Why did American axes end up with state-specific patterns?

Hickory n steel said:
Maybe, I just assumed it was another felling pattern.
I never thought of a double bit having a specialized purpose.
2 bits have benefits for general trail work and felling, but I wonder if those benefits still exist if just uses for 1 specific purpose.
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Perhaps the rounded toes and heels help prevent damage when working close to the ground? The swamping, peeling and reversible tend to be rounded off and or with more curved bits.
 
garry3 said:
Wasn't the peeling pattern used to chamfer the ends of logs to aid in skidding?

And down the rabbit hole we go....
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I thought the swamper was used to bevel the log butts for skidding, but I could be wrong.
 
A17 said:
I thought the swamper was used to bevel the log butts for skidding, but I could be wrong.
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I think it got its name by clearing around the trees to be felled.

Probably safe to assume some of these patterns did more than one job? Who knows though most of those guys are gone. Bernie is the only guy I know of that actually used an axe professionally and this kind of work predates him but maybe he has more information.

swamp
verb
swamped; swamping; swamps
Definition of swamp (Entry 2 of 2)
transitive verb
1a: to fill with or as if with water : INUNDATE, SUBMERGE
b: to overwhelm numerically or by an excess of something : FLOODswamped with work
2: to open by removing underbrush and debris
 
RE: "I've gotten heavily into American axes and can't find ANYTHING about their design."

I you have not yet read this, you owe it to yourself to download and read from here (somewhat a compendium of info on American Axes).
May not be absolute specific info you might want like a specific state pattern, but I bet you will learn a thing or three ... ;-)

An Ax to Grind: A Practical Ax Manual
United States Department of Agriculture - Forest Service - Technology & Development Program
 
garry3 said:
For instance my preference for Vaughan rigging axes over other brands. Unless you used the tool day in and day out you probably wouldn't notice that the poll is bigger and set closer to the eye in Vaughans. Such small details make a difference.

We stand no chance of really understanding some of these patterns, we can't.
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Oh Boy ..., truth spoken there. Looking back over the decades, nothing came close to doing the work of pounding boxes of sinkers or moving walls when string-lining like my Vaughan (28oz head weights 2#2oz with handle today). The good days before they made that tool illegal along with our de-guarded worm-drives allowing us to run a 7-1/2" blade in a light-weight 6-1/2" saw.

"Such small details make a difference" Boy Howdy does that apply when it comes to hand tools (axes in the case of this thread equally apply !##! BUT, only when "used the tool day in day out")
 
garry3 said:
Perhaps the rounded toes and heels help prevent damage when working close to the ground? The swamping, peeling and reversible tend to be rounded off and or with more curved bits.
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I think this is right. I think they were used as swampers. May also have been used for removing bark before bucking with a crosscut saw.
 
Spey said:
The good days before they made that tool illegal along with our de-guarded worm-drives
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Every skilsaw accident I ever saw involved a de-activated guard. Twice I saw guys with shimmed guards making cuts far over their heads where they could only reach with one arm. Hard to hold that saw up there long with one hand. Both guys fiished the cut and promptly brought the saw down right into their thighs. Lots of meat and blood in a hurry.
 
Square_peg said:
Every skilsaw accident I ever saw involved a de-activated guard. Twice I saw guys with shimmed guards making cuts ...
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In no way was I promoting deactivating or shimming guards from proper functionality.

Our saws had guard deletes (fully removed). So "safe" like a chainsaw ;-) and/or early chain-mod worm-drive beam saws of the day.
Vs. when folks are used to having a guard and they shim with nail/wedge/pencil (as you mentioned), creates potential conditioned reaction like setting saw down with blade still spinning (and they get run-away) or cutting in unsafe manner (like overhead). Cutting "overhead" simply was not done in new construction. Rafter tails, etc. were ALWAYS cut from above where gravity was your assistant, and any kickback easily controlled.

Interestingly, only time I ever cut myself was on initial crew with a worm-drive that still HAD guard installed. I was very green and cutting in unsafe manner, and almost lost a thumb with my first worm-drive.

