Trying to identify an old Austrian axehead with some peculiarities

I

Imazagi

Joined
Sep 1, 2016
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4
Hi, n00b here!

I have a couple of axes, but one of them is a special case. I found the head in the pool under a waterfall, rusted and covered in sediment.
The find location is central Austria, Salzkammergut (a place with a millenium-old tradition of forestry because of the salt mining and refinery process).

Here a few pics after I removed it from the vinegar bath (tape measure is in cm!)

WgGkkkt.jpg


fCjoJA7.jpg


Zz3FDt3.jpg


eR50sUW.jpg


mKO9dA1.jpg


Does anyone recognize the maker's marks? I see 3 stars (suns? wheels?) and 2 hearts with "H:Z" (?) inside. I found no reference in the usual online lists.
Does anyone recognize the specific pattern? What's the deal with the pointed poll?
The cutting bit is very pronounced, more so on one side, where there is a visible ridge.

Before I soaked it, I planned to clean it up, file a new edge and hang it. Now, I'm not so sure if this isn't something older than the usual 40-80 years.

I hope some of you find this interesting, thanks for looking!
 
Very cool axe. I don't recognize the stamps. It looks to have an overlaid bit - that would date it to approximately the first half of the 20th century.
 
Interesting axe. I am going to do some guessing here so keep in mind it is out of interest in the region and their tools and by no means based on personal knowledge.

I’ve been looking at stuff similar to what you found and there are so many makers from that region that it is hard to pin down who made what. There are some catalog scans of axes with the “same” (more or less) bit shape but that poll is one that I haven’t seen yet. Thank you to our forum members for those links (Chumaman and Samek).

The cutting edge being more pronounced on one side might mean that it was intended for hewing as opposed to chopping. Hewing wood or something else.
Could we assume the poll was added on there either at the factory/forge given its distinction from the rest of it? It could have been added on there afterwards for all I know. There are some that look as though they had material added to the poll but that one is rounded.


2-stran-2_.jpg


What would a rounded poll like that be used for? Those in the picture for example might have some difference in the poll but since I don’t speak the language and the scans are tough to zoom in on, it’s kind of hard to say. That first picture there seems to be a difference in poll “color” in the bottom row and in the second picture there are some models that look like they maybe have a tapered poll on them.
I think some of the section headings denote what they were used for and also named regional styles like Serbian, Hungarian, Slovenian, etc. You could play around with Google translate in those languages and see if you can find more or maybe some of our members here could chime in.

3-stran-3_.jpg


As far as the markings go the stars/suns/HZ might be a company’s mark, weight designation, use designation (much like Plumb’s concept of using symbols for export to designate weight or usage for a populace that maybe had lower levels of literacy) They could represent a company or independent smith’s signature. Or they might be an indication of quality that was shared across a certain line of axes offered.

A lot of the older axes from that area have some pretty ornate markings that don’t (to me at least) seem to have a function other than someone took the time to get them on there – time has always meant money. More time/money usually equals higher perceived value to the end user – I mean, some things don’t change regardless of region or over time.
Here is a Google find that looks like a Heart to me but it is not the same pattern of axe:
HZBkcNoWV07J140318231129P1583.jpg


Your axe is interesting for sure. Since you already put it in vinegar maybe you could lightly wire wheel clean it and see if you can make out that mark on the other side – if that is another mark. Please don’t do anything on my recommendation though – it’s your axe.

Here is a fairly recent thread that waffles around a bit but addresses some of the Austrian/Slovenian/Eastern European axes. Just because I post a bunch of stuff about these doesn’t mean I think I know more than anyone who can use the internet – I just get a kick out of it.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1414390-Slovenia-Ebay-Axe-heads

Thanks for sharing it and if you find a lead share it because you never know what might come from digging around.
 
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Thank you for the very interesting replies!
When I did my research, I stumbled upon the great thread about Slovenian/European axes and had the same thoughts as you, Agent_H, about some of the patterns in that catalog.

By now, I have cleaned up the head a bit more. I like to use a plastic/nylon wire wheel on a drill for that kind of work to preserve as much as possible of the original steel.

k45RHnR.jpg


e4HUgSF.jpg


Yesterday I started hanging it, using a hardware store-bought ash handle from Connex. I'm going to hang the head a bit lower than where it is now, but so far I really like where this is going.

yCJN2fy.jpg
 
I'm not familiar with this specific type of axe,but the long-thin blade make me think that it was for hewing,rather than chopping.Also,the skew-welded bit,speaks of the probably a single-bevel purposing...(you may want to be careful sharpening it,there's not too much left,the bit is pretty worn....).

It looks to me,to the best of my knowledge,as a product of a small rural factory,probably fairly narrowly specialised,in the maybe 1860-ies to some very early 1900-s...The welds,on both the poll and the bit,are done simply(as in no effort went into "blending" the parts together,a simple,structural weld and no more),done by hand,but obviously competently enough.

A remote possibility also is that it may've been a butcher's axe...not very familiar with those,so can't tell...

A neat old axe,great find!
 
Imazagi said:
yCJN2fy.jpg
Click to expand...

Ooooh, very cool! That's mean looking little beastie Imazagi. Never used a nylon/plastic wheel before but it looks like it works.


Where you live has a very interesting tool making history. That really isn't something I would probably come across around here.

Please keep us posted on hanging updates and any new info you find out about its origin or even anecdotal stories about makers the area.

Thank you for the ride along by the way :thumbup:
 
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