What did you rehang today?

quinton · Mar 17, 2015

garry3 said:
You do very nice work Quinton.
It means a lot to some of the older people to see that you appreciate their tools as much as they do. They can be a wealth of knowledge also. Nice story behind that double bit.

Thanks, Garry! And I agree, a wealth of knowledge in the older generation, and all we have to do is listen..

rjdankert · Mar 17, 2015

garry3 said:
You do very nice work Quinton.
It means a lot to some of the older people to see that you appreciate their tools as much as they do. They can be a wealth of knowledge also. Nice story behind that double bit.

+1 nice work on all of your handles:thumbup:. I share the sentiments as garry3 about the CCC DB. Nice piece of history you have.

An historical perspective from a guy who served in the CCC and what it was like:
http://www.mnhs.org/market/mhspress/minnesotahistory/featuredarticles/4807295-302/

In the article he talks about basketball as a recreational activity between the camps. Of one game he says "The players were not intentionally rough, but their game plan made basketball a contact sport if there ever was one, and while we scored the most points, we also had more bruises and contusions.". One of my uncles was in the CCC and got his nose broken in a game.

aikonen · Mar 18, 2015

Old Gränsfors Bruk carpenters axe with birch handle

300Six · Mar 18, 2015

aikonen said:
Old Gränsfors Bruk carpenters axe with birch handle

Quite the novel-looking critter by north American standards, but looks to be downright handy for all kinds of work! Any chance that the poll is hardened? Only other light-coloured Euro tool wood I can think of is Beech but I suspect your guess of Birch is probably correct.

aikonen · Mar 18, 2015

300Six said:
Quite the novel-looking critter by north American standards, but looks to be downright handy for all kinds of work! Any chance that the poll is hardened? Only other light-coloured Euro tool wood I can think of is Beech but I suspect your guess of Birch is probably correct.

LOL, I believe the design is heavily influensed by Hjärtum, the most beloved carpenters axe in sweden. The poll is not hardened, not what I could see after the vinegar bath. The handle could be made from beech, I'm not too familiar with beech tho, either way the handle is dense as f-k.

jblyttle · Mar 22, 2015

This is a great quality Plumb hatchet head and a House handle hatchet handle. I picked these up a couple of weeks ago, the head was fit with a hand held rasp and a Mora 106 carving knife. I recommend that knife to anyone. I would normally like the handle a bit thinner, but on a 14" hatchet I'm good with the little bit of extra weight. This whole tool weighs 1.75lbs. The wedge is mahogany.

Jay Mulcahy · Mar 23, 2015

Nice job JB, that head looks familiar...............

jblyttle · Mar 23, 2015

Jay Mulcahy said:
Nice job JB, that head looks familiar...............

Haha, was wondering if you would see it. That handle took some time, a good amount of wood needed to be removed for that fit. I like it though.

I'm planning on coming to see you again soon, maybe you want this one back?

garry3 · Mar 23, 2015

Nice hang on the little Plumb JB. Its almost un-real how under valued these great little hatchets are.

Curt Hal · Mar 24, 2015

Just finished this one. It's a 3 1/2 LB POWR-KRAFT. Always wanted to do this pattern - this is the first one. The head was in decent shape when it arrived - just a little clean up and a good sharpening. Took a Garant 36" Fawn's Foot haft, shaved it down a bit and sanded. I picked this haft for the nice, straight grain (a rare find in this city) but also because it had a couple of nice heartwood features. I used Tung oil for the first time rather than BLO. It has two coats now. Using 400 grit to light sand between coats. Will do another 3 coats. It seems to work well. The ridges inside the eye make it interesting to attach the head to the haft, as in, you better know what you are doing.

View attachment 527350 View attachment 527349 View attachment 527347 View attachment 527346

aikonen · Mar 24, 2015

Curt Hal said:
Just finished this one. It's a 3 1/2 LB POWR-KRAFT. Always wanted to do this pattern - this is the first one. The head was in decent shape when it arrived - just a little clean up and a good sharpening. Took a Garant 36" Fawn's Foot haft, shaved it down a bit and sanded. I picked this haft for the nice, straight grain (a rare find in this city) but also because it had a couple of nice heartwood features. I used Tung oil for the first time rather than BLO. It has two coats now. Using 400 grit to light sand between coats. Will do another 3 coats. It seems to work well. The ridges inside the eye make it interesting to attach the head to the haft, as in, you better know what you are doing.