Please accept my apologies for even mentioning something that might be unsafe for others ;-) My mistake. Hmmm ..., then again the mentioned Vaughan Rigging Axes must have created unsafe jobsite condition as they were made illegal for use on a framing site ... So, my apologies on that too.

Regards,
 
Quite alright.

Like you I always trimmed rafter tails from above. I built a lot of stick framed roofs but also many with trusses. I always let the hips and valleys run wild and trimmed them after the roof framing was complete, including the chicken wings. This is why I always kept an old sidewinder on the jobsite (Black & Decker Sawcat). The sidewinder table tilts opposite of the worm drive and is able to make the second hip cut from above.
 
Square_peg said:
Quite alright.

The sidewinder table tilts opposite of the worm drive and is able to make the second hip cut from above.
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That's funny ..., my saw tables do not tilt..., the saw body/motor does. Guess that is just a matter of perspective :-/ To me, the table is the base-line that the blade/cut is measured from.

Never had a side-winder on a framing jobsite, that I can remember, because they would not cut straight without a guide rail. Kinda like holding a gyroscope in your hand the way they want to rotate.

Hips & valleys (if not cut to length on the ground) were cut with two down cuts both right-handed standing on the upper top-plates. First plumb-cut w/table at 45° and second plumb-cut with table at 90° from same standing position. Second cut was the trickier reach-cut where ya really relied on gravity as a helper (where the lighter 6-1/2" saw really shinned).

I think I have only ever owned one side-winder ..., a small Makita for trimming wood shingle & shake valleys. Its table tilts same as all my worm-drives, motor tilts counter-clockwise from zero. I had to pull it out just now to make sure I remember correctly. Not familiar with a side-winder that the body tilts clockwise from zero, but the again I am NOT a side-winder guy. I just searched, and see Skill side-winder is as you describe. OMG, it must be hard to watch the blade in a cut unless cutting left-handed ...? Guess my little Makita 4200n is odd man out. Perhaps why it has stayed with me for so many years, left-hand-side blade sighting as I cut right-handed just like my worm-drives.
 
The Black & Decker Sawcat was a powerful sidewinder saw and they are still very sought after. They pull good money on ebay.
 
Now this guy was a brute! Big heavy thing! But damn it cut nice. Flip that 8x8 timber over and cut the 2nd side. The cut would line up flatter than a dime.

Note the big wingnuts for the table adjustments. They hadn't come up with levers yet. You needed a dedicated 20amp circuit and a 12 gauge cord to run this thing.

Beam%20saw.jpg

Skilsaw%201.jpg
 
formicide said:
I've gotten heavily into American axes and can't find ANYTHING about their design.

I wrote to the Yesteryears tools guy, then discovered he's been dead for 8 years.

Anyone have actual historical info on why, let's say, the small coastal states on the Atlantic are so close together, yet all have specific patterns?

Which patterns are older, and which newer? I've seen 18 century American axes, and they have lugs. We can assume Carolina patterns, Kentucky, Rockaway, are possibly older designs than the rest of the standardized patterns.

I'm after specific information and sources, not "that's the timber they were cutting" - tree species overlap across the East of the US. Even though there's generally more hardwoods the further south you go, and southern hardwood patterns tend to be broader, you can find pine, oak, hickory, all across ... Michigan for example had hardwoods in the south and pine in the North. The Michigan pattern I read had rounded corners due to the fact that in the North of Michigan they were cutting large white pine, which would be frozen in the winter.

Any information like this and sources on the origin of various US axe patterns would be most welcome. And good logic would be just as welcome.
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There is actually a great, interwinding story that will be written here soon on this and many other matters when it comes to American Axe history.
 
operator197501 said:
There is actually a great, interwinding story that will be written here soon on this and many other matters when it comes to American Axe history.
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Link into this thread would be appreciated (for those following :)

As good as 'An Axe To Grind' is (USDA Forest Service Manual), it leaves me wanting (more historic info like referenced by OP). A Compendium On The American Axe would be well received by many.
 
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I can imagine workers having a few of the same axe and then word spreads “this is the axe those guys use” and before you know it the majority of workers in that state have that axe pattern. Not like these days with social media everything spreads so fast and you have a million options
 
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