Some new old tools

[J_mcrane]

At the wife's family farm and rescued some old tools. Axes, sledges, rake, hoe, maul.

This a winters worth of work.

I started sanding the haft on this one. It feels solid still.

Hilts bruks. Weighs in at 2 lbs 10oz.

Welland Vale weighs in at 2 lbs 2oz

Auckland

Not sure what this is. Anyone?

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[Square_peg]

The Supreme is a Gransfors Bruk.

Welland Vale was a Canadian axe maker that became part of the True Temper family.

 

[Able_walker]

Acklands was a Canadian industrial tool company that was bought by Grainger USA and is now Acklands Grainger in Canada....it's a cool axe they obviously imported and labeled with the label and green paint...Is that corrosion on the finish the blotch?

 

[J_mcrane]

Yes, I haven't started working the rust or corrosion off yet.

I have some work to do for certain. But should be fun.


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[kenash]

Evapo-Rust will help. It's good stuff.

 

[300Six]

Notable about this 'gathering' of axes from your relatives is that most of them are post-war Swedes. During the 50s and 60s these imports were marketed aggressively in Canada via substantially lower prices compared to domestic-made products. Morley Walters (of Walters Axe) must have been furious as he watched them nibble away at his share of the market. No doubt Welland-Vale was badly hurt (financially) by this too and had to fold by the mid 1960s. Much as big box stores today only carry 'bargain brands' (at the expense of quality manufacturers) 50 years ago the prevalent 'offshore' brands were Swedish. Unlike current offshore products though these lesser expensive items were of excellent quality.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Notable about this 'gathering' of axes from your relatives is that most of them are post-war Swedes. During the 50s and 60s these imports were marketed aggressively in Canada via substantially lower prices compared to domestic-made products. Morley Walters (of Walters Axe) must have been furious as he watched them nibble away at his share of the market. No doubt Welland-Vale was badly hurt (financially) by this too and had to fold by the mid 1960s. Much as big box stores today only carry 'bargain brands' (at the expense of quality manufacturers) 50 years ago the prevalent 'offshore' brands were Swedish. Unlike current offshore products though these lesser expensive items were of excellent quality.

Not only that, but prior to the influx of Swedish-made tools ready for market, there was a long history of raw material trade with Sweden. There was a long-held belief in the USA that American steel was not as good as that from Europe, and so even once domestic production was the equal of foreign, many companies bought large quantities of steel from England and Sweden, and high-purity iron from Sweden and Russia because the market considered it a plus.

 

[300Six]

Not only that, but prior to the influx of Swedish-made tools ready for market, there was a long history of raw material trade with Sweden. There was a long-held belief in the USA that American steel was not as good as that from Europe, and so even once domestic production was the equal of foreign, many companies bought large quantities of steel from England and Sweden, and high-purity iron from Sweden and Russia because the market considered it a plus.

On an inexpensive whim I wound up taking home an 1896 Springfield Krag carbine from a farm auction 40 years ago. It turned out to be the smoothest and best grouping hunting rifle I've ever owned. In researching what is essentially the first smokeless powder/reduced caliber/high velocity/magazine loading US military rifle I also discovered that the rifle barrels initially had to be manufactured from imported Swedish steel because US-made steel was not capable of handling the increased pressures.

 

[Beachlogger]

Dang, that's one heck of a barn you got there
Edit to add... How do these nos heads show up, were heads available without handles at one time?

 

[Steve Tall]

...most of them are post-war Swedes... Morley Walters (of Walters Axe) must have been furious as he watched them nibble away at his share of the market...

In a perhaps ironic twist,
"Regrettably, by the company’s final days, some axes were made by Hults Bruk of Sweden and marketed under the Walters name, ending over 150 years of continuous axe production in the Ottawa Valley."
from http://www.leevalley.com/newsletters/Woodworking/1/2/collection.htm

 

[300Six]

In a perhaps ironic twist,
"Regrettably, by the company’s final days, some axes were made by Hults Bruk of Sweden and marketed under the Walters name, ending over 150 years of continuous axe production in the Ottawa Valley."
from http://www.leevalley.com/newsletters/Woodworking/1/2/collection.htm

Yes, I caught that aside comment from the Lee Valley website already a few years ago. Len Lee knew his stuff and built up a magnificent collection of NOS Walters axes within 10 years of their closure. But I want some proof. Ed Hammel (general manager of Walters) was seconded in a quest to create an efficient car crusher not long after Morley Walters died and when the Walters operation was bought out by Ottawa metal recycler Baker Bros. I give the Swedes full marks for always stamping 'made in Sweden' on their implements. I have yet to see a 'Walters made in Sweden' axe, but you are correct in that it would be quite ironic if such axes were to exist.

 

[J_mcrane]

Update on some work

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