Axe head dating help needed...

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John Carter
Posts: 88
Joined: Sun May 01, 2011 12:33 pm

Axe head dating help needed...

Post by John Carter »

Can anyone help me date this axe head. There area no makers marks that I can find.

Thanks in advance for advice/ information.
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terryl308
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Re: Axe head dating help needed...

Post by terryl308 »

Looks like a blacksmith forged head probably made in the late 1800's, just a guess however ::shrug:: Terry
If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
Treejakal
Posts: 146
Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2016 4:37 pm

Re: Axe head dating help needed...

Post by Treejakal »

This one has some of the design elements
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Dinadan
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Re: Axe head dating help needed...

Post by Dinadan »

I do not have any knowledge about that axe, but I do have an opinion. I would guess that it was left in a fire, or in a burning building, at some point and lost its temper there. In my experience, an axe will break before bending like that one unless it is heated and not tempered.
Mel
Woodly
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Re: Axe head dating help needed...

Post by Woodly »

Its a 'Kentucky' style head and I don't think it was burned. I could be wrong.
If you re-handle it be careful, the forge fold is splitting.
rarefish383
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Joined: Fri Jun 23, 2017 10:40 pm

Re: Axe head dating help needed...

Post by rarefish383 »

I would agree it's a Kentucky or Baltimore/Kentucky. It was pretty common to work the poll and sides of the head in mild steel and then hand forge the hardened "bit" between the two pieces that make the sides of the eye. I've got a number of hatchets and small axes that were beat on and disfigured like that. I've had some beautiful name axes in 3 1/2- to 5 pounds that were used as wedges and ruined. I found this little 2 1/4 pound Plumb. On a whim I got a flap disc for my angle grinder and polished it, I ground 8 ounces out of it, then made a handle out of a piece of White Ash firewood. I didn't like it polished so I browned it. There was plenty of hardened bit left to get an arm shaving razor edge on it. Then I made a throwing ax out of it. There are a bunch of pics in the Ax and Hatchet thread, Joe.
rarefish383
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Joined: Fri Jun 23, 2017 10:40 pm

Re: Axe head dating help needed...

Post by rarefish383 »

Treejakal wrote:This one has some of the design elements
That looks like a hewing ax for squaring logs. I was told that one reason they had the triangle bib facing up and down, was that hewing axes were only sharpened on one side. So, they are predominately right handed. With a bib facing up and down, the head could be flipped over on the handle, and be used left handed.
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