Welland vale true temper black prince

T

Trevor51

Joined
Jun 24, 2015
Messages
93
I picked up a axe at a garage sale that's logo says Welland vale true temper black prince. I'm not to familiar with this brand, does any one know any more info on these. it seems to be in really good condition the poll isn't even mushroomed or anything like that.




 
It's a true temper black price head, sold by welland vale.

It looks to be in good condition, and will clean up nicely.
 
After you take a brass wire cup in a drill or angle grinder it should look really nice 👍
( please no vinegar )
 
See my last post in Axe Info above...
black_zps12hp2hbv.jpg
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What other brands would this be comparable to? In terms of quality and steel. And where was it made?
 
Quality similar to True Temper Flint Edge which is to say better than anything but a Kelly Perfect in the Kelly/True Temper line and equivalent to a vintage Plumb or Collins Legitimus. It's a top shelf axe. It's in great condition.

Welland Vale was an old and esteemed maker of axes in St. Catharine's, Ontario, Canada. The company was sold to American Fork & Hoe in 1930 and became part of the future True Temper team. The plant was finally closed in 1965. Forum member 300Six can probably give you more details about the company.

http://www.yesteryearstools.com/Yesteryears Tools/Wellan Vale Co..html
 
Steve Tall said:
An interesting thread by someone who went to the abandoned factory and found an axe head inside the old building:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1148683-A-trip-to-the-Welland-Vale
Click to expand...
Steve Tall, with all sincerity, you consistantly come up with great contributions of internet search information. And I am not making any judgements that your link to the post implies approval or disapproval of wdmn's behavior. However, I think the post would be best forgotten.

The rest is directed to that post only.

wdmn said:
. . .
In 1998 a pharmaceutical company called Biolyse took over the site, and they remain there until today
. . .
Click to expand...

wdmn said:
. . .
Surprisingly the gates were open and I was able to walk right in
. . .
Click to expand...

wdmn said:
. . .
Even more surprisingly this door was unlocked
. . .
Click to expand...

wdmn said:
. . .
It is wrong to take what is not given to you
. . .
Click to expand...

wdmn said:
. . .
Here is the head after several days in a vinegar bath and a lot of scrubbing:

331hky8.jpg

. . .
Click to expand...

One day Bobby Badaxe goes up to wdmn's house. He's there because his favorite poet once lived there and he wants to see the house and get a feeling for the surondings. He goes to the door and knocks. No answer. He finds the door is unlocked and goes in. "Hello, Hello", nobody home. He notices a rusty old axe head on a table. The axe head appears to be totally useless as a tool. He puts the axe head in his pocket and goes home.

So, what does wdmn think when he comes home and finds the axe head missing? What would a judge think? What would you think?

Bob
 
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rjdankert; Abandoned commercial buildings are supposed to be fenced off and posted in Canada. If or when they're not it's essentially an open invitation to visit at your own risk. wdmn was surprised to find the former Welland-Vale empty building with an open gate and unlocked door. To compare entering a lived-in dwelling with that of entering an abandoned commercial facility is a bit of a stretch. How many of us are guilty of poking around in old barns and homestead ruins and scavenging the odd artifact that other pickers couldn't have been bothered with?
If fact I'm of the opinion that removing a mostly worthless hatchet head from general access was probably a good move; lesser conscientious souls might have used it to toss through whatever windows were still in place.
 
Square_Peg, your comment above about this axe being equal to most in the Kelly line except the Kelly Perfect - I agree, but with a question. My assumption was that the 'Perfect' axes were made with the same steel, always with the bevels, but the name was just utilizing a widely known brand. Did the 'Perfect' axes use higher quality steel?
 
300Six said:
. . . To compare entering a lived-in dwelling with that of entering an abandoned commercial facility is a bit of a stretch. . .
Click to expand...
Agree, but that is not the case here.

abandon
1. to leave completely and finally; forsake utterly; desert:
to abandon one's farm; to abandon a child; to abandon a sinking ship.
2. to give up; discontinue; withdraw from:
to abandon a research project; to abandon hopes for a stage career.
3. to give up the control of:
to abandon a city to an enemy army.

That old TT "building" is not a separate building and it is not abandoned:
wdmn said:
. . ."In February 1966, the buildings on the site were purchased by the Lincoln County Board of Education as a supplies warehouse, maintenance centre and annex, and in 1967 they were transformed into the St. Catharines campus of the newly-established Niagara College. Niagara College moved the St. Catharines campus to Glendale Avenue in Niagara-on-the-Lake in 1998." In 1998 a pharmaceutical company called Biolyse took over the site, and they remain there until today.

The building is located on Welland Vale Rd:

2nl8m7m.jpg


Surprisingly the gates were open and I was able to walk right in, past the new building to the old one:

2wec1zc.jpg


30icrrc.jpg


15yswaf.jpg


33wla3m.jpg


Even more surprisingly this door was unlocked. I knocked, called out and entered. The building is clearly not used by Biolyse, and it looked as though nothing had been moved at least since 1998 when Niagara College moved out (including this sign by the door saying 'welding shop').

k4fprl.jpg

. . .
Click to expand...

Let's suppose you went in there unnoticed and someone caught up with you carrying off whatever. If Biolyse wanted to make an issue of it, how far do you think your explanation would get with the arresting officer and the judge at your trial?

And what if you were the owner of that property and someone entered and took away that head the way wdmn did?

Bob
 
The building in question may not be leased to anyone...the holding company would be the ones to make an issue of it but they could be in Hong Kong somewhere.
 
If I were the owner of the property I'd be embarrassed and worried about liability because someone was simply able to wander in and could have injured themselves. What about a 3-4-5 year old child doing the very same thing and becoming lost or not being able to re-open a self-closing exit door?
Canadians aren't quite as nervous about curiousity trespassing as are Americans, onus is on the property owner to keep the place secure. I'll bet you weren't aware that police in Province of Quebec can and will charge car owners for leaving their vehicles unlocked. Imagine that!
 
Lunchbucket said:
Square_Peg, your comment above about this axe being equal to most in the Kelly line except the Kelly Perfect - I agree, but with a question. My assumption was that the 'Perfect' axes were made with the same steel, always with the bevels, but the name was just utilizing a widely known brand. Did the 'Perfect' axes use higher quality steel?
Click to expand...

I haven't seen published what types of steel Kelly used. I suspect the Flint Edges and Perfect may have been made from the same steel. But the Perfects were advertised as having a hardened poll, an important upgrade IMO.

Having seen so many Flint Edge axes and pulaskis with a Forest Servce stamp I would presume that the Flint Edge met or exceeded Forest Service specs.

"3.2.1.1 Steel composition. The tool head of each type of ax shall be forged from fully killed plain carbon AISI/
SAE steel containing 0.72 to 0.93 percent carbon, 0.30 to 0.90 percent manganese, not more than 0.040
percent phosphorus, and not more than 0.050 percent sulfur. Steel composition of the head shall be deter-
mined as specified in 4.5.1.1."

Full specs:
http://cedarriverforge.com/Photo-index/axephotos/Forest Service Axe Specs - 5100_9D.pdf
 
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