Vaughan 1940 catalog

[Hickory n steel]

Middle is butter soft and the eye is the hardest i have ever filed.Looks to have been in vinegar,how can it be hard but not dark?

I don't know, but the first axe I did I regretfully soaked it and it did not turn dark.
The axe is a pre Mann Collins Homestead from my great grandfather.

 

[Square_peg]

Middle is butter soft and the eye is the hardest i have ever filed.Looks to have been in vinegar,how can it be hard but not dark?

It's dark. Maybe it wasn't a long vinegar soak.

Vaughan knows what they're doing. That's how they survived to still make quality hammers and hatchets in America today.

If I had to make a guess I'd guess that the lower line is the high carbon steel line and the upper line is the quench line. The body must be made of at least medium carbon steel to show the quench line like that. It's looks like they knew exactly what they were doing.

 

[junkenstien]

Yes sir,like vaughan a lot.That Jersey has 2 1/4 inches of real hard steel,makes the middle seem soft I guess.Give up trying to get all the pits out,think I will paint it.Kinda ugly but it’s a beast.

 

[Desert_Fox]

That sub zero Michigan , and the tropical hardwoods axe sure look nice and I'd love to see an actual example if anyone here ever finds one.

Its pretty cool to know that the 999 rip caw has been around since at least the 40's and still going strong as basically the best hickory handled rip claw ever.
I've always loved Vaughan & Bushnell, so thanks for sharing this

I found one last weekend at an indoor flea market with 12 other axes I got. I finished cleaning it up today. It could be the original handle. Here are some pictures. I just stumbled across this thread and that archive post is really interesting. It chops well!