Vintage Swedish axe head identification marked OHS help?

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pete1gun

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Apr 25, 2010
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Hello all hope everyone who sees this is having a great day!
My wife recently got me an old Swedish made axe head as a gift and I’m not familiar with ghe blacksmiths initials that is on it. I’m pretty familiar with several other older Swedish blacksmiths and their initials but this one I am having a difficult time finding any info on. It is an absolutely beautiful axe head with the initials OHS or SHO any help on this is greatly appreciated?
 
9.3x62 said:
Back Hans Olsson. Born in 1832
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Would you know any additional information of this blacksmith maybe when he retired? I don’t seem to find anything on him. He must have been a good smith because this axe head is a beautiful piece of work.
 
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pete1gun said:
Would you know any additional information of this blacksmith maybe when he retired? I don’t seem to find anything on him. He must have been a good smith because this axe head is a beautiful piece of work.
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Not much but i’ll get back to you later today
 
9.3x62 said:
I was wrong.
HOS is Back Hans Olsson. Born 1802 and died 1875.

His son Back Olof Hansson is stamped OHS. Born 1832.

They seem to be from the county Dalarna, Sweden.

Taken from a swedish fb group.
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Thanks for the info. If he was born in 1832 then he would have been into his 60’s by 1900 which probably means this axe was either forged in the later 1800’s to very early 1900. Pretty cool thanks again
 
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The father, Back Hans Olsson, HOS, seems to have lived an intressting life. Killed 17 brown bears. I think that in Dalarna mid 1800s bears were killed by spear..

He was believed by the villagers to posess magic powers.

Not much is known about the son, Back Olof Hansson, OHS.
 
9.3x62 said:
The father, Back Hans Olsson, HOS, seems to have lived an intressting life. Killed 17 brown bears. I think that in Dalarna mid 1800s bears were killed by spear..

He was believed by the villagers to posess magic powers.

Not much is known about the son, Back Olof Hansson, OHS.
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Sounds interesting indeed! Maybe he used… his ax? 😊

As far as I know, these old school names used a convention that the “prefix”, Back in this case, would have been the village where the person was born. I can’t find a Back in Dalarna, but there is a Bäck (literally meaning creek) close to Mora.

Edit: or he lived in some hill, backe meaning “slope” in Swedish. My surname is Backström, and my family has ties to Dalarna. Perhaps I am related to this ax sorcerer 😉
 
The father lived in Boda, Dalarna.

Pretty sure its Back, and not Bäck, which i also thought first.
 
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