What did you rehang today?

[300Six]

Kinda puzzles me too, 300. Maybe someone can shed some light on this..

Try running a file across the poll, maybe you're in for a surprise.

The comment about 'exploding horizontal grain hafts' only relates to severe runout (in the vertical and horizontal plane) curved handles as I'm sure you're well aware. Be interesting though if you could scope out a stave with an inherent curve to it that would allow you to craft a zero runout horizontal grain curved haft. Splitting staves instead of sawing billets for sure is how you'd discover one.

 

[Hickory n steel]

If given the choice, I would prefer quinton's vintage Plumb axe instead of a new Gransfors American Felling axe, hands down.

The $200 Gransfors:

Am I mistaken, or did GB actually get something for for once and make a properly designed head?
Because it looks like that one has convexed cheeks, which means that even though 200$ is way to much at least it gets you a proper axe.

 

[Steve Tall]

Am I mistaken, or did GB actually get something for for once and make a properly designed head?
Because it looks like that one has convexed cheeks, which means that even though 200$ is way to much at least it gets you a proper axe.

In these photos found online, it looks fairly flat, with a bump up at the eye.

 

[Steve Tall]

There must be something cryptic, that we are unaware of, regarding stamp placement on Plumbs. Quinton's Rockaway is stamped on the right side of the head and not on the by-convention left such as is shown on Square_Peg's Plumb. I have noticed that hardened poll axes often feature this but it isn't consistent. Factory workers wouldn't have done such a thing unless there was a specific reason.
Anybody have any knowledge about this!

Kinda puzzles me too, 300. Maybe someone can shed some light on this..

Just a theory at this point, but perhaps the Philadelphia Plumbs were stamped on the left side, and the St. Louis Plumbs were stamped on the right side (or vice versa)?

Plumb's St. Louis factory was reportedly shut down in 1959:

Cooper Industries, 1833-1983 - Page 288
https://books.google.com/books?id=Q-QzAAAAMAAJ
David Neal Keller - 1983 - ‎Snippet view
...decrease in the total demand for axes prompted Plumb to close its St. Louis manufacturing in 1959, expanding similar facilities at Philadelphia to ... During the strike, Plumb Tool was sold to McDonough Company of Parkersburg, West Virginia.

 

[rjdankert]

The comment about 'exploding horizontal grain hafts' only relates to . . .

Actually it only relates to something quinton said a while back in another post. I blame his sense of humor for corrupting me and I just couldn't help myself.

Damn quinton

Bob

______________________________________

more bad humor:

For out on the edge of darkness
There rides the grain train
Grain train take this country
Come take me home again

+++volume and click ------> here
have a good day :thumbup:

 

[quinton]

Actually it only relates to something quinton said a while back in another post. I blame his sense of humor for corrupting me and I just couldn't help myself.

Damn quinton

Bob

______________________________________

more bad humor:

For out on the edge of darkness
There rides the grain train
Grain train take this country
Come take me home again

+++volume and click ------> here
have a good day :thumbup:

Some would say I'm salty..

 

[quinton]

Darn dirty shop, made me hang another axe today! Maybe I can get my wife to clean it..

Any who,
I hung what I consider the best axe ever made. This is the pattern and maker I grew up using day in, day out for many years. Here in these hills growing up, if there was a wood pile, chances were there was a Kelly double bit near..every logger and farmer had one too. They were a part of life in this end of the state. I grab every one I can find in good condition, with full bits. I hang them, and put them away in case I may ever need them.

I found this particular axe in a pawnshop for $10 because the stamp was full of dirt, and the owner thought it was a no name head.

Just got the head started on the new haft.

Yep, they have ridges!

Can't have a perfect oval haft, without first having a perfect octagonal haft. Sorry that the facets didn't show up. But trust me, they are there from one end to the other..

Working on the grip.

Fitting the cherry wedge to the eye.

She is now hung on 35" haft.

Finished, and ready to be put to work at some point.

 

[quinton]

Try running a file across the poll, maybe you're in for a surprise.

