Military Hatchet

[pandapike]

Has anyone ever run across one of these. I have been blacksmithing(for a living) for a while. I know it’s 100% hand forged. It’s stamped similarly to other tools I have made for the military around the civil war. The S.S may refer to a naval steam ship but haven’t been able to verify that. I had one guy say it could be made for reenactment but honestly that guy was just guessing and seem to have little historical evidence to back it up. Anyway before I sell it I would like to get some more information.(obviously the handle isn’t authentic)


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[Private Lugnutz]

It’s stamped similarly to other tools I have made for the military around the civil war.

Either you're 156 years old, or there's a typo in here somewhere!

Seriously, now, here are a few comments and you can draw your own conclusions....

The Army's standard hand axe, the M-1910, changed very little between 1910 and 1945. It was basically a Dayton or Forest pattern. What you have there looks something like a Shepherd's or Hudson's Bay pattern. Not saying it's not military, but it's definitely not the hand axe that was issued to almost every brand I can think of, from Infantry to Medical Corps.

There are some nuances to what I am about to say in different branches of militaria (e.g., Ordnance vs Quartermaster vs Corps of Engineers), but generally speaking, serif fonts are associated with WWI, and sans-serif fonts are associated with Interwar and WWII, and that is definitely true of hand axes. WWI hand axes will have a large "U.S." stamp, but it always has serifs. WWII hand axes will also have a large "U.S." stamp, but it will be sans-serif. Your hand axe is sans-serif. However, again, generally speaking, WWII hand axes usually have an OEM marking and a date. Yours has a secondary marking, and that marking oddly has serifs.

In summary, in pattern and markings, it really doesn't follow the general guide.

I don't know anything about Civil War hand axes. The pattern sure looks older. But would it have a large sans-serif "U.S."? Maybe your friend was right.

 

[pandapike]

Either you're 156 years old, or there's a typo in here somewhere!

Seriously, now, here are a few comments and you can draw your own conclusions....

The Army's standard hand axe, the M-1910, changed very little between 1910 and 1945. It was basically a Dayton or Forest pattern. What you have there looks something like a Shepherd's or Hudson's Bay pattern. Not saying it's not military, but it's definitely not the hand axe that was issued to almost every brand I can think of, from Infantry to Medical Corps.

There are some nuances to what I am about to say in different branches of militaria (e.g., Ordnance vs Quartermaster vs Corps of Engineers), but generally speaking, serif fonts are associated with WWI, and sans-serif fonts are associated with Interwar and WWII, and that is definitely true of hand axes. WWI hand axes will have a large "U.S." stamp, but it always has serifs. WWII hand axes will also have a large "U.S." stamp, but it will be sans-serif. Your hand axe is sans-serif. However, again, generally speaking, WWII hand axes usually have an OEM marking and a date. Yours has a secondary marking, and that marking oddly has serifs.

In summary, in pattern and markings, it really doesn't follow the general guide.

I don't know anything about Civil War hand axes. The pattern sure looks older. But would it have a large sans-serif "U.S."? Maybe your friend was right.

Again that the point it’s clearly not a mass produced item. I have been collecting axes and hatchet for a while. I have had enough tools also from this era to say that it was common for camp blacksmiths to make or repair tools as needed. I am not saying your wrong but seems like your guessing which is fine. The larger U.S stamps were common for military equipment during 1850-1890’s. I asked the question because I can’t confirm if it’s authentic. I appreciate your knowledge but unfortunately doesn’t seem like you know either.


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[Private Lugnutz]

Guessing about what? Wrong about what? I didn't offer any conclusions. I shared what I know about the evolution of hand axe stamps from WWI (serif) to WWII (sans serif), and explicitly stated that I didn't know anything about the Civil War. As for larger "U.S." stamps being common during the Civil War, I didn't say they weren't. It seems strange to me that stamps would go from sans-serif to serif and back to EDIT: sans-serif again, and a quick look at bayonets and other field gear from the Civil War on several well known Civil War collectors' sites shows that the "U.S." stamp was indeed with serifs, as one would expect. Whereas yours is clearly sans-serif. But again, it's not my area of expertise. Who knows? Perhaps hand axes were an exception. Again, you can draw your own conclusions. I would register on one of the Civil War militaria forums and ask.

 

[pandapike]

Again man I wasn’t trying to disparaging your knowledge. I have had several people try to compare World War I and world 2 military axes with this one that’s is clearly made by a blacksmith to the ones that are mass-produce obviously aren’t going to conform to it so I was hoping for someone to actually provide information that either approves or disapproves the theory that’s all again I do appreciate your information


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[4xdog]

The other imprint almost looks like a British broad-arrow.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Again man I wasn’t trying to disparaging your knowledge. I have had several people try to compare World War I and world 2 military axes with this one that’s is clearly made by a blacksmith to the ones that are mass-produce obviously aren’t going to conform to it so I was hoping for someone to actually provide information that either approves or disapproves the theory that’s all again I do appreciate your information

No problem. Just wanted to make sure you didn't think I was trying to say it was conclusively not Civil War, and not military. I think understanding that sans-serif "US" marking (or the flip side marking, as 4xdog alluded to!) could be key. Good luck.

 

[bigredcornhead]

Cool and fascinating discussion all the same guys!

 

[4xdog]

British Ordnance Survey benchmark from Wikipedia article on the broad arrow device:

"Topped with a horizontal line, it was widely used on Ordnance Survey benchmarks."

 

[pandapike]

Thanks man this has now got me looking into historical connections to the US during the colonial years lmao.

British Ordnance Survey benchmark from Wikipedia article on the broad arrow device:

"Topped with a horizontal line, it was widely used on Ordnance Survey benchmarks."

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