Plumb single-bit with defect cracks...

[gben]

Thought I was getting a deal when I picked this Plumb up for $2 at a yard sale, but later when I took a close look at it I saw that it was cracking in the same place on the top and bottom in the same way and direction. I do not know if it is cracked all the way through yet, but it looks like it wants to. Someone did a nice job of replacing the handle in the past, and that is probably when the head started to crack. Axe does not look well used, so for it to start cracking simply because someone put a handle on it with a very thin wedge makes it look like some faulty engineering or workmanship in it's manufacture is to blame......

 

[Remzy]

This would not worry me one bit, for 2 bucks? ah! you are not ever going to be able to break it, unless it get soaked in water and frozen...

 

[Tom Crain]

It appears to be a pre-war plumb. The vertical crack indicates it was sandwiched made. The handle grain looks good. You've got yourself a great axe.

 

[SC T100]

Yeah, that's not a true "crack" per se...it's my understanding that's where the eye was punched in the steel and is pretty common from what I've seen. I could be wrong, but I would refurb and use that axe in a heartbeat. The cracks you really need to worry about are usually on the side of the eye.

 

[gben]

Well this crack, and the similar one on the bottom, are creeping up the side. If it was magnafluxed it might be found to already be cracked all the way. I can see it going down from the top and up from the bottom at least a half-inch each way. It seems to be on the handle tightly and I am sure it can be used, I was just pointing out that for an axe head to crack like this simply from installing it on a handle seems like poor workmanship. The Chinese could make something like this, I would not expect to see it on a USA-made brand-name axe head.

 

[SC T100]

I seriously doubt it's from installing the handle, but it's possible. cityofthesouth recently cracked a head and had it welded (it was a Plumb too). But that's an old axe, likely pre-1957 or so and has signs on the top it's been beat with a hammer. I'm not sure you can draw a lot of conclusions from a crack without knowing how it was used/abused.

Do you have a pic of the crack going up the side? Plumbs appear to run their steel harder than others, so cracking may be a possibility. But again, without knowing a history of a head it's hard to compare them to new Chinese-made axes which are exceptionally soft. It's part of the reason Plumbs take and hold their edges and are usually hard to file.

 

[gben]

I cleaned it up with a wire wheel and it looks pretty bad:

From the bottom, it looks like it cracked from the bottom and the top in the same way simultaneously and then the cracks ran up and down to meet each other. Weird.....

 

[cityofthesouth]

More and more there are accounts of Plumb heads in this condition. I think it's probably impossible to say why it happened to one specifically but there are a few known factors with Plumbs. They jumped right on full steel heads and based on old Plumb ads going back to at least the early 1900s, they spent a lot of time talking about all the fancy pants features of their steel and the procedures used to make it. I think the bottom line is, they might have made them more brittle than they should have. So did your axe live outside once upon a time, where the handle could get wet and freeze? Was this one just a factory defect? If they were drifting the eyes, did they drift them too cool? I dunno. All I know is that there are plenty of accounts of cracked Plumb heads, and it likely ties to their overly hard or brittle steel. As Square_peg pointed out to me when I had mine welded, the heat from the welding might actually improve your axe as it anneals the steel around the eye. Obviously it's worth protecting the bit. I doubt that Plumb sold low quality axes, though I think there might be just a touch too much mysticism surrounding the unblemished quality of vintage axes. Still, they were a major player and had one of the longest runs in the business. I theorize that as the supply of old ones dries up, the rejects are becoming more plentiful.

 

[SC T100]

Ah I see...I couldn't see that crack before but now that I know what to look for? Yeah, I really wouldn't use it without a repair. Good call. The small split at the front of the eye is normal, but that crack up and down certainly isn't. Sorry to hear...at least is was only $2...the haft is likely well worth that, and you have a project if you so choose.

It looks like there could be some damage on your poll, so maybe it cracked when being used as a wedge or as COTS says with a soaked and frozen handle. And maybe Plumb did run their heads too hard...their bits certainly are! I have an old Council just like yours, where it cracked top to bottom along the eye, and the eye wall is actually bent/blown out. I agree with COTS, too, on the fact that maybe some of the lemons are still floating around, and with as many heads that were made there's bound to be a few weak units.

 

[Remzy]

that crack almost look like a forge weld... hmmm. I know nothing about the way plumb made their axes so im not implying anything, its just that the crack isnt as sharp as i would have expected, plus its pefectly straight.

 

[Tom Crain]

Yes;. I'll agree. Bad forge weld. Just use the axe. If the eye opens (won't happen) the handle may get loose and you will see that before the head "takes flight".