The comment about 'exploding horizontal grain hafts' only relates to severe runout (in the vertical and horizontal plane) curved handles as I'm sure you're well aware. Be interesting though if you could scope out a stave with an inherent curve to it that would allow you to craft a zero runout horizontal grain curved haft. Splitting staves instead of sawing billets for sure is how you'd discover one.

It's not hardened. It has some tiny dings on the poll.

I've learned a thing or two after "that thread". I now value air dried hickory more than ever. It won't explode, ever and I've never seen it break into two pieces.

Many years back, I made a logging friend a cant hook handle from air dried hickory. He kept it on his flatbed truck stuck in a standard hole. He was driving off of a mountain on a logging road one day and the cant hook handle got fowled up under his rear wheel and lifted the back of the truck off the road and dang near turned it over the road cut! The hickory didn't snap, only " feathered" about half way through its diameter. He said he like to never got out of that perdickerment..

 

[Agent_H]

That is just plain cool. That “profound” take on the straight handle is awesome.

I’ve looked at Square_peg's picture quite a bit and think that is one wicked edge/profile. Solid profile standard.

Those are nice axes. Excellent hang.

The Plumb Jersey's are svelte critters. I have used mine several times and touched up the edge since then but the steel seems to hold an edge and want to keep it. Octagonalized handle but I just tuned it up and didn’t carve it from raw wood as you did.

There must be something cryptic, that we are unaware of, regarding stamp placement on Plumbs. Quinton's Rockaway is stamped on the right side of the head and not on the by-convention left such as is shown on Square_Peg's Plumb. I have noticed that hardened poll axes often feature this but it isn't consistent. Factory workers wouldn't have done such a thing unless there was a specific reason.
Anybody have any knowledge about this!

I’m curious about this too 300six.

Maybe it is something as simple as not wanting to have a mark on the same side as a flashy label? Jetwing for example? Steve Tall’s theory of two separate plants marking opposite sides is interesting as well.

Finished, and ready to be put to work at some point.

Salt burns at like 800 degrees? You’re on fire. :thumbup:

 

[quinton]

Salt burns at like 800 degrees? You’re on fire. :thumbup:

With all of the scrap hickory feeding the stove in this shop, I must have it near that temperature in hear now! But, this marathon hanging ain't let up yet!

 

[quinton]

Here's another. Couldn't bear burning hatchet handle sized scrap, so I hung this little fellar.

 

[Old Axeman]

quinton- I have hanging, sharpening, haft oiling, and leather sheath oiling jags that baffel my wife no end. It's a madness, and I have had this madness for a long time now.

 

[quinton]

quinton- I have hanging, sharpening, haft oiling, and leather sheath oiling jags that baffel my wife no end. It's a madness, and I have had this madness for a long time now.

Bernie,
we all have some of the axe madness, to some extent. But you take the cake, because you wrote the book on it!

 

[jprime84]

Hey guys - poking my head in from the traditional knives where I usually post.

I am finally getting around to try my first rehang on an old double bit ax that belonged to my wife's late grandfather. The handle had a split in it, and I the last time I used it (I don't often) it felt pretty loose. I took some time to clean it up, removing most of the patina, but mostly because of the pitting rust that was in place that I wanted to get out and clean, as well as some splotches of remaining presumed original red paint. It does not have any markings left on it to indicate who made it, but its a 3 and 3/4 lb piece.

I have done my research, and I think I know what to do to hang it. Do you guys do a bevel on the edge like a knife? Most of the photos I see look like its mostly a full flat ground, maybe slightly convex.

If I had to guess, this would have been purchased in the NC mountains some time between the 1940s and the 1980s, and all I can tell you is its 3 and 3/4 lb and had a bit of red paint left on it. Can anyone ID it? Anything I am missing before going to rehang?





Thanks guys

 

[Agent_H]

That will make a handsome axe.

You could sharpen it as you do a knife, if that is your inclination. Give you a good sense of hardness. Hone it as is/just put an edge on it might be fine.
Depending on your needs from it, of course.

Or, maybe different takes on either bit. It was used more on one side on purpose. It looks clean and not too worn one way or another - it does look cared for, even, or well-used then set somewhere for you find and make sharp and solid again.

