Old axes?

David Stifle

David Stifle

Joined
Nov 20, 2008
Messages
10,188
Hi folks,

I was wondering what you can tell me about a couple of ax heads a friend sent me. One's a hammer head hawk, the other is a Steller, you can clearly see where the hard steel has been forged on the softer body. I was told it dates to the early 1900's.
 

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David Stifle said:
...the other is a Steller...
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Do you mean "Stohler"?

Steve Tall said:
From a newspaper article that has a photo of J.B. Stohler at his workshop:

"In a rickety frame shack near Schaefferstown, John Beamesdorfer Stohler (1841-1920), made axes and other cutting tools. His father, John N. Stohler, was a blacksmith. J. B. Stohler must have taken pride in his work for today his axes are collector's items. Two things account for this: First of all Stohler's tools were superior to others from the start. By molding a piece of tempered steel over the cutting edge of an ax, Stohler imparted durability to the edge. His axes would stay sharper longer. Naturally his wares were the most expensive. Secondly, Stohler marked his tools with a distinctive cross either above or below his name, and collectors of anything always prefer signed pieces. Stohler's workshop is gone. His house, however, still stands off St. 501, south of Schaefferstown, near the Penn Dale warehouse....In the picture of the workshop the bearded man at right is Stohler."


Quoted from article Lebanon County Antiques, A history of the county as seen through its artifacts, Number 35 87 by Mike Schropp.
Lebanon Daily News, 10 December 1969, Page 22

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Photo and text of article found at google cache of this page:
http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/5238481/
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Steve Tall said:
Below is a detailed biography of J.B. Stohler, published in 1904 (during his lifetime). It says that he started working in his father's blacksmith shop at age ten. As an adult, he was especially skilled in the art of making edge tools, and his specialty was the "Home-made Stohler axe". Demand for his axes was higher than the supply, even though his prices were over twice the price of factory-made axes.

BookReaderImages.php


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from Biographical Annals of Lebanon County Pennsylvania, J.H. Beers & Co., Chicago, 1904
https://archive.org/details/biographicalanna00jhbe
https://archive.org/stream/biographicalanna00jhbe#page/n362/mode/1up
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http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1185662-J-B-Stohler
 
Thanks for that info. The marking on the blade is hard to make out, I believe it says Spiller, and below that " ....and, Maine. " Can't make out the town. I haven't tried to clean the rust off, so it's touch to make out.

Google gives me "Oakland, Maine.
 
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Oh man oh man. Spiller Oakland Maine is what it probably says. You lucky man, been looking for one of these! Especially in a Virginia pattern, fantastic find you have! Very high quality tools, there may or may not be a date under the poll of the axe.
 
DarthTaco123 said:
Oh man oh man. Spiller Oakland Maine is what it probably says. You lucky man, been looking for one of these! Especially in a Virginia pattern, fantastic find you have! Very high quality tools, there may or may not be a date under the poll of the axe.
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That is what it says, although the only letters left of the town are "....and, Maine." and above that, clear as a bell, SPILLER. I haven't found a date yet. As a bladesmith, I'm really impressed by this ax, you can clearly see where the hard steel has been forge welded to the softer body, and the ax, even though it appears to not have been sharpened in a very, very long time, is still extremely sharp.

Looked for the date under the poll, there is none, but the number "2" is stamped there.
 
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Hi again, folks, hope you don't mind a few more questions. Could someone tell me what kind of handle would have been put on the Spiller originally? Curved, straight, full size or three quarters, etc. I also tried to ascertain the value, but only found a couple on ebay, and the prices varied widely. Any idea of the value?
 
The axe looks like 3 to 3 1/2 pounds. Most Maine axes I've seen that size, and that's not many, had a 32 inch handle on them. A 36 inch handle is common here in the Midwest and not out of the question. Handmade handles were common then so it could be curved or straight depending on the preference but Maine handles often had a forward sweep just below the head. It's difficult to price it. Axe prices continue to climb for popular heads but rare heads there are fewer serious buyers into the more obscure. I would put it between $50-$300.
 
There are a few axe forum members (Chignecto Woodsman for one) with a keen interest in eastern n. America makers of axes and from what I gather Spiller of Maine was one of the more desirable products to have graced the forest industry of the Maritime Provinces of eastern Canada. These must have had real merit (was this due to quality, price or availability?) or else home-grown Walters Axe of Hull Quebec would have walked all over them.
 
Thanks for the info, Halfaxe and 300Six, I noticed when I was trying to get a value range the few Spillers, or other old axes for that matter, looked almost like new. They really cleaned them up, I would not think this is that desirable, what do you fellas think?
 
This is far from not desirable, a brass cup wire brush would take out the rust in the pits without destroying the patina but it looks like this may have seen a vinegar bath but I can't quite tell.
 
DarthTaco123 said:
This is far from not desirable, a brass cup wire brush would take out the rust in the pits without destroying the patina but it looks like this may have seen a vinegar bath but I can't quite tell.
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yes, the former owner put it in vinegar for quite a while. It does still have an aged look however.
 
Spiller axes were preferred in the early NE logging community due to their full wedge profile and superior cutting edges. Very desirable in nearly any condition. Most sell for $60-150, restored and rehung I'd put that one around $125 if it's clean and well executed. A sweet axe to have.
 
Seriously cool stuff there. I can't wait to see what you do with them.
 
I hope David doesn't get mad at me for posting this. It really turned out beautifully.

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