Vintage Kelly Brush Axe restored

[Double Ott]

I've had a Kelly brush axe out in the garage for awhile. I decided it was time to get her in working condition.

I forgot to take before pictures, but here she is with the original handle shown above. The original helve didn't have a kerf cut in it. I used a 36 inch helve on her which did have a kerf cut in it. So I left it a little longer through the top eye. She turned out nice and tight. The hook took a nice edge.

I had to really thin out the shoulder of the new handle to get the lower loop attachment to fit. The original helve was a much sleeker handle. It seems that all the new handles one gets these days are thicker than the original vintage handles.

Dating the stamp would make this Kelly pre 1949.

The head on my Kelly looked rough and rusted like this Council Tool # 12 Brush Hook / Axe (below) before I cleaned her up.

Looks like I have another project. I'll have to get a straight 36 inch handle for the CT # 12 Brush Hook. I may be able to salvage the original CT helve on this one.

Council Tool still makes two styles of brush hooks. One like my Kelly and they still make the one shown above. Models 122C and 212.


Thanks for looking...

Tom

 

[Alocksly]

Nice! I've got a Kelly waiting for a handle but it's missing the the "lower loop". I saw a Council one a a junk shop awhile back but I think two is enough brush hooks for me.

 

[300Six]

Nice to see that someone out there actually likes these things. I have a lightly-used one from the early 60s ('awarded' to me by the original owner about 20 years ago) that has a Walters Axe Hull Quebec handle on it and otherwise has no markings. I personally think these things are downright scary and when I was an Ontario Junior Forest Ranger in 1970 the gov't of Ontario had already switched over to more sensible Sandvik-made brushhooks which are infinitely safer, easier to use and had removable blades. My daughter was an Ontario J.F.R. 7 years ago and they weren't even trusted to use axes anymore but they did do a lot of clearing work with what she called "Sandviks". I still have one if pictures are in order for this thread.

 

[Alocksly]

I used it for clearing stuff too small for my axe but to big for my scythe.

 

[Square_peg]

Great restoration, Double Ott. Thanks for the pics and story line.

Nice! I've got a Kelly waiting for a handle but it's missing the the "lower loop".

Easy enough to fabricate your own. Thin strap like that can be purchased at your local hardware store and a plumber's Mapp gas torch will get it plenty hot to shape it. Throw a piece of round bar in your vice to shape it over. Drill out one side of your strap. After bending/forming it around the haft, drill the other side just slightly short of where you think the hole will line up. Then try to force a bolt thru at an angle. Tightening the bolt will pull the strap tight around the haft. And if you drill the hole too short to get a bolt thru then you can elongate the hole with a small rattail file.

 

[Square_peg]

.....when I was an Ontario Junior Forest Ranger in 1970 the gov't of Ontario had already switched over to more sensible Sandvik-made brushhooks which are infinitely safer, easier to use and had removable blades. My daughter was an Ontario J.F.R. 7 years ago and they weren't even trusted to use axes anymore but they did do a lot of clearing work with what she called "Sandviks".

The Sandviks are 'machetes for people who can't sharpen a machete'. No substitute for a brush axe. At best a half-assed substitute for a machete.

 

[300Six]

The Sandviks are 'machetes for people who can't sharpen a machete'. No substitute for a brush axe. At best a half-assed substitute for a machete.

Seems like a fair description. None of the 20 lads I worked with 45 years ago could be bothered to keep axes sharp so I can readily see why replaceable blades on Sandviks had appeal. When safety is paramount (seems to be of greater importance than accomplishing work, these days) it's easy to see why gov't-employed greenhorns are not trusted to use chainsaws, axes, nor machetes.

 

[Square_peg]

Safety should always be of greater importance than accomplishing work. No apologies there.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

I used it for clearing stuff too small for my axe but to big for my scythe.

Precisely what they're intended for. Stuff too big for a bush scythe but too small for an axe, interspersed with some smaller scrubby axe-appropriate growth that rules a machete out as the ideal tool. If you take out the scrubby axe-appropriate stuff or if it's only occasionally encountered then a machete will do the job better.

The Sandviks are 'machetes for people who can't sharpen a machete'. No substitute for a brush axe. At best a half-assed substitute for a machete.

Totally agreed.

 

[raumatibeach]

Nice work, well done.

 

[Double Ott]

Precisely what they're intended for. Stuff too big for a bush scythe but too small for an axe, interspersed with some smaller scrubby axe-appropriate growth that rules a machete out as the ideal tool. If you take out the scrubby axe-appropriate stuff or if it's only occasionally encountered then a machete will do the job better.

Along with the above, they were also used for girdling trees. They worked nicely when you were trying to clear under growth and thin out a tree plot. Girdling will kill a tree.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girdling

Thanks for all the great replies guys. I've been inspired to work on the Council Tool #12. Hope to have it done soon.

Tom