What kind of axe is this?

C

Chainbreaker

Joined
Dec 9, 2017
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Someone sent me these photos, we are trying to figure out the small end of this axe.

axe%20a%20sm.jpg


axe%20b.jpg
 
I'm not familiar with that one. The small end looks like it could be used as a plug cutter. Swung forcefully at thin rounds each blow would produce a plug that would then be driven out with a punch inserted through the side slot.
 
Square_peg said:
I'm not familiar with that one. The small end looks like it could be used as a plug cutter. Swung forcefully at thin rounds each blow would produce a plug that would then be driven out with a punch inserted through the side slot.
Click to expand...
Agree
 
If it were a hole punch then accuracy would demand it have a striking surface. It would be placed and struck. A tool like a plug cutter wouldn't make such a demand.

Sure is a peculiar tool. Must have been for some specific trade. I can't figure why they would combine a hatchet with such a tool.

Whatever material is being punched is also being chopped?
 
It's a slaughter axe. Think of it as a swung version of a bolt gun. The bolt penetrates the skull, destroying the brain. The slot is for "pithing", which was a failsafe to ensure total destruction of the brain. A metal rod was inserted in the slot and stirred to turn whatever remained of the brain to pulp.
 
Here's a so-called "pig hammer", which features the same kind of cranial punch. They also existed as just the punch itself, without either a hammer face or axe bit.

14614818650_be3a8c3521_b.jpg


Those axes don't turn up often.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
It's a slaughter axe. Think of it as a swung version of a bolt gun. The bolt penetrates the skull, destroying the brain. The slot is for "pithing", which was a failsafe to ensure total destruction of the brain. A metal rod was inserted in the slot and stirred to turn whatever remained of the brain to pulp.
Click to expand...
Looking closely at the tool, and especially the design of the business end built for clean penetration through hide, and bone, I'll totally buy it's a slaughter axe. I'll also say given the smaller size it was used for hog slaughter. But..

Having killed many a hog in my time, I don't see anyone being able to insert a rod into the slot after the killing blow. After a hog is stunned by whatever means, there's a meer amount of time to insert a rod into that tiny hole, before all sorts of thrashing commences. I say that pithing hole is for self, or occasional manual cleaning.
 
quinton said:
Looking closely at the tool, and especially the design of the business end built for clean penetration through hide, and bone, I'll totally buy it's a slaughter axe. I'll also say given the smaller size it was used for hog slaughter. But..

Having killed many a hog in my time, I don't see anyone being able to insert a rod into the slot after the killing blow. After a hog is stunned by whatever means, there's a meer amount of time to insert a rod into that tiny hole, before all sorts of thrashing commences. I say that pithing hole is for self, or occasional manual cleaning.
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Yeah--my mistake. I remembered incorrectly. Pithing would be done after removing the bolt, and the pithing rod was typically disposed of with the animal. Unfortunately Google Books is only turning up snippet views with the terms I'm running right now, but I've found good linkable references in the past. Apparently it took a lot of experience to get good with those, and with my experiences using a spring-powered bolt gun on meat rabbits I can believe it. It's not too difficult with a bolt gun because you can place it so precisely, and placement is really important in getting a good dispatch. Trying to swing and hit the right point must have taken some real skill, and I'm sure a lot of animals suffered from the lack of precision.
 
Damn that's gruesome. That was the most efficient way that they could come up with?
 
Yup. When done right it was the most effective method. The only real alternatives were just straight-up throat-slitting, which required a lot more restraints, or driving a dagger into the vertabrae in the correct spot, which was even more difficult to pull off reliably on a volume basis. Killing big critters fast wasn't easy back in the day.
 
Rough business.
Fwiw, you can find ’vids of this sort of work. Seems its still common in rural third world areas.
One video you might find is where the animal bolts just before strike, the axe gets banged into a guys leg.
Dispatching big critters is dangerous and gruesome if one thinks of it as such.
This axe or its modern replacement bolt pistol is supposed to punch into the brain & damage just the part what controls voluntary motor function. This whats called ”stunning” the animal, but the heart still pumps & maybe breathes. This makes bleeding out more complete during the rest of slaughter process.
 
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FortyTwoBlades said:
It's a slaughter axe. Think of it as a swung version of a bolt gun. The bolt penetrates the skull, destroying the brain. The slot is for "pithing", which was a failsafe to ensure total destruction of the brain. A metal rod was inserted in the slot and stirred to turn whatever remained of the brain to pulp.
Click to expand...

Wow, thanks! Did not expect to get an answer for this tool but you nailed it. I was thinking it was a leather cutter but did not like that theory, glad to see that we got a solid answer for it. Thanks to everyone else for their input.
 
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