True Temper Tommy Axe Mod

cooperhill

cooperhill

Joined
Nov 14, 2011
Messages
1,018
Happy with how this mod came out.

Worked on it tonight for a few hours. One of the claws was broken so I removed (ground) them both off. Squared off the back with some bastard file work and simply used sandpaper and wonderbar to clean the head up. It has a nice look to it.

A little little file and dmt folder work for sharpening / honing and:

Before:





After:





 
That's such a great wee head shape.

Pity about the nail-puller but you have really made this look purdy.

I'm guessing these are like unicorn poo, but it's defo on my wish list, especially given its name.
 
Joan's father must be smiling somewhere to see his old tool being cared for finally. Remarkably good photos for such a patched-up camera!
 
If you google-books "popular mechanics tommy axe" you'll get a 1941 ad for that, the tomahawk, the dynamic hatchet, and the dynamic hammer (an ordinary-looking claw-hammer). The t'hawk looks a lot like Cooperhill's finished project here. The Dynamic hatchet looks like the T'hawk with the poll stretched out and narrowed. In 1941 they're claimed to be a hugely popular new line. I'll post o pic if my computer ever stops downloading something else.
 
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/77365440/tttset%20003.jpg

That's similar.
If my pic works, it shows a tommy axe, a tomahawk, and a c. Hammond Philla warranted cast steel claw hatchet.

OK, try something else.

LOOK ON MY WORKS, YE MIGHTY, AND DESPAIR!
That is, if you click on the link above, I think you'll see a picture of 3 hatchets.
 
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If that hatchet dates back to 1941, then Joan's grandfather might have bought and used it. I'm always interested in the cost conversion from then to now. A $1.50 hatchet in 1941 would cost $24.01 today! Such a deal.
 
Having trouble finding a hefty enough handle for this one. The 14" boy scout axe handle is too small. Bought a few from house handles and will see if they look right. The original (or replacement) appeared to be octagonal.
 
Finished the TT Tommy Axe. I like the way it looks without the claws and on this handle.

Tommy Axe on a local 16" ash handle.





 
cooperhill said:
Thanks porch. I really like that Hammond Philla claw hatchet of yours.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I almost didn't buy that because it seemed expensive, but I'd never seen a claw hatchet before and it was at a favorite dealer's I hadn't seen in some years- she would have charged me more if the stamp had been visible.
Hard to date it, as usual; maybe 1900-1917.
 
cooperhill said:
Have you seen this C. Hammond catalog? (opens PDF).

http://toolemera.com/catpdf/chammond1910CA.pdf
Click to expand...

No. I'll have to save a copy of that, barring copyright issues. Thanks again. Here are the rest of my old non-woods hatchets.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/77365440/tttset%20006.jpg

l to r, top to bottom, Keen Kutter lathing, nameless shingling, nameless half-hatchet, the hammond claw, gtw half hatchet (Germantown or Griffith Tool Works), nameless produce hatchet. Probably not the most appropriate handles on some of them.
 
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I like the style of the claw hatchet. I have an old pitted one that I haven't hung yet. It is shaped like the Hammond claw hatchet (4" bit) shown in that 1910 catalog. Thanks for that, btw.

A vinegar soak showed that while the bit is hardened, the hammer face is not. I'm thinking of remedying that before I hang it. Of course I'll have to temper the claw so it doesn't crack.
 
I like the claw hatchet as well (similar to the C. Hammond version) but dislike True Temper's Tommy axe version. Just doesn't look right to me.
 
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