Two old tools I highly love (German Eye Brand and Arvika Sweden)

[marthinus]

First the story

The knife:

It was my girlfriends fathers knife for many years. He carried either this or another SAK with him on his expeditions. He worked for our national parks with elephants, later moved on to run a holiday destination in our Limpopo province he knew what hard work was, but had a certain calmness surrounding him . I received his knives after he passed away. This knife reminds me of him, his love for the wild and his little daughter (my girlfriend). I wished I knew him better as he passed away a few months after my girlfriend and I started dating.

The Axe.

Well...axe head....I refitted a new handle for it and made a kydex sheath to go over the edge. This was my grandfathers. He used it in the local mine (now closed) for stilts under ground. He was a hard man that would be considered today as...well.. a jerk by some. He either liked you or did not. If he was tired of your company he would go out and sit in the car and wait for my grandmother to finish her tea and chit chatter. I wish I knew him as I think, hearing some stories, one could have learned a lot from him about hard work. Real labor intensive work.

The axe has an engraving ERPM. This is the company that was responsible for the mines in the area. Today we are struggling with acid water from the mines threatening fresh water resources.

Now just some pictures.

All and all, this is just a small tribute to hard working men that I felt I needed to post.

 

[DennisStrickland]

marthinus i ca'nt help you with axe info but i can tell you something about the knife.the pattern is what some call a copperhead. the knives were made by carl schliper of germany .the carbon steel used in the time period of that knife was some of the best edge holding available at the time. that knife was probably made between 1980 to 1995. although the pattern predates that time the shield was of a newer edition.i'm sorry you could'nt know those individuals for a longer period. it sounds as if you have lots of respect for ethical hard working men.
dennis

 

[Jesse D.L]

nice set of tools and memories you have there.

 

[pipedreams308]

Very nice. Thanks for sharing.

 

[338375]

Thanks for sharing. Those are both great finds...
I grew up in a logging family. My grandad and his brothers started logging in 1934 and were still active up into the 70's. My grandad got hit by a log in 1974 and almost got killed. It broke all the bones on the right side of his body and about 75% on the right side
When we went to the hospital to see him, the doctor came in and told us, If he wasn't such a tough s.o.b he would have been dead hours ago.

It took him a few years to really recover from the accident, and even into his 80's he would still work around the house, and would climb up on the roof to clean out the chimney. They had to much pride to ask others for help.
So, my dad and I would just show up and start doing things around the house. We told him, we know you can still do it, but we want to help out.

The older generation was hard working, and some could be considered a little rough around the edges. The ones that I was fortunate enough to know, had hearts of gold, and would give you the shirt off their back though.

I wouldn't trade the time I got to spend with him, and all he taught me, for all the money in the world.

He died 5 years ago the day before his 94th birthday. I miss him a lot and think about him every day.
Sorry if I got a little of track here, but your story made me think of him.

 

[marthinus]

Thanks for the kind words guys. Appreciate it.

marthinus i ca'nt help you with axe info but i can tell you something about the knife.the pattern is what some call a copperhead. the knives were made by carl schliper of germany .the carbon steel used in the time period of that knife was some of the best edge holding available at the time. that knife was probably made between 1980 to 1995. although the pattern predates that time the shield was of a newer edition.i'm sorry you could'nt know those individuals for a longer period. it sounds as if you have lots of respect for ethical hard working men.
dennis

Thank you for the information. I know one can still find the German Eye Brand knives and I will surely get a few. Here is the knife I have found doing a quick google. I will get one as soon as cash allows. Would be interesting to see how the two knives compare.

commercial vendor link removed by moderator

I have started EDCing the knife. I dont know why, just picked it up and put it in my pocket and it just grew on me and made sense (hence the post in this subforum). Last night when I closed it it took a bit of my pinkie as it nicked me So it drew some blood. Edge retention is . I understand the craze with carbon steels. It just works and works well.

Thanks for identifying the axe head. I know very little about axis shape and form. Just the basics of what some tipes would work best for what application. Most of my dealings with axes is with these guys.

http://www.great-pruning-products.com/bahcoaxes.html

Thanks for sharing. Those are both great finds...
I grew up in a logging family. My grandad and his brothers started logging in 1934 and were still active up into the 70's. My grandad got hit by a log in 1974 and almost got killed. It broke all the bones on the right side of his body and about 75% on the right side
When we went to the hospital to see him, the doctor came in and told us, If he wasn't such a tough s.o.b he would have been dead hours ago.

It took him a few years to really recover from the accident, and even into his 80's he would still work around the house, and would climb up on the roof to clean out the chimney. They had to much pride to ask others for help.
So, my dad and I would just show up and start doing things around the house. We told him, we know you can still do it, but we want to help out.

The older generation was hard working, and some could be considered a little rough around the edges. The ones that I was fortunate enough to know, had hearts of gold, and would give you the shirt off their back though.

I wouldn't trade the time I got to spend with him, and all he taught me, for all the money in the world.

He died 5 years ago the day before his 94th birthday. I miss him a lot and think about him every day.
Sorry if I got a little of track here, but your story made me think of him.

He sounded like a great man and you are not of track. Thank you for sharing!

 

[NirreBosse]

The Axe.

Well...axe head....I refitted a new handle for it and made a kydex sheath to go over the edge. This was my grandfathers. He used it in the local mine (now closed) for stilts under ground.
The axe has an engraving ERPM. This is the company that was responsible for the mines in the area. Today we are struggling with acid water from the mines threatening fresh water resources.

.

Itt appears to be a carpentars axe. It has a straight and rather thin edge that is suited for working in dry wood. It has a flat backside good for hitting nails and other things as wooden pins. Its bigger than the typical carpentars axe but hearing its for the mines makes me think its a special for big jobs underground. I think it got used on woodwork that for ex was made to stabilace things ´with carpentary onderground.

Bosse