Kelly, which is best?

V

vcbvcbvcb

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Is one generation of Kelly products better than another? Is Flint Edge better than True Temper, or True Temper better than a Zenith made by Kelly? What is the Kelly pecking order?
 
Flint Edge is a brand that was under True Temper. Kelly never really lost it's quality until the late '60s, then it started to go downhill. True Temper axes are just as good as the older kelly's from earlier in the century. I thought Marshall Wells was the only maker of Zenith axes?
 
I believe the registered axes were top of the line for Kelly. They were the most expensive in the old catalogs. Maybe it was just due to extra polishing etc. Ironically I have a registered double bit with a piece of slag in the eye that prevented a tight hang. Eventually the original user banged up and mushroomed the top of the eye.
 
vcbvcbvcb said:
...What is the Kelly pecking order?
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Here's a list of Kelly axe brands, from most expensive to least expensive (based on Kelly's 1913 price list):

1. Kelly Registered
2. Columbian
3. Perfect / Hand Honed (tie)
4. Copper King / Silver Edge / Chip Slinger (tie)
5. Flint Edge / Vulcan / Black Raven / Hand Made ... (tie)
6. Wood Slasher / Jim Dandy (tie)

The Kelly Registered cost 33% more than the Kelly Perfect.
Kelly Perfect cost more than Black Raven.
Black Raven and Hand Made cost the same as Flint Edge.
Wood Slasher was the lowest-cost brand.

(Cost are generally listed as per dozen heads, and the cost difference between brands can be relatively small.)

books


from National Hardware Bulletin, September, 1913
 
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vcbvcbvcb said:
. . . better. . .
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All you have to do is get an objective definition of that term. This definition would include physical properties that can be measured. Then collect a number of axes of each group you want to compare. A statistician will be able to tell you the sample size you will need for each group. You will have to choose an acceptable margin of error as well. The more axes in the sample size the smaller the margin of error. Put them through the tests described in the "better" definition. Piece of cake.

Worried about the cost? No problem, pull a few strings and get a government grant.

Bob
 
The Flint Edge line came about long before True Temper. It is probably the "workhorse" line of Kelly. Good overall quality, good price, etc. There were countless millions made. Kelly Registered, while being expensive, was more marketing/promotion than anything else. A good axe no doubt, but is it that uncommon or technically really command the price they do today? No, not really.

A Kelly Flint Edge Connecticut will do almost anything you want to do with an axe.
 
DarthTaco123 said:
I thought Marshall Wells was the only maker of Zenith axes?
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vcbvcbvcb said:
I read somewhere on the net that Kelly made the axes for Marshall Wells.
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Welland Vale made axes for Marshall Wells at one time. Welland Vale at one time was also the Canadian subsidiary of True Temper. I don't know the timelines well enough to say who made what when. Unravelling the mysteries of who made axes for resellers is nigh impossible.
 
According to Klenman Marshall Wells axes were made by Kelly, Collins, True Temper and Welland Vale. Who knows - might have been others, too.
 
Thanks. My next hafting project is a 3 lb. 4 oz. flint edge Connecticut. Apparently, like everybody else on planet earth, I was thinking in a month or two I'd get a 2 1/2 Lb. double edge cruiser, or maybe a boys ax. That's why I was asking about Kelly's pecking order. I haven't seen any flint edge boys axes or heads, so I wanted to know about the other lines if something popped up. There seems to be more plumbs in that weight range, which would be great too.
 
I have an, off my own subject, question. I have a Keen Kutter hatchet with a pie-shaped makers mark and the name. I've also seen ax heads with just the name and no pie-shaped emblem. Are there KK forgeries like there are with Collins, or are the name only heads good?
 
If that website is accurate there must be a wedge or it's a fake, which means the one I'll looking at is a fake. The website also specifically states that if there is a rectangular box around the name it's a fake. There is a very faint outline of a box on this one too. Thanks, looks like you saved me from making a bad purchase.
 
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