Need Help Douglas Axe Man

cityofthesouth · Dec 8, 2014

A friend showed up this weekend with this axe in hand - said he just scored it in an auction for $4.00 with a pile of junk. I am not well versed on the history and the various makers, but it seemed to me, that only someone who cared about their product would put this amount of marking on them. Plus, the 1910 was obvious and felt like a good sign. It appears to be in good shape so I said, hey nice find there, we can get a new stick on this bad boy and it should make a great axe. But then .......

douglas_stamp1 by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

douglasaxe by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

...then I tipped it on end to see how straight things were looking.

douglasaxe_bent by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

Now I've seen some folks with forge skills fix this sort of thing. What are your thoughts?
ETA: That I can tell at this point, there are no cracks. I may soak it and look closer.

Second, my limited research tells me Douglas is old, but I wasn't able to find a picture of the logo and I didn't get definitive answers on the years. I mean, I see there is a 1910, but what that exactly indicates I'm kinda wondering about particularly since I understand the company dates back well into the 1800s?

jblyttle · Dec 8, 2014

I found this.

http://www.davistownmuseum.org/biodouglas.html

http://www.douglashistoricalsociety.org/the_town.php

http://www.yesteryearstools.com/Yesteryears Tools/American Axe & Tool Co..html

http://books.google.com/books/about/Illustrated_catalogue.html?id=H8c_AAAAYAAJ

cityofthesouth · Dec 8, 2014

Thanks! Looks like the same ones I came across. They are also contradictory - Yesteryear says 1798 (Warren Hunt 1830-1836), Davistown Museum says 1836 - I think I'm just misunderstanding. Maybe there just isn't a ton out there, but there is a logo or emblem of some kind in that marking that it would be cool to see ... I just can't make it out on the axe.

ETA: That I can tell, there is no Hunt markings on this one.

300Six · Dec 8, 2014

There's a good 'whoop' to this head but as a prospective historical wall-hanger no one will ever notice. That's where it belongs. If it's a 'user' you really want there are millions of other 'top drawer' orphans out there to choose from.

cityofthesouth · Dec 8, 2014

300Six said:
There's a good 'whoop' to this head but as a prospective historical wall-hanger no one will ever notice. That's where it belongs. If it's a 'user' you really want there are millions of other 'top drawer' orphans out there to choose from.

That is a fair point and to take it further, I'm not sure that even if it was properly corrected it wouldn't further obscure the logo or in some other way cause more harm than good. Plus, it's also fair to say, the owner has plenty of users already.

And a little more digging proves me wrong. I believe the axe does say Hunt and the logo in the center I believe is this, or similar. The Douglas script is different but I think that center design around HUNT is the same.

Douglas Hunt Etch Axe by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

jblyttle · Dec 8, 2014

300Six said:
There's a good 'whoop' to this head but as a prospective historical wall-hanger no one will ever notice. That's where it belongs. If it's a 'user' you really want there are millions of other 'top drawer' orphans out there to choose from.

I agree with this. You could probably make that work with a bunch of time and effort, but it's such a nice rare piece that I would use other axes anyway. I would clean it up a much as possible and then showcase it.

Steve Tall · Dec 8, 2014

cityofthesouth said:
...They are also contradictory - Yesteryear says 1798 (Warren Hunt 1830-1836), Davistown Museum says 1836 ...

An 1879 reference book says the Douglas Axe Manufacturing Company was formed in 1834, and incorporated in 1836.

http://books.google.com/books?id=wAs4AQAAMAAJ&dq=%22douglas%20axe%22&pg=PA228#v=onepage&q=%22douglas%20axe%22&f=false

Another reference book from 1908 describes the company's origins in 1798 when a general custom blacksmithing shop was opened by Joseph and Oliver Hunt.

http://books.google.com/books?id=Rdk4AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA479&img=1&zoom=3&hl=en&sig=ACfU3U3BaqsKQkYdDgcwfHDH-UnAEfvrow&ci=453%2C887%2C420%2C406&edge=0

http://books.google.com/books?id=Rdk4AQAAMAAJ&dq=%22douglas%20axe%22&pg=PA479#v=onepage&q=%22douglas%20axe%22&f=false

Square_peg · Dec 8, 2014

They closed up shop in 1910 so your Douglas axe is at least 104 years old. While the company has its roots in a 1798 blacksmithing operation the Douglas Axe Manufacturing Co. didn't come into existence until 1835. So there is a 75 year window for the production of your axe.

Info from 'Axe makers of North America' by Allan Klenman.

cityofthesouth · Dec 8, 2014

Steve Tall said:
An 1879 reference book says the Douglas Axe Manufacturing Company was formed in 1834, and incorporated in 1836.

http://books.google.com/books?id=wAs4AQAAMAAJ&dq=%22douglas%20axe%22&pg=PA228#v=onepage&q=%22douglas%20axe%22&f=false

Another reference book from 1908 describes the company's origins in 1798 when a general custom blacksmithing shop was opened by Joseph and Oliver Hunt.

http://books.google.com/books?id=Rdk4AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA479&img=1&zoom=3&hl=en&sig=ACfU3U3BaqsKQkYdDgcwfHDH-UnAEfvrow&ci=453%2C887%2C420%2C406&edge=0

http://books.google.com/books?id=Rdk4AQAAMAAJ&dq=%22douglas%20axe%22&pg=PA479#v=onepage&q=%22douglas%20axe%22&f=false

Square_peg said:
They closed up shop in 1910 so your Douglas axe is at least 104 years old. While the company has its roots in a 1798 blacksmithing operation the Douglas Axe Manufacturing Co. didn't come into existence until 1835. So there is a 75 year window for the production of your axe.

Info from 'Axe makers of North America' by Allan Klenman.

Nice work, I knew you guys would come through. That does clear up some confusion there. I will pass all of this along. There is some interesting reading in there - they make it sound like Douglas axes were the bees knees during that time.