four.cycle
Well-known member
^ I almost spit tea out all over my keyboard... trying to envision some tool manufacturer introducing to the market a new "Already patina'ed" wrench.
Let's see your axes
- Thread starter topop101
- Start date
Jay__Dub
Well-known member
Very interesting thread. I have 2 or 3, but this axe/maul is the one I used the most. I bought it about 40 years ago I think. It was a big deal, expensive, and I was broke, but I had a lot of elm I was splitting, and it was killing me. My buddy told me about the new Splitmaster, with spring loaded levers. Anyway, it's well used, 1 lever is gone, so are the springs, but it has taken one hell of a beating, and served me very well.
Beerhippie
Well-known member
Whoo boy! Another solution looking for a problem.
The axe has been around longer than modern humans, and still someone thinks they need to make a "new, improved" version.
I've used one of those. Give me a proper splitting maul or axe any day.
The axe has been around longer than modern humans, and still someone thinks they need to make a "new, improved" version.
I've used one of those. Give me a proper splitting maul or axe any day.
Jay__Dub
Well-known member
Whatever floats yer boat. Worked well for me. Did the job I needed it to do, and I was glad to have it in my arsenal.
crguy
Well-known member
Sounds like the levers and springs weren't really necessary. Just a "gizmo" like the Chopper axes.
four.cycle
Well-known member
^ I've cut a lot of wood. Never used one of those "gizmos", but I've had guys tell me they're the best thing since sliced bread. Go figure.
No cutting wood for me any more though - blown out rotator cuffs!
No cutting wood for me any more though - blown out rotator cuffs!
Beerhippie
Well-known member
My statement was based on the observation that the gadget does work, it just doesn't work any better than the traditional tools.
In fact, I'll bet it works as well without the levers as it did with them.
I spent parts of two summers cutting, splitting and selling firewood myself and some buddies salvaged from slash piles. Mostly Oregon Oak (white or Gambel oak), maple, ash, alder, etc.--the timber co. wanted the Doug fir and hemlock. We were selling several cords a day--about as fast as we could split and move it. We used splitting mauls and a power splitter--if two shots with the maul didn't start the first split, we tossed it to the power splitter. One of the crew brought one of those mechanical gizmos one day and it just didn't offer any advantage and was heavier than the splitting mauls we were using. If it had worked, we'd have had several of them and not the mauls.
The mechanical maul did work better than a Wood Grenade....
four.cycle
Well-known member
^ Wood "Grenade"?
If you're talking about that pointy cone-shaped piece of iron, I threw one in the truck we hauled to the dump - that's how impressed I was with it.
If you're talking about that pointy cone-shaped piece of iron, I threw one in the truck we hauled to the dump - that's how impressed I was with it.
Beerhippie
Well-known member
Yep. Good sturgeon fishing weight, 'though.
Jay__Dub
Well-known member
Nah, me neither. Haven't hand split for about 2 years. I do have some apple chunks on the woodpile calling my name, but nah. Docs orders, or the old ticker will take me for an early dirt bath.^ I've cut a lot of wood. Never used one of those "gizmos", but I've had guys tell me they're the best thing since sliced bread. Go figure.
No cutting wood for me any more though - blown out rotator cuffs!
Outlawmws
Well-known member
Looking for some history for a hewing ax someone in my Coleman collectors group brought to a camping trip this weekend:
Obviously a hewing axe - I think the markings are H & W Bement? seems to have eagles either side - Makings first:
Haft has obviously been shortened and shaved...
Obviously a hewing axe - I think the markings are H & W Bement? seems to have eagles either side - Makings first:
Haft has obviously been shortened and shaved...
Looks like that is likely a very old axe.
The Mishawaka Axe and Windmills
Harrison Barnes Bement was born in Tunbridge, Vermont, on September 5th, 1813, the son of Samuel and Lucy Bement. Little has been found about the years of his youth, but records note that by the age of 20 he was living in Bradford, New Hampshire, about 60 miles southeast of his birthplace. In...
www.exploringaxehistory.com
They stopped advertising axes in 1878.
