PhilipWimberly
Gold Member
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2023
- Messages
- 78
I got this because Mann is one of the old makers I like the best and I had not seen this before. Because I didn't know what it was, I started working on it as I normally would. I wasn't impressed with the handle at first glance and the head was very loose. Lucky for me, it was so loose that I was able to knock the handle out without cutting it off or even removing the wedge. When I did, I noticed that the tongue was in way better condition than I expected. This surprised me (thinking maybe the handle wasn't as old as I thought) so I hit it with steel wool for a while. That's when I noticed the remnants of green paint. When I cleaned the head I saw that it was also green. This sent me to do the research I should have done to begin with and found that the hatchet was military issue. Mann, Plumb, American Fork and Hoe (maybe some others) made them all with the "same" embossing...just changing the manufacturers name. Very cool. Bonus! BLO fixed the handle! The dozens of cracks I thought I saw were just surface. Yeah, it's really old and wasn't treated well -- no one would expect it to survive too much more real work -- but it could be used tomorrow reliably.
Here's what I'd like opinions on, though...
My original plan was to return it to a working tool with a new handle. Am definitely going to save the handle now, but won't use it as a tool. So then I was just going to drill out the wedge, remove the old square nail, fix the ledge on the handle, re-seat the head a little lower (plenty of room. It's never been done before) and re-wedge it. But look at that dark skinny wedge! Beautiful. And I usually hate metal in my hangs, but if that old nail is original, I kind of don't want to lose that either. While I was able to knock the handle out without removing the wedge, it will not go back on.
I guess my plan now is just to shave the tongue the smallest amount necessary to slip back through the eye and leave it as a coffee table item. Maybe the fact that it can be separated and re-assembled is an interesting characteristic (shrug). Or maybe I'm too much in love with the wedge and nail now as "original" and should just get rid of them and re-hang this old guy properly. Or maybe someone has another idea?
Here's what I'd like opinions on, though...
My original plan was to return it to a working tool with a new handle. Am definitely going to save the handle now, but won't use it as a tool. So then I was just going to drill out the wedge, remove the old square nail, fix the ledge on the handle, re-seat the head a little lower (plenty of room. It's never been done before) and re-wedge it. But look at that dark skinny wedge! Beautiful. And I usually hate metal in my hangs, but if that old nail is original, I kind of don't want to lose that either. While I was able to knock the handle out without removing the wedge, it will not go back on.
I guess my plan now is just to shave the tongue the smallest amount necessary to slip back through the eye and leave it as a coffee table item. Maybe the fact that it can be separated and re-assembled is an interesting characteristic (shrug). Or maybe I'm too much in love with the wedge and nail now as "original" and should just get rid of them and re-hang this old guy properly. Or maybe someone has another idea?
