there'd be more Plumb and Shapleigh axes and tools around, but it's always been slim pickings here locally. If you ever make it over to Hermann, MO there was a very vibrant German population there starting in the mid to late 1800's. I've had a couple good finds from the antique dealers there.
Click to expand...

That's surprising. You would think there would be more around st louis. I go to the artifact show in collinsville every year and was surprised to see these axes at that show so I grabbed this one. Those guys had lots of other metal odds and ends that they dug up but I didn't get to spend much time talking to them as it was almost 5 pm which is closing time.
 
9ce528f35fbd1259328c2ec97b662495.jpg

Today's estate sale find....M-series Stanley. Nice subtle angles on the pole and the edge, while rusty, is remarkably sharp. Question lies in the haft....gonna try and salvage.
Add one to the pile.
 
The cracks look like they're mostly surface cracks, a little sanding, oiling, and sealing and you should be good to go! The M stands for the Mann Edge Tool Co. if I remember correctly.
 
Steve Tall said:
Stanley%20M%20%26%20M.jpg


"It has been determined that the meaning of the letters M and M is either MADE in MEXICO or MEXICAN MADE."


from YesteryearsTools.com
Click to expand...

From my recollections of diminishing care in detail and overall finishing of Stanley products on hardware store shelves ever since the mid 1970s this implement looks to be from the 1990s and looks suspiciously similar to 'M' branded Collins axe heads.
 
300Six said:
From my recollections of diminishing care in detail and overall finishing of Stanley products on hardware store shelves ever since the mid 1970s this implement looks to be from the 1990s and looks suspiciously similar to 'M' branded Collins axe heads.
Click to expand...
Well...between this and Darth's comment I'm confused...always hoping for "Made in the USA" but you don't find too many 34" originals around here (North Texas area) in order to be too picky.
 
Thank you 300six! I'd forgotten about that reference.
"*In 1966 the Mann Edge Tool Co. purchased the Collins Co. along with all the manufacturing equipment located in Collinsville, Conn. At that same time STANLEY TOOLS, a division of the STANLEY TOOL WORKS, purchased the three Collins manufacturing facilities located in Central and South America. It is believed that part of the overall agreement was that the Mann E. T. Co. would not market axes bearing the name COLLINS CO. south of the US / Mexican border. That suggests the possibility that the Mann Edge Tool Co. entered into an agreement where they would manufacture long-handled axes for Stanley and that the axes would bear the name Stanley along with the two capitol "M" letters. Perhaps they stood for MANN MADE. The answers to these questions are currently being explored."
We'll see what some love does for it either way...even Mexican axes need love too! LOL!
 
Dont believe the M Stanley M stands for Mexico Made, ive seen modern M Stanley M axe head that were stamped that way with a sticker printed Made in USA stuck on them, so its only speculations.
 
rockman0 said:
It really does have a very high centerline and it runs all the way back through the eye and stops before the poll. The top and bottom of the eye have thin walls but the center is thick walls because the centerline runs back through the eye.

It's a cool old axe, wish I could make out the stamps, I'm going to use as a splitter, looking forward hafting and trying her out.
Click to expand...

Nice eye you have. It for sure has that hand forged look to it with beautiful form. It very much reminds me of an old PEERLESS stamped axe I own. I am always looking for them fine old axes like that one. :thumbup:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top