Walters axes and hatchets

If someone finds one at a garage sale and ends up liking the quality and style they'll likely become a fan of the company and want more, so I'm sure there still is and will likely be more fans of walters axes.
 
I like them, especially their hatchets. They had many unique products. I hope to find a Walters Hudson Bay axe someday.
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donaldf said:
We're new here. Are there still people interested in Walters axes and hatchets?
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I am, only have one - a double bit on a trashed handle.

Haven't seen but one around here (doesn't mean they aren't still around I suppose).

Welcome to the forums donaldf.
 
I have yet to hear a bad thing about them. I wouldn't think twice about picking one up for a decent price.
 
My favorite boys axe is a Walters montreal pattern. Nice thick bit for splitting, with a good taper in the edge for cutting and chopping.

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Square_peg said:
Walters rafting axe.
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This is the only Walters I've ever seen with 'MADE IN CANADA' stamped on it. Apparently the Ogdensburg, NY, Walters plant (1949 to 1960?) was not a manufacturing facility but rather assembled, finished and distributed Hull, Quebec-made heads and handles. Whether import tariffs on unfinished or unassembled goods was lower than that of complete tools I have no idea, but I can see 'made in Canada' being a USA import requirement.
 
Most collectors and users are familiar solely with the WALTERS stamp. Morley Walters was one of former Sheffield cutler Harry Walters' five sons and was a U of McGill engineering graduate (1897) that became President of the family axe making business in about 1912. He headed the Hull, Quebec operation until his death in 1969 at age 101. It was the Morley Walters era that saw the name change from H Walters & Sons which had begun with Harry's purchase of Sexton Washburn's 'Hull Axe Factory' in 1885. Harry had been employed by Sexton for making axes upon immigrating to Canada in the mid 1850s.

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Picture, taken from a 1965 Canadian Weekly Magazine article, of assembly of Walters Montreal pattern axes.

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Leave it to Operator1975 to come up with those trophies! Canadian Museum of Science & Technology and Lee Valley Tools (both located in Ottawa) have magnificent collections of NOS Walters but they have rarely been put on display nor are they available even as photographs. Not long ago (approx 6 months) someone related to a deceased Walters employee contacted this forum regarding finding a suitable home for a collection of axes but we never heard back after the initial post.
 
halfaxe said:
I like them, especially their hatchets. They had many unique products. I hope to find a Walters Hudson Bay axe someday.
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Me too! Picture below is of Ed Hammel's (General Manager of Walters from approx 1947 to 1973) personal Hudson Bay. The handle is stamped Walters Axe Ogdensburg NY. His son John wouldn't part with it 12 years ago so all I have is this photo. Ed was a talented tool & die maker that had been tasked with re-tooling Toronto manufacturer Inglis (kitchen appliances and washing machines) over to Bren Guns and Browning Hi-powers during WWII. Morley recruited him in 1947 to modernize Walters operation over to closed die forging. Even during the mid 1960s Walters was producing 1000 axes per day.

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300Six said:
Leave it to Operator1975 to come up with those trophies! Canadian Museum of Science & Technology and Lee Valley Tools (both located in Ottawa) have magnificent collections of NOS Walters but they have rarely been put on display nor are they available even as photographs...
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The collection at the Science and Technology museum is now viewable online, I'm happy to report. Some examples made by Walters:

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from
http://techno-science.ca/en/collection-research/collection.php?start=0&limit=20&sort=&q=walters
 
Seeing Steves pics above, reminded me of one more Walters axe I have - can't believe I forgot -

Here it is closer up =



And here it is on the bathroom wall -

 
Steve Tall said:
The collection at the Science and Technology museum is now viewable online, I'm happy to report. Some examples made by Walters:

from
http://techno-science.ca/en/collection-research/collection.php?start=0&limit=20&sort=&q=walters
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Sort of.
When Mus. of Science & Tech first opened it's doors in the mid to late 60s (if I recall, because I was present at the opening) there was an entire upper wall near the entrance devoted to Walters Axes. Static displays fell into disfavour already by the 80s and were replaced by videos, props, touchy-feelie and push button interactive stuff and of course the wall of axes disappeared. Consummate tool collector Leonard Lee, founder of Lee Valley Tools, also had some glass cases full of NOS Walters on display at his flagship store in the 1980s. Museum artifacts take up valuable space and don't sell products (and this may also have been around the time that he started marketing Oxhead and boutique Swede stuff) so those eye-popping displays also quietly disappeared.
 
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