It followed me home

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DarthTaco123 said:
The haft may have to go. It loosely fits, and has a...quality wedge.
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I would surely leave that haft alone. It's vintage.
 
Oh great now y'all are making me DECIDE. How evil you guys are. I noticed it was hung high , but I wasn't sure of moving it down would decrease the value, as I'd need to probably do a bit of rasping.
 
DarthTaco123 said:
Oh great now y'all are making me DECIDE. How evil you guys are. I noticed it was hung high , but I wasn't sure of moving it down would decrease the value, as I'd need to probably do a bit of rasping.
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Life is pain bucko, anyone says different is tryin' to sell ya somthin'

Have fun with the axe, whatever you end up doing. :D
 
Just what I needed. Another unusable old broad axe. What was I thinking?

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Left this one in the vinegar for five days. The vinegar finally turned black and started to form a layer of some solid material on the top... hmmm. Anyone who knows more about chemistry can maybe explain the smell of burned gunpower? kind of like a burning sparkler.

It cleaned up pretty well, but this thing is pitted and beyond use even if I had a use for a broad axe:

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The main stamp I cannot make out:

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But there's a stamp on the cheek that clearly reads "Francis", which I guess would have been the man who forged this?

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So that's sort of interesting. Would be even more so if I could decipher the poll stamp....


edit: The second line on the poll stamp is now looking like "Bytown" to me. Bytown was the original name of Canada's capital city Ottawa. I'm not sure about the history of the name change, but wikipedia says Ottawa was officially taken as the name in 1855.... I was always under the impression Bytown was still used as the name up until Condfederation in 1867. In any case, could this axe be that old? Makes me feel a little bit better about letting it follow me home.
 
It looks like an old pattern. I like it.

I wouldn't say it is pitted beyond use. It would take a lot of work to make it perform well again but it's certainly possible.
 
wdmn said:
Just what I needed. Another unusable old broad axe. What was I thinking?

The main stamp I cannot make out:

But there's a stamp on the cheek that clearly reads "Francis", which I guess would have been the man who forged this?

So that's sort of interesting. Would be even more so if I could decipher the poll stamp....

edit: The second line on the poll stamp is now looking like "Bytown" to me. Bytown was the original name of Canada's capital city Ottawa. I'm not sure about the history of the name change, but wikipedia says Ottawa was officially taken as the name in 1855.... I was always under the impression Bytown was still used as the name up until Condfederation in 1867. In any case, could this axe be that old? Makes me feel a little bit better about letting it follow me home.
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Bytown was named after Colonel By the British engineer who built the Rideau Canal during the 1830s. Queen Vic was keen to locate a Capital city somewhere further away from the vulnerable US border (City of York (now Toronto) was sacked by the Americans during the war of 1812) and re-named the town Ottawa. There was definitely some industry there at the time and was also a huge commercial hub for logging all along the Ottawa Valley up to North Bay.
Interesting find and for sure someone will turn up better information for you. I have an entry from an old trade magazine that reads "In the 1854 Canada Directory Sexton Washburn had secured the Wright Smithy, at the Chaudiere and was turning out axes. The Wright Smithy with it's four smokestacks along one end, was built in 1820 by Philemon Wright". Chaudiere is a piece of land in the Ottawa River next to the Chaudiere water falls/rapids and was central to the founding of industry in Bytown, and Ottawa!
 
Thanks Square_peg; I'll post a picture of the flat side later; it's a lot more pitted, let me know what you think (I've no experience actually using one of these axes). Though if the axe is mid 19th century, maybe I should retire it anyway...

Glad you saw this post 300Six, I was hoping you would. Thank you. I had always heard the story that the French wanted Montreal, and the English York/Toronto for the capital, and so Queen Vic settled the dispute by choosing "Bytown". However, it seems that by confederation Ottawa was already called Ottawa if the name was officially changed in 1855... hmm, good incentive for me to brush up on that aspect of Canadian history. There was a book I found at the library called "Axe makers of North America" by Alan Klenman, which included a lot on Canadian axe makers, including pre-confederation. Hopefully I can find some information in that book if no one else on the site has any ideas.
 
wdmn said:
Thanks Square_peg; I'll post a picture of the flat side later; it's a lot more pitted, let me know what you think (I've no experience actually using one of these axes). Though if the axe is mid 19th century, maybe I should retire it anyway...