Outlawmws
Well-known member
Thank you for that! Google was not being helpful to me at all!
Happy to help.
Google has been getting increasingly difficult to use effectively. I switched over to DuckDuckGo several years ago and, while not perfect, have found that it does a much better job of finding what I am searching for, not what it thinks I'm searching for.
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
The story behind that hewing axe could not be more redolent of Americana history. The guy moves from Vermont to Indiana, and the enterprise he founded goes from making hewing axes to windmills. It's as if we can see the land being cleared for agriculture as we read the bio.
Outlawmws
Well-known member
For certain!
I need to go build my updated Ltop for DD go however...
Totally agree!
Provincial
Well-known member
FIFY
d42jeep
Well-known member
I found this Plumb half hatchet at a sale on Saturday. The handle was surprisingly intact although I filled the cracks with wood clue.
-Don
As found
Slightly cleaned up.
-Don
-Don
As found
Slightly cleaned up.
-Don
genog
Well-known member
I saw this Craftsman Chrome Vanadium today at the High School Flea Market while on Photo Safari
I also saw a Plomb....well, it could have been a Plumb like Don's in the post above
....I couldn't tell since I left my glasses in the truck
I also saw a Plomb....well, it could have been a Plumb like Don's in the post above
....I couldn't tell since I left my glasses in the truck
Mike'smeatshop
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2023
- Messages
- 1,273
Good eye Gino. Did you score either? If not I have a few I could ship over the mountain to ya.I saw this Craftsman Chrome Vanadium today at the High School Flea Market while on Photo Safari
I also saw a Plomb....well, it could have been a Plumb like Don's in the post above
....I couldn't tell since I left my glasses in the truck
Outlawmws
Well-known member
genog
Well-known member
Thanks for your generosity Mike
Mighty kind of you
I was just on Photo Safari today......I already have a couple so I left them for the Next Guy
Shingler's hatchet.....Roofing hatchet.....Half hatchet?
genog
Well-known member
Yes at Branham today....
I was running around looking for a couple of friends who must have either been dodging me or
else they were zigging while I was zagging
PhantomEB
Well-known member
Got one of these hanging off the inside of the truck box as well one off the bronco’s cage. Chainsaw usually in both too.
audiopizza
Active member
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2025
- Messages
- 29
Today I Cleaned up my Collins 3 1/2 &
Fulton No. 4
Put them up for sale and they sold immediately.
Bryan Burns
Well-known member
I have this 2lb 3 3/4 inch pinned Keen Kutter. Does this look factory to you or user modified? My first pinned axe ever and no nothing about them. Not a lot on the internet about pinned axes except for using a 3/16 inch roll pin which this is decidedly not.
Outlawmws
Well-known member
Almost certainly user modified. Looks a lot like a roofing nail. Does it go through?
four.cycle
Well-known member
^ that's a new one for me.
I've seen more than one or two axes.
I've seen more than one or two axes.
PlanB
Well-known member
The US Forest Service's "One Moving Part" (google find it) mentions pining axe heads but I can't recall what they suggested using....I'd guess this is a variation on the theme
four.cycle
Well-known member
^ I'm finding this one difficult to believe.
If you're in the field cutting wood, and the axe head is loose, you're going to drill through the cheeks of an axe?
With the cobalt drill bit you brought with you, right?
If you're in the field cutting wood, and the axe head is loose, you're going to drill through the cheeks of an axe?
With the cobalt drill bit you brought with you, right?
Mintgrun
Well-known member
Pickaroons often have pins through the head. They're meant for pulling on and you wouldn't want the head slipping off.
four.cycle
Well-known member
^ If you pull on an axe head, you're going to pull the head off.
PlanB
Well-known member
Pretty sure the idea is to do this in advance to prevent it from coming loose.
The last minute, in the field jobs, seem to pound a bunch of nails into the haft through the eye. From the older axes I've seen, this seems to be a "right now" fix.
four.cycle
Well-known member
^ exactly.
and it's always roofing nails.
