All About Pocket Knives

Nice save on that boys ax, Joe.

Realizing the importance of have a double bit ax head laying around the house I bought this 3 lb. Cayuga a while back.
I can't find much information on it. I think it says Barker Rose & Kimbal, Elmira, NY.
Does anyone know anything about this brand?

Thanks for looking.

I just did a search for Cayuga and didn't get much either. Everybody that had one said "rare" ax. But one sold last week on ebay that looks just like yours, with a chipped edge, for $20. I found a number of different patterns and hatchets that were all embossed. Very nice looking axes. I like yours. A friend hung my Plumb cruiser on a thinned octagonal haft and it looks really nice, and the grip is great, Joe.

I have a single bit CAYUGA sitting next to me. They [Cayugas] are popular with axe collectors.

There is plenty of internet info on them. I apologize for not adding any more.

Tony_Wood wrote:I did not get a pic of the ball peen before this was started. Only thought of a pic at this stage, probably the fourth or fifth heat.

267E2246-C041-425D-A55F-B3A9E0F8AD73.jpeg

This is a 2# hammer and worked my shoulder/arm pretty well.

C115C55B-E49A-4AC8-9F35-31C23ECEAA39.jpeg

Final hammer work before grinding.

0BFEDADA-72E3-463A-B552-D7FF6567E4DA.jpeg

Ground and hafted.
This is my first one of these.
Needs some improvements, but is pleasing for a first go round.

29E67C90-213E-433C-A0D8-DB3A3473BF19.jpeg

57500E77-149E-480C-B6ED-4D335C55534E.jpeg

Sweet pics of a great mod. Love this kind of stuff. While not quite with you on the difficulty level, this Cold Steel Tomahawk came gloss black painted head and white Hickory handle. Had to do something about that. Looks a little better now.

Ivoryman wrote:

Tony_Wood wrote:I did not get a pic of the ball peen before this was started. Only thought of a pic at this stage, probably the fourth or fifth heat.

267E2246-C041-425D-A55F-B3A9E0F8AD73.jpeg

This is a 2# hammer and worked my shoulder/arm pretty well.

C115C55B-E49A-4AC8-9F35-31C23ECEAA39.jpeg

Final hammer work before grinding.

0BFEDADA-72E3-463A-B552-D7FF6567E4DA.jpeg

Ground and hafted.
This is my first one of these.
Needs some improvements, but is pleasing for a first go round.

29E67C90-213E-433C-A0D8-DB3A3473BF19.jpeg

57500E77-149E-480C-B6ED-4D335C55534E.jpeg

Sweet pics of a great mod. Love this kind of stuff. While not quite with you on the difficulty level, this Cold Steel Tomahawk came gloss black painted head and white Hickory handle. Had to do something about that. Looks a little better now.

doglegg wrote:

Tony_Wood wrote:I did not get a pic of the ball peen before this was started. Only thought of a pic at this stage, probably the fourth or fifth heat.

267E2246-C041-425D-A55F-B3A9E0F8AD73.jpeg

This is a 2# hammer and worked my shoulder/arm pretty well.

C115C55B-E49A-4AC8-9F35-31C23ECEAA39.jpeg

Final hammer work before grinding.

0BFEDADA-72E3-463A-B552-D7FF6567E4DA.jpeg

Ground and hafted.
This is my first one of these.
Needs some improvements, but is pleasing for a first go round.

29E67C90-213E-433C-A0D8-DB3A3473BF19.jpeg

57500E77-149E-480C-B6ED-4D335C55534E.jpeg

I would have been hard pressed to believe the before and after pictures if you hadn't included the middle ones. You must have Popeye arms. That turned out great. Impressed.

Wow. Sorry I have not been back here after I posted those pics. Thanks for the comments.
No, my arms are long and lanky. This forge project was a workout. I don’t have a power hammer of any kind.

Dinadan wrote:Tony - Very interesting photos of the ball peen hammer to hatchet transformation. I would never have thought of that as a possibility. That anvil you are using looks as if it has a bit of history behind it, too.

The anvil is a Peter Wright #96. It has seen some use, but does fine for my abilities.

Ivoryman wrote:

Tony_Wood wrote:I did not get a pic of the ball peen before this was started. Only thought of a pic at this stage, probably the fourth or fifth heat.

267E2246-C041-425D-A55F-B3A9E0F8AD73.jpeg

This is a 2# hammer and worked my shoulder/arm pretty well.

C115C55B-E49A-4AC8-9F35-31C23ECEAA39.jpeg

Final hammer work before grinding.