Work your handle, hang it without final wedging and tape the edges when you are happy with them. Seat it and wedge. Maybe chop something.

 

[Steve Tall]

...It does not have any markings...If I had to guess, this would have been purchased in the NC mountains some time between the 1940s and the 1980s, and all I can tell you is its 3 and 3/4 lb and had a bit of red paint left on it. Can anyone ID it?...

The ridges in the eye mean it was likely made by Kelly, since they had the patent. As explained in the thread quoted below, I think it's likely that unstamped axes with ridges in the eye were originally labelled as Woodslasher or Flint Edge, and made during the period between 1960 and the early 1980s. Kelly Woodslashers made during this period typically had red paint, while Kelly Flint Edges typically had a black finish.

True Temper's patent for the eye ridges was Patent Number 3090653, filed 7/2/59 and granted 5/21/63.... The information previously posted shows that the True Temper ridges were advertised from 1960 until 1982 (around the time that the Kelly axe factory was shut down). True Temper used the patented ridges on the Kelly Perfect, Woodslasher, and Flint Edge axes. During this period, the Kelly Perfects were evidently stamped and the Woodslasher and Flint Edges had no stamps (just label stickers). So I think it's likely that unstamped axes with ridges in the eye were originally labelled as Woodslasher or Flint Edge, and made during the period between 1960 and the early 1980s.

The axes with ridges and stamps from other makers, such as Collins or Vaughan, are still a mystery. These known exceptions so far are all stamped, unlike the Woodslasher and Flint Edges from True Temper. Perhaps Barco made some axes with ridges for Vaughan/Collins/Mann after Barco acquired Kelly Axe in 1987?

(Edited to add: YesteryearsTools says that "Some other brands previously used by other companies [in addition to Kelly] have reportedly been made by Barco but that has not been corroborated nor is the extent of the brand use been determined." )
http://www.yesteryearstools.com/Yesteryears%20Tools/Barco%20Industries.html

I would assume that the ridged eyes weren't manufactured before 1960, since the ad said the feature was new that year, and the patent was ultimately granted to Kelly (which generally wouldn't happen if other companies had been already making them)....

 

[tobiism]

My latest. Its a Wetterlings Hudson Bay 24" handle on 26oz Plumb rafter. Oh man it feels so nice. And that head! So pristine for it's age!!!





I'll be sure to get better pictures in natural light tomorrow.

 

[Hickory n steel]

My latest. Its a Wetterlings Hudson Bay 24" handle on 26oz Plumb rafter. Oh man it feels so nice. And that head! So pristine for it's age!!!





I'll be sure to get better pictures in natural light tomorrow.

Man ! I'll bet that thing has a nice ring to it if you tap on it with an Allen wrench ( I say Allen wrench because they're common and hard enough to give a good ring )

 

[jprime84]

That will make a handsome axe.

You could sharpen it as you do a knife, if that is your inclination. Give you a good sense of hardness. Hone it as is/just put an edge on it might be fine.
Depending on your needs from it, of course.

Or, maybe different takes on either bit. It was used more on one side on purpose. It looks clean and not too worn one way or another - it does look cared for, even, or well-used then set somewhere for you find and make sharp and solid again.

Work your handle, hang it without final wedging and tape the edges when you are happy with them. Seat it and wedge. Maybe chop something.

Yeah I think it sat for many years in the last part of her grandfather's life. I have no doubt he cared for it when it was his user. What do you mean by "tape the edges"? I bought a USA made hickory handle, 36" long, by Link Tools international. It came with a wooden wedge, but not steel wedges. Do I need those?

I will certainly find something to chop!

The ridges in the eye mean it was likely made by Kelly, since they had the patent. As explained in the thread quoted below, I think it's likely that unstamped axes with ridges in the eye were originally labelled as Woodslasher or Flint Edge, and made during the period between 1960 and the early 1980s. Kelly Woodslashers made during this period typically had red paint, while Kelly Flint Edges typically had a black finish.

Sounds pretty likely to be a double bit woodslasher then. Thank you for the insight!

 

[cityofthesouth]

[/URL]

Damn, that's good.