Glad you saw this post 300Six, I was hoping you would. Thank you. I had always heard the story that the French wanted Montreal, and the English York/Toronto for the capital, and so Queen Vic settled the dispute by choosing "Bytown". However, it seems that by confederation Ottawa was already called Ottawa if the name was officially changed in 1855... hmm, good incentive for me to brush up on that aspect of Canadian history. There was a book I found at the library called "Axe makers of North America" by Alan Klenman, which included a lot on Canadian axe makers, including pre-confederation. Hopefully I can find some information in that book if no one else on the site has any ideas.
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Any chance the top stamp on the axe is WASHBURN? Founder of what became Walters Axe was in fact Sexton Albert Washburn. The 1877 Canadian business directory lists S. Washburn as proprietor of The Hull Axe Factory. Henry Walters was an employee at the time. The 1885 directory lists H. Walters as owner. An issue of "the Free Press" of Nov 1876 apparently shows an ad for Kent & Bros Hardware, Duke St., Chaudiere offering for sale Washburn broad, scoring and chopping axes. Hull, Quebec, by the way (as of 10 years ago renamed Gatineau), is the extension of Ottawa located on the other side of Chaudiere.
 
wdmn said:
Thanks Square_peg; I'll post a picture of the flat side later; it's a lot more pitted, let me know what you think (I've no experience actually using one of these axes). Though if the axe is mid 19th century, maybe I should retire it anyway...

Glad you saw this post 300Six, I was hoping you would. Thank you. I had always heard the story that the French wanted Montreal, and the English York/Toronto for the capital, and so Queen Vic settled the dispute by choosing "Bytown". However, it seems that by confederation Ottawa was already called Ottawa if the name was officially changed in 1855... hmm, good incentive for me to brush up on that aspect of Canadian history. There was a book I found at the library called "Axe makers of North America" by Alan Klenman, which included a lot on Canadian axe makers, including pre-confederation. Hopefully I can find some information in that book if no one else on the site has any ideas.
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From the photocopied article I have titled "The Walters Axe Company of Hull, Quebec": In the Ottawa Directory for 1868 there are only two axe and edge tool factories listed, giving employment to over forty workmen, viz-- S. Washburn and Edward Proulx.
 
wdmn said:
...
The main stamp I cannot make out:

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...
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BLASDELL

from 1851 Bytown Canada Directory
Blasdell, N. S., axe factory, Wellington St., U. T. [Upper Town]
from http://www.accessgenealogy.com/canada/1851-bytown-canada-directory.htm

In 1835 or earlier, Nathaniel S. Blasdell opened and operated the Victoria Foundry and Machine Shops in what is now the Bytown part of Ottawa. The shop was powered by a wheel at the Chaudière Falls. They manufactured axes and mill machinery, including sawmills...
from http://vintagemachinery.org/MfgIndex/detail.aspx?id=1942
 
Steve Tall said:
BLASDELL

from 1851 Bytown Canada Directory
Blasdell, N. S., axe factory, Wellington St., U. T. [Upper Town]
from http://www.accessgenealogy.com/canada/1851-bytown-canada-directory.htm

In 1835 or earlier, Nathaniel S. Blasdell opened and operated the Victoria Foundry and Machine Shops in what is now the Bytown part of Ottawa. The shop was powered by a wheel at the Chaudière Falls. They manufactured axes and mill machinery, including sawmills...
from http://vintagemachinery.org/MfgIndex/detail.aspx?id=1942
Click to expand...

You are to be commended for this bit of due diligence Mr. Tall. Chaudiere Island is not a very large piece of land (1/4 of a City block or 2-3 acres, maybe?) and in combination with Victoria Island links the Province of Quebec to Province of Ontario at Hull (Gatineau) and Bytown (Ottawa). The Chaudiere Falls were harnessed to power mills and benefited both sides of the border. Philemon Wright was very much a pioneer of logging and industry in the area and after damming the falls no doubt leased or rented some part of his water-powered facilities (built in 1820) to other entrepreneurs. Wellington Street runs past Parliament Hill and connects directly to the Chaudiere and the Portage Bridges. Pre-Confederation Canada was divided into Lower Canada and Upper Canada. Lower Canada was essentially Quebec and the Maritimes and Ontario was Upper Canada. The remainder of the territories was owned by the Hudson Bay Company and called Rupert's Land.

All of a sudden a derelict and rusty old blade begins to sing!
 
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Bought this True Temper Kelly Perfect jersey head at a garage sale from a old time knife fanatic, paid like $10 bucks for it. I don't even have to do a complete regrind on it or put a new handle on it just yet. Just needs cleaned, oiled, sharpened, and then put to use.

 
Thank you Steve Tall!

Yes 300Six, now the old axe becomes a touchstone for stories, and songs. Thanks for adding yours.
 
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