0BFEDADA-72E3-463A-B552-D7FF6567E4DA.jpeg

Ground and hafted.
This is my first one of these.
Needs some improvements, but is pleasing for a first go round.

29E67C90-213E-433C-A0D8-DB3A3473BF19.jpeg

57500E77-149E-480C-B6ED-4D335C55534E.jpeg

Sweet pics of a great mod. Love this kind of stuff. While not quite with you on the difficulty level, this Cold Steel Tomahawk came gloss black painted head and white Hickory handle. Had to do something about that. Looks a little better now.

That mod is fantastic. Cold steel puts out some good products. The personalization is great work.

rarefish383 wrote:I'm going to have to show this to a friend. He wants to get into forging and that will push him right over the edge. That is nice, Joe.

Thanks Joe. Post some pics of your friend gets going on one of these.

1967redrider wrote:Great looking ax and I bet you need some truck driving arms to get that ball peen hammer metal moving.

Thank you sir. My arms are long and lanky. It was a lot of hammer work over a couple of forging sessions.

a couple of finds. Bought this marked as a pick ax. Found out it is a battle ax made in India. For re-enactments. That's okay as I may use it for rock hounding. An vintage unmarked ADZE with a leather cover. Or so the man said as the handle is kinda long and not much curvature. I did see a few marks but they may be like proof marks.

Like the battle axe mrwatch. Cool piece that looks lethal. Thanks for showing. Don't see stuff like that much.

Plumb ball peen marked 32 oz. I told the mall lady I can always use another persuader. $3 Unmarked like a blacksmiths hammer. One on line said rivet hammer? Has a letter stamped on each side so may be his initials? Lady said it was her grandfathers and worked for Ford Motor Co.

mrwatch wrote:Plumb ball peen marked 32 oz. I told the mall lady I can always use another persuader. $3 Unmarked like a blacksmiths hammer. One on line said rivet hammer? Has a letter stamped on each side so may be his initials? Lady said it was her grandfathers and worked for Ford Motor Co.

Which one is the axe or hatchet?

Maybe if I sharpened the little one it may work as a hatchet. But I didn't see a thread for hammers. I see that people turn hammer heads into hatchets. If I had a torch or forge at 32 oz. it may do-able?

Tony Wood could turn that ball peen into a hatchet and make it look good to boot.

I do not know metallurgy, is their a lot of difference between hammers and axes? The dealer I got the ADZE from had a couple of axes with really nice names on the heads. Under $150. He had a hatchet with a very nice beryllium head. I think for non sparking in a fire danger area. One nice little salesman's sample tool for $150, And another tool with several numbers which I cannot describe now for $125. I may look at that one if I get back to the next monthly show. One about the size of a hammer had a bit of a spike that he thought was for a sawmill worker to pull the boards too him.

mrwatch wrote:Plumb ball peen marked 32 oz. I told the mall lady I can always use another persuader. $3 Unmarked like a blacksmiths hammer. One on line said rivet hammer? Has a letter stamped on each side so may be his initials? Lady said it was her grandfathers and worked for Ford Motor Co.

I use little 2 ounce ball peen hammer heads to make hat racks. I also thought I'd find enough little Plumb ball peens to make an ax rack for just my Plumb axes, but my source dried up. I figure you can put hammers in the ax thread, I've got a couple axes that are as dull as hammers.

rarefish383 I would love to see your hat racks. Also your idea for a axes stand. Thanks.

Hawks are going in a fundraiser auction to cover the family reunion food.

Ivoryman, was/is that a working peace pipe? I like the red handle.

mrwatch wrote:rarefish383 I would love to see your hat racks. Also your idea for a axes stand. Thanks.

I don't have one right now, I need 3 more ball peens. The ax rack would look just like a hat rack with 2 ball peens set just far enough apart for an ax to hang in, then a big space and 2 more. Just imagine a flat board with turned dowel rods to hang the hats on, then stick the hammer heads on the dowels.

A couple restorations I did this past week.

Like them, makes me want to look for my gloves and a tree.

Anyone in need of a vintage collection of Keen Kutter axes and hatchets please contact me. I have access to a huge collection of these as you can see from the photo below. I don’t own this collection, but am considering purchasing all of it for resale. What do you think? Should I take the plung and buy it all? My biggest problem is storage. THis is a massive collection. Any help on how well these things sell , would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Mark

How are the hammers and the hatchets suspended from the nails?
I don't know, really, but that may reduce value of a tool right there.

looks like eyescrews in the butt of the handles. shouldn't affect value much unless the handles are original