Unusual old axe head

jblyttle

jblyttle

Joined
Sep 3, 2014
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Here is one that I just picked up and cleaned, but it is a new style to me. The eye is smaller on top, so maybe the notch side is the top? A strange animal either way. It weighs between 3.75-4 pounds, and is 8" long with a 4.75 edge. It has a deeply inserted bit.

 
Something about the eye-poll transition makes me think it's Slavic in origin.
 
It's European, that transition is pretty common throughout Europe. Now, the vertically tapered eye (longer "face" of the poll than at the side towards the bit) is less common, this is where I think Agent_H nailed it.
 
Hjärtum yxa?

Here is a thread on one that looks pretty similar.

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=84380


Pdf on related:

http://www.lodose.eu/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/20-2014-10-13-Hjärtumsyxan-ny.pdf



’’Hjärtum ax image was forged before about 1940 by Smith Forest in Hjärtum, who is said to have been the second-generation blacksmith in Hjätum. Note the relatively straight edge to show that this is a Carpenter and no splitting wood, twigs or tree trunks. The ax is well balanced, but perhaps a bit heavy for today's weak arms, has a perfect shape and you can chop off tretumsspik without getting notched edge. Hjärtum Axes are prized by professionals. Better is not. Despite the fact that the ax has the same shape now as 1000 years ago.”

From:

http://www.larsholmdahl.com/product/needforspeed-axe.html


Pictagram:
13597598_751660281642861_110891808_n.jpg


Neat type of pattern to happen upon!
 
A looker for sure! (And we have a new Sherlock Holmes in the house it seems! :) )
 
I'm not picking up the transition between steels on the top and bottom of the axe. Can you take another photo?

I see northern European in that axe but I also see some American influence in the poll. I would guess it was forged in N. America by a smith of northern European ancestry. Maybe a one-off piece. If it's actually an inserted bit not an overlay then it's likely quite old - maybe late 1800's.

Surely a super cool axe!! Thanks for the pics!
 
tretumsspik = nail?
Click to expand...

More precisely, "Three inches nail". Tre=3, Tums=inches, spik=nail.
Sweden officially uses metric system, but inches is common in vernacular.
 
Lieblad said:
More precisely, "Three inches nail". Tre=3, Tums=inches, spik=nail.
Sweden officially uses metric system, but inches is common in vernacular.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Yeah, come to think of it while almost European countries use the metric system, we sometimes do use inches for...hardware-y (??)/carpentry stuff.

I was going to say I blame it on Germans, based on how it sounds, and sure enough, Wikipedia says I'm right (the word being "zoll").
 
Very much doubt any New World influence in this,a very common Norwegian carpenter's/shipbuilder's axe(this design pre-dates Europeans on this continent).

It appears to be forged under a (fairly massive) power-hammer,so would very like date to late 19th-early 20th c.c.,Norway....

Upon becoming Americans,Europeans seemed to've liked shedding their habitual tooling,and the times were changing as well...Building was less and less done using an axe...
Some tools are known to've been brought to the New World,but quickly discarded here,for whatever reason....(a good example of this would be the "goose-wing",a Germanic-style broad-axe....).
So fairly unlikely to have been forged here,in the USA,the wooden-construction tooling had undergone too many changes...
 
jblyttle said:
I think that I may have an ID, Mustad of Norway.

https://www.google.com/search?q=mus..._73TAhXr7YMKHYOkAhIQ_AUICSgC&biw=1680&bih=917

http://www.bladeforums.com/threads/old-mustad-coming-in-mail.879595/
Click to expand...

That looks like a winner! Where the bit meets up with the collar looks more like what you found than the other ones posted.

Whiskey_Jim said:
How does the head stay on with a reverse socket?
Click to expand...

Deep single wedge, cross wedge, or stick a "snake" in it?
 
Agent_H said:
That looks like a winner! Where the bit meets up with the collar looks more like what you found than the other ones posted.



Deep single wedge, cross wedge, or stick a "snake" in it?
Click to expand...

Right, and that second link describes a backwards eye just like this one. I honestly don't feel like dealing with the challenge, I will likely sell this one off.
 
Pa. makers like Stoudt, Strauss, Stricker and Stohler had axe eyes that were narrower at the top than bottom. Just hang them proud and wedge fat. I understand Mustad axes are very good quality but have never owned one.

Bill
 
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