Plumb Rockaway

[Bull Mountain Custom]

A week ago my roommate came home from a gentleman's place with a nice old chain hoist for use in putting a safe in place. That man's name was Jay and he was out on ten acres east of town and was disposing on numerous items acquired through the generations of his family as he was 70 and decided it was time for a slow downsizing of worldly possesions. One thing that peaked my interest was that he had some axes to get rid of but he had not posted them up for sale yet and also thought he might have some axe heads in need of some love. With this info in hand my roommate and I headed back out to Jay's place yesterday to chat, enjoy his stories and soak up some of the knowledge and wisdom of his 70 years of living life. We got out to Jay's 10 acres and started to chat, next thing we know the hours start to fly by and the sun is sprinting towards the mountains in the west. We go into the old shed and my eyes immediately lock onto the Plumb Rockaway below. Jay asks if any of them interest me and I grab the Plumb off the wall and say I would be interested in purchasing this one if he is willing to part with it. All he says is grab it and lets head back up to the house. More stories are told but our time is coming quickly to the end as we have other obligations to get on too. I ask Jay about the axe, he asks if $15.00 is to much and I pull out my wallet and hand him $15.00 and a promise to come back out again soon to continue where we left off. Now all I need to do is get out into the woods and swing this beauty. The handle is not the original but whoever installed it did a first class job and the very slender profile fits my hand like a glove. Without further delay, here are the photos. More to come soon of it in use.

 

[Double Ott]

What a great find. Your Rockaway is very nice.

I've been collecting vintage logging tools for a long time. I get many of them in the U.P. MI. Lots of them come from younger family members who have no idea of the value of them.
But many come from older gentlemen who no longer have a use for them. These are by far them most enjoyable to collect. I'll spend lots of time with them, soaking up their stories, experience & knowledge. It just doesn't get any better than that.

Tom

 

[garry3]

Nice axe! Looks like Jay didn't keep a dull axe.

 

[bearhunter]

Very nice!
I've got one just like that in the woodshed
Mines a 4 lbder.

 

[Bull Mountain Custom]

Jay definitely kept this axe in working order. The one story I got about the axe is that he liked to sit down in front of the tv and watch PBS with something to work on. One of those things was sharpening an axe among many other interests. I have found a lot of my hobbies bring me in contact with the people who made this country great. I collect antique tractors, knives, axes, guns, cars and tools. Almost every single person I have met while pursuing these interests has been nothing but wonderful to interact with and I usually walk away a more knowledgable man.

My generation has a lot to learn and is quickly missing out on the opportunity to gain this knowledge from the older generations. I work in a office for my living but my release to stay sane and grounded is working with my hands.