Now with Photos - Great Grandfathers Hewing Hatchet - Re-handle or leave alone?

[sceva]

A little Background.
My great-Grandfather was a carpenter in the early part of last century (1920s?) and on of his specialties was barn building ( Champaign County, Ohio; Mechanicsburg and Mutual area) From what I have been told he carried his tool box in a side car on his 1919 Indian Twin motorcycle. ( No, I don't know what became of the bike but I have the original title to it and photos of him on it. )
I have from my father his draw knife (one of them) and I have his hewing hatchet.

The hatchet is a Craftsman ( shallowly marked in a single oval) and may also have another mark below and to the left that may be a bell shape with something in it (or may not as it is more of a ghost or phantom marking where it looks like something may be there but it can't be made out even under magnification)
It is pitted over much of it's surface but the marks are still readable and it is still in good using condition and the blade is fairly full and not ground away. He apparently took good care of his tools and I believe the pitting occurred after his death while it was in the tool shed at the house in Mutual. Ohio.

The handle on the other hand is old and weathered; about 12" long and only fills about 3/4 of the eye. I believe that the handle may have been salvaged from a broken axe handle and cut down and used on the hatchet by my great uncle as he lived at the house after my Great Grandfathers death.

I have other axes I can use ( I'm in my early 60's so don't plan on a lot of chopping) but I have toyed with putting a new haft on it. One part of me says leave it alone like it is with it's history intact and another part says to make it a usable tool again.

If I do he-haft it; what is the correct type of handle. Straight or curved ( like's on it)? Proper length? and how to make the handle look "used - aged"

marking on Drawknife: Trade Mark over Warranted with what looks like a anvil base or mules feet?

Thank You

 

[CedarEater]

Pictures please. We would really like to see pictures. Pitures of the eye and of the stamp and of the haft and of the bit and of the draw knife and of etc.

These hewing hatchets originally came with straight helves about 14 inches long. My Craftsman hewing hatchet was not a family heirloom but did have a rather ill fitting hammer handle attached to it when I salvaged it. I made an offset haft for it and turned it into a very useable tool.

Its really up to you to decide if you want to leave your family heirloom intact or make it usable again. I like to think of re-hafting an old tool as adding history to it. Your great grandfather probably re-hafted it once or twice or more and your great uncle may have re-hafted it too. Is it your turn now?

To get that "used - aged" look, use it. Hewing hatchets are not meant to be swung very hard. They are essentially chisels that you happen to swing. Enjoy it.

 

[sceva]

Will get photos at work on Monday. Sorry; no camera at home.

Is there a good place recommended to get a new handle? Ace hardware etc?

 

[Frank-New Zealand]

If she were mine and I was not going to use her I would leave as is. Just use some oil on wood and metal for protection.
The item obviously has family history. If you rehang her today...tomorrow the history is only one day old.

regards...Frank

 

[idle]

I would clean it up and rehang it, then make a bench or something with it.

You could skip putting oil on the handle until the oil from your hands has given it some character.


Ace hardware is good. Some of them have a huge selection of handles.

 

[Square_peg]

If it has a handle that was fashioned by a family member then I would definitely leave that alone. There are a thousand hewing hatchets waiting to be restored. Only one has your great uncle's handle on it.

 

[Frank-New Zealand]

Darn right Peg. I don't always agree with you, but certainly do on this. Most of us only have a few things from people that have gone before us. I reckon it's the home-made and rough-around the edges type items that have the most character.

 

[sceva]

Frank and Peg:

Photos added tp first post. After giving it some thought I am leaving it alone in an honorable retirement; I doubt that I will be hewing any beams in the near future. The handle ( if not done by my Great Grandfather) was put on by either my Grandfather or (more likely) my Great Uncle. My great aunt and Uncle lived in my Great Grandfathers house in Mutual, Ohio and I remember this hatchet being in the work shed when I was much younger. I do still use the drawknife at times.

Any ideas of the time frame of the hatchet? He bought the motorcycle in 1923 ( I have the title) and I believe this may be an early Craftsman mark so I am thinking mid to late 1920's.

Darn right Peg. I don't always agree with you, but certainly do on this. Most of us only have a few things from people that have gone before us. I reckon it's the home-made and rough-around the edges type items that have the most character.

 

[300Six]

I too have an offset hatchet identical to that (but without markings) and similarly re-handled with a old axe handle. Original (I had had a cursory look at it before the maintenance man swapped out the badly cracked handle) was a straight handle. Back before power tools, and when buildings were constructed of rough-sawn quasi-dimensional lumber, these tools were indispensable. I was in the building trades for 40 years (starting in the 1970s) but never found a use for the one I have.
The key to your tracking down the age of your's is via Sears. When did they begin to broker for "Craftsman"-marked tools? Sears never did make it's own stuff!

 

[CedarEater]

Thats one nice looking hewing hatchet head, not so much the handle imho. The bit is in fine shape and would not take much work to put a razor sharp edge on it. These little hatchets make very good carving hatchets that would compliment your drawknife rather nicely. After seeing the pics I would definitely carve me a new handle for it, but thats just me.

As far as I have been able to track down this stamp is most likely from the late 1920's. 1927 thru ???? You can try contacting sears or sears archives to get more information but I have never received any response from them about anything I have inquired about. Maybe you would have better luck?

Thats an awesome pic you got there of you great grandfather and his motorcycle. Cool hewing hatchet and even better that its a family heirloom that you know its history. Thanks for sharing it with us.