Newbie with few axe heads

C

curtb

Joined
Aug 16, 2015
Messages
19
Hello,new to site.Been metal detecting here in central Massachusetts for 5 years now,have found several old axe heads but nothing with a name I can see,anyways I picked up three double bit axe heads yesterday at a yard sale,2 guys who cleaned out their grandmothers place so they said.More curious on the Collins one,cant seem to find enough info to actually say from what period it was manufactured.Gonna place link to photobucket and hope it works...2 in other pic are: UNICO and EVANSVILLE cant see any other writing on those 2,going to clean up a tad and put new handles on all of them,but more interested in Collins.

http://s1073.photobucket.com/user/curtinmass/library/
 
I can't help with the date, but it looks like a great axe to refurb...no obvious signs of abuse. Good finds!
 
Thanks for the replies,decided to put Collins in vinegar overnight.Pic 003.4 shows what it looks like right out of vinegar,find interesting it does that,so black area along edge is where it was hardened,correct?
 
Looks like the head is entirely steel. So, based on what I was reading, they were only technically called "Collins & Co" during their first 10 years or so - first quarter of the 1800s. It isn't clear but apparently they went on calling themselves Collins & Co but I don't know if they put that on axes or not. Because it is all steel and not marked "Cast Steel" (but I have no idea if they marked axes "Cast Steel" or not) and then combined with the Made in USA, I'd guess this axe is post 1950. It's pure speculation though. Once Cast Steel became available, from what I can tell, it was used as a strong marketing point well into the 1900s. It can't be an axe from pre-1850 because DBs didn't show up until about that time. We didn't see the lingo "Made in the USA" a lot on products pre early 1900s because everything was made in the USA, and there was no reason to tell people it was. It was after overseas production became a more common thing that companies had to start claiming their products made here. And so, that is the logic behind my speculation. It could be totally off. :P
 
Thank you, lots of info there..the Collins & Co threw me off as well,figured cant be that old,still cleaning up and handle should arrive in few days,will see how she swings.




cityofthesouth said:
Looks like the head is entirely steel. So, based on what I was reading, they were only technically called "Collins & Co" during their first 10 years or so - first quarter of the 1800s. It isn't clear but apparently they went on calling themselves Collins & Co but I don't know if they put that on axes or not. Because it is all steel and not marked "Cast Steel" (but I have no idea if they marked axes "Cast Steel" or not) and then combined with the Made in USA, I'd guess this axe is post 1950. It's pure speculation though. Once Cast Steel became available, from what I can tell, it was used as a strong marketing point well into the 1900s. It can't be an axe from pre-1850 because DBs didn't show up until about that time. We didn't see the lingo "Made in the USA" a lot on products pre early 1900s because everything was made in the USA, and there was no reason to tell people it was. It was after overseas production became a more common thing that companies had to start claiming their products made here. And so, that is the logic behind my speculation. It could be totally off. :P
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one of the best hatchets i have is a Collins carpenters model with the nail puller. it is perfectly shaped from the forge and has an excellent heat treat.
i have a Legitimus double bit feller needs hung, hope to do it one of these days.

buzz
 
I've had a lot of old Collin's heads at one point or another and usually date them. I'll check the info I have at home and see. I know off the top of my head that some double bits used different markings than single bits.
 
Some handy info from an email I had sent out before. The Legitimus stamping and crown/hammer/arm stamp wasn't stamped into tools until the 1900s, the Collin's and Co stamp is the most common from 1875-1960s. Which makes it really hard to date. If I had to throw a number out there I'd say 1950s.

It doesn't have the rushed stamp most of the war era stuff has, and "made in the USA" wasn't something they put on the earlier ones. Most of the later Collin's pieces I've seen were just as functionally/poorly made as the wartime stuff and this one looks correctly purported with a well placed stamping.

Interestingly the oldest Collin's made heads I've seen have been from their sub brands, an R King from 1900ish and the oldest an EK Root stamp from the early-mid 1800s. E. K. Root was what we'd now probably call a production engineer, who left Collins for Colt to help setup the revolver assembly process.

Most of this info is on the great site yesteryearstools which has a lengthy bit of info on collins and much more. If you ever find a Hartford stamped Collins please drop me a line as I've been looking for one for years as a user and while I haven't had much luck I think I'll have less luck if I move out West in a year or two.
 
Eric,thank you for the info.It is cleaning up good and is in overall pretty decent shape,amazed at what the vinegar bath did.Will post another pic when I get handle on it...got 2 old ones from cellar holes up my way Im soaking,cant see anything for writing but both look like decent restorable single bit ones.I find them often in the woods and actually left more then dragged home,will probably bring them all home from now on too check over good.And do yard sales every week and will keep eyes open for anything that says Collins...actually was looking at a pick axe I found thats hanging on shed today and it says just Collins...must be same company.

EricV said:
Some handy info from an email I had sent out before. The Legitimus stamping and crown/hammer/arm stamp wasn't stamped into tools until the 1900s, the Collin's and Co stamp is the most common from 1875-1960s. Which makes it really hard to date. If I had to throw a number out there I'd say 1950s.

It doesn't have the rushed stamp most of the war era stuff has, and "made in the USA" wasn't something they put on the earlier ones. Most of the later Collin's pieces I've seen were just as functionally/poorly made as the wartime stuff and this one looks correctly purported with a well placed stamping.

Interestingly the oldest Collin's made heads I've seen have been from their sub brands, an R King from 1900ish and the oldest an EK Root stamp from the early-mid 1800s. E. K. Root was what we'd now probably call a production engineer, who left Collins for Colt to help setup the revolver assembly process.

Most of this info is on the great site yesteryearstools which has a lengthy bit of info on collins and much more. If you ever find a Hartford stamped Collins please drop me a line as I've been looking for one for years as a user and while I haven't had much luck I think I'll have less luck if I move out West in a year or two.
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I recently bought a collins axe head it had the number 4 stamped on it,can u tell me what the 4 means
 
I am sorry it was not a collins it was a double blade called America's best .Have u ever heard of this bran
6f31356fce69fd870e49f60d8e5d19a7.jpg
 
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