Yes, "in advance" sounds a lot more possible than a field repair.
I had to drill the tang of a spading fork so I could pin it onto the handle of a standard contractor's shovel.
Fried no fewer than nine drill bits - the last two being cobalt.
and it's always roofing nails.
Yes, "in advance" sounds a lot more possible than a field repair.
I had to drill the tang of a spading fork so I could pin it onto the handle of a standard contractor's shovel.
Fried no fewer than nine drill bits - the last two being cobalt.
PlanB
Well-known member
I thought it was more about keeping the head from flying off than keeping it tight....not to sure
four.cycle
Well-known member
certainly the prime objective is to keep the head and handle attached.
I've cut a lot of wood. I've used a lot of axes and mauls. Some are good. Some are not-so-good.
Having spent the better part of two days drilling through the tang of a spading fork, which involved spending well over $40.00 (USD) on drill bits, I look at this perhaps a bit differently than some of you
I've spent hours and hours on the "davistownmuseum" website, trying to suss out one axe manufacturer from another. I've fried hours of time reading posts on "bladeforums.com" trying to ferret out some little detail about some little manufacurer in some unknown town.
Some of these are simply not worth the pursuit, as the consolidation of dozens of axe manufacturers into "American Axe Company" made their names irrelevant.
More to the point, many wholesale distributors (Shapleigh, Simmons), had their own house brands, some of which were competing against each other, all of them vying for a little slice of what was a really big pie just before the turn of the 20th century.
I've cut a lot of wood. I've used a lot of axes and mauls. Some are good. Some are not-so-good.
Having spent the better part of two days drilling through the tang of a spading fork, which involved spending well over $40.00 (USD) on drill bits, I look at this perhaps a bit differently than some of you
I've spent hours and hours on the "davistownmuseum" website, trying to suss out one axe manufacturer from another. I've fried hours of time reading posts on "bladeforums.com" trying to ferret out some little detail about some little manufacurer in some unknown town.
Some of these are simply not worth the pursuit, as the consolidation of dozens of axe manufacturers into "American Axe Company" made their names irrelevant.
More to the point, many wholesale distributors (Shapleigh, Simmons), had their own house brands, some of which were competing against each other, all of them vying for a little slice of what was a really big pie just before the turn of the 20th century.
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
As @PlanB alludes to here...
...it's apparently been considered 'Best Practices' by the USFS for a number of years, but, as you discovered, a much smaller safety roll pin, and more inconspicuously placed.
I have never seen one on a vintage axe and yours looks like a very crude and unfortunate attempt to keep that head permanently hung.
The only time I have seen pinned axe heads was tactical/survival type tools with multiple attachments for packing.
Competitive axe throwing leagues also require pinned heads, for obvious reasons.
I believe you are correct, especially considering that you may have a whole crew of forestry workers in the same general area working on a project. I'm sure there was an incident or two that prompted this practice.
-----
I had a head fly off a hammer while playing hammerschlagen at a bachelor party once. Of all things, the head hit a large, antique ship bell that was the focal point of the backyard landscaping. I don't remember the story behind the bell other than that it was a family heirloom and we were expressly told not to touch it. Yeah... that's how my luck usually goes. Thankfully, no mark/damage was found on the bell, and the homeowner's son who was hosting the party did not kill me once he realized it was an accident.
Mintgrun
Well-known member
Most (quality) axes are only hardened out on the cutting edge and the rest is left soft. That's why it's easy to file mushrooming off of the **** end, but you'll dull your file trying to sharpen one. Drilling in the middle shouldn't be difficult.
I had a similar experience years ago, trying to drill through the tang of a knife. Now, I'd just anneal it, since it didn't need to be so hard; whereas the tang on that fork needs to be strong to keep from bending. Weeding/spading forks have a hard job.
(carbide drills are empowering... but brittle... and expensive)
Beerhippie
Well-known member
? I've been sharpening axes and hatchets with a file for over fifty years. Excepting **** steel files, they work fine and last a long time.