That's neat! Good job, looks like a rock solid hang Curt

Agent_H · Mar 24, 2015

JB - I like those those Plumb Boy Scouts. Yours looks to be in really nice condition. Don't think your handle looks too thick.

Curt - that powr-Kraft looks great as well. How do you find the steel on it?

Hacked · Mar 24, 2015

Nice one Curt Hal, my first axe and first hang was a PowrKraft Dayton with ridges in the eye. Its a great Axe, I'm sure you will enjoy yours. The combination of eye ridges and phantom bevels on yours makes me think its a good chance these were made by Kelly.

Curt Hal · Mar 24, 2015

Agent_H said:
JB - I like those those Plumb Boy Scouts. Yours looks to be in really nice condition. Don't think your handle looks too thick.

Curt - that powr-Kraft looks great as well. How do you find the steel on it?

The steel is phenomenal. It's a very solid axe. Filing the profile and sharpening was a workout.

Agent_H · Mar 24, 2015

Really like your picture Hacked. Sound of walking on wet leaves/forest floor and the smell of earth kind of comes through.

I don't find too much info on POWR-KRAFT. Mine has serial numbers of a sort on it. Wonder if there is a way to place them? Maybe nothing to be had from it but I'm curious now.

84-3720 - made in 84'?

garry3 · Mar 24, 2015

aikonen said:
Old Gränsfors Bruk carpenters axe with birch handle

I love that axes profile. Looks like a great one.

I don't know why I am so surprised to see a carpenters box there. Maybe its because it has been so long since I have seen anyone carry one. They are so much better than a canvas liner with pockets that they make for buckets these days.:thumbup:

Hacked · Mar 24, 2015

Agent_H said:
Really like your picture Hacked. Sound of walking on wet leaves/forest floor and the smell of earth kind of comes through.

I don't find too much info on POWR-KRAFT. Mine has serial numbers of a sort on it. Wonder if there is a way to place them? Maybe nothing to be had from it but I'm curious now.

84-3720 - made in 84'?

Thanks, I'll be back at that spot in a couple of weeks. Can't wait, craft beer and food cooked over an open fire.

All I know about the brand is that it was a Montgomery Ward house brand. Mine has a very similar number stamped on it, I want to say it also starts with 84 or 8? I'll have to check tonight when I get home. I've been more than happy with mine. I'm thinking about taking the handle off to thin it out and reshape it. The head definitely seems deserving of the effort.

garry3 · Mar 24, 2015

Agent_H said:
Really like your picture Hacked. Sound of walking on wet leaves/forest floor and the smell of earth kind of comes through.

I don't find too much info on POWR-KRAFT. Mine has serial numbers of a sort on it. Wonder if there is a way to place them? Maybe nothing to be had from it but I'm curious now.

84-3720 - made in 84'?

I think you can find the old Montgomery Ward"s catalogs on line. Probably have a good chance of matching numbers. The quality of things back then was amazing, compared to what is offered today. Some of their firearms were also very nice.

jblyttle · Mar 27, 2015

New fun project, a 4lb Atha sledge head on a handle cut down and thinned from an old 36" sledgehammer handle. The result is an awesome old sledge that has an almost 6" long head, is 15" long and has a total weight of 4.5lbs. Pictured with my recent Plumb hatchet rehang. All work aside from cutting the handle shorter was done by hand with a rasp, file, Mora knife and sandpaper. Then oiled.

aikonen · Mar 28, 2015

garry3 said:
I love that axes profile. Looks like a great one.

I don't know why I am so surprised to see a carpenters box there. Maybe its because it has been so long since I have seen anyone carry one. They are so much better than a canvas liner with pockets that they make for buckets these days.:thumbup:

They are also much more beautiful than a aluminium toolcase.. Yuk!!