Pre 1930 Kelly Flint Edge?

Could be the result of numerous winters spent outside with a rotting handle wicking up water from a puddle and then freezing. The expansion of the wood from freezing driving the eye wider over time. I suspect the numerous cracked eyes we find are the victims of this same process. Your axe just had softer steel in the eye so it didn't crack.
We're all hearing this theory. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada has just experienced another seasonal 'deep freeze' (minimum -20 C (0 F) for 7+ days) and towards the tail end of this one I decided to conduct a test. As we speak there is a 2 1/4 lb ridged eye (no-name unstamped (True Temper?)) ax driven into a tree outdoors (to keep it upright) to see what happens over the course of a freeze/thaw winter season. To start this off I purposely soaked it in water (head down in a pail) overnight before whacking it into the tree. The ax is still wedged and the handle wood appears to be sound (aside from the fact that it fatally split along the grain further back, which is why it was found in the woods abandoned) even though it's probably 30-40 years old, judging by the unclipped butt swell.
 
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The ax is still wedged and the handle wood appears to be sound

I think you'll need the handle to rot a little and become porous before it will take up adequate water. What lead me to this theory was finding cracked heads with rotten handles in them.
 
I think you'll need the handle to rot a little and become porous before it will take up adequate water. What lead me to this theory was finding cracked heads with rotten handles in them.
I'm in no hurry! The ax can stay stuck in a tree for as long as it wants and I'll pour water in the eye whenever I can. Most folks store axes head down on damp surfaces (such as concrete) in unheated locations which gives credence to why unable-to-breathe wood in an eye deteriorates faster than the remainder of the handle. If nothing happens this winter I might be prompted to become more inventive.
 
Think in terms of leaning against the wood shed, axe head down, for several years in a damp spot.
 
I think the flint edge was in a damp shed, or on its side, in someplace damp, because the one side looks like it’s been in a lake for 20+ years
 
I think the flint edge was in a damp shed, or on its side, in someplace damp, because the one side looks like it’s been in a lake for 20+ years
You don't have to leave an ax head lying on concrete for very long for rust to develop. In liquid form concrete is caustic to many materials and after it's set it remains hydrophilic (attracts water). I store quite a few steel implements (sledges, axes, pinch bars, shovels, rakes etc.) in an outdoor shed and have taken to placing pieces of styrofoam, plastic or plywood under them otherwise they develop surface rust in fairly short order. Coating metals with WD-40 or some such helps but wherever metal directly contacts concrete there is no escape from the inevitable.
 
Looks to me like N Y C. But that'll have been done after it left the factory and could well be someone's initials. Years back when I was involved with team building of houses other workers routinely wandered off with my tools until I took to giving them a paint coating of Caterpillar yellow. Having some form of ID on tools helps to avoid arguments.
 
Looks to me like N Y C. But that'll have been done after it left the factory and could well be someone's initials. Years back when I was involved with team building of houses other workers routinely wandered off with my tools until I took to giving them a paint coating of Caterpillar yellow. Having some form of ID on tools helps to avoid arguments.

After the navy my dad was a machinist for several years and i still remember all his tools etched with FW, his initials.
Then as a heating technician I had many a tool "lost" on bigger project sites with multiple contractors...oh so many arguments about my "lost" tools till I smartened up.
Started writing or etching my name or more my nickname in the field, Gonzo.

So if anyone comes across a 15 year old 24" rigid aluminum pipe wrench marked gonzo...LOL
 
I looked at it again and it is a 3 you can just barely see the bottom of it and it looks like there is a 7 beside of it like three and then a small seven so it’s definitely the weight thanks for the help I would have never figured it out on my own, I’m still new to axes so I’m not completely aware of what to look for yet.

New photos:https://www.flickr.com/photos/138873432@N03/?
 
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