 

[markv]

at first glance the fissure appeared to be from the initial punching out of the eye, but
after looking at your other photo.
dang
too bad.
i wonder if you could get the handle out without wrecking it, you could save the handle and maybe have the crack welded?
i've seen a few axes with similar cracks and always wondered if the crack could be safely welded and the weld ground off flush?
i would grind a shallow trough along the line of the crack to allow for proper welding
if you know a competent welder, maybe a balcksmith ....
buzz

 

[markv]

"the heat from the welding might actually improve your axe as it anneals the steel around the eye. Obviously it's worth protecting the bit"
what city said.
worth a try. nothing to lose. lowering the hardness around the eye is a good thing.
might try wrapping a wet towel around the bit to keep it from getting too hot while welding the crack. use a length of bailing wire to keep the towel on the bit.
buzz

buzz

 

[markv]

what i've seen of the handle, it is a really good one, straight vertical grain.
take care of it for sure.

buzz

 

[Square_peg]

So did your axe live outside once upon a time, where the handle could get wet and freeze?

That would be my first guess.

 

[SC T100]

that crack almost look like a forge weld... hmmm. I know nothing about the way plumb made their axes so im not implying anything, its just that the crack isnt as sharp as i would have expected, plus its pefectly straight.

I'm not thinking it's a forge weld. Here's my Council with a more severe, but exactly the same type of crack. Either swelling/freezing or wedge-use damage would be my guess...either way some sort of stress found the weakest portion of the eye.

 

[markv]

I'm not thinking it's a forge weld. Here's my Council with a more severe, but exactly the same type of crack. Either swelling/freezing or wedge-use damage would be my guess...either way some sort of stress found the weakest portion of the eye.

i honestly think these cracks could be welded up. with all the sophisticated welding equipment

 

[SC T100]

i honestly think these cracks could be welded up. with all the sophisticated welding equipment

For sure they can...COTS had his Plumb welded as have a few others I think.

 

[gben]

I have a lot of welding experience, including doing it for a living at one time.

The body of a lot of axes is probably lower carbon steel than the cutting edge. If you watched the video of that old axe manufacturer from the early 1960s you can see them making the body out of one kind of steel, and the cutting edge out of another. This lets the edge be hard and lets the body be softer so it will take a shock without cracking. Japanese swords were made in a similar fashion.

Making axes this way also saves money as quality carbon tool steel is a lot more expensive than many common steels. An axe could be made out of all high-grade alloy steel, but it would have to be hardened through and then annealed everywhere except for the cutting edge and maybe the poll, a process that takes skill and would be prone to worker error as much as any process could be. With a composite metal axe the main thing that could go wrong is the weld between the two types of steel.

Someone could do a "spark" test on an axe head to see how it is made. A composite head with a welded on edge would probably produce orange-yellow sparks if the back half of it were held on a grinding wheel, and the section by the cutting edge would probably produce sparks that were more white in color. An axe head that was made completely out of one bar of steel would produce the same color sparks from front to back.

Whatever the process used to make the axe head, exotic welding methods would not be needed, but it always helps to have an educated welder. A gas-shielded mig-welder with a common good-quality wire loaded would weld any axe head made very well as long as it was not called upon to weld the cutting edge. I am sure I could "V" out the crack in this Plumb axe and lay a very nice bead on it with my gas-shielded mig welder and I could probably grind and finish it so nobody would ever know it was done.

The original point of this thread though was to suggest that the Plumb head in question had some manufacturing defect that let it crack the way it has. Some hammers for instance can be used to hammer on metal all day long as in blacksmithing and driving splitting wedges, and so the same should be possible for an axe. Accidentally hitting an axe with a hammer while installing a new handle, or using it's poll to drive splitting wedges might not be the best thing for it or the best use, but it should not crack if it shows as little use as this Plumb has had. There are a few marks on the poll from hitting something but it is nowhere near being mushroomed and has had much less use than many, many axes I have seen.

I think CityoftheSouth "hit it on the head" when he suggested that maybe Plumb made the axe a bit too hard and of one piece of steel. This could have been an effort to cut labor costs, maybe it was cheaper to make them all carbon steel and eliminate the craftsmen who shaped and welded axes together out of multiple parts by hand.

Thanks to all who gave their input!

 

[Remzy]

Gben, if you think you can do it, do it! just remember to show us your progress... we dig this stuff
Since you are talking about welding, you can kiss the nice patina goodbye, but its for the good of the tool so its all good.