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A Sunday Axe

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buffcreekforge

40 Cal.
Joined
Oct 29, 2008
Messages
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The temperature got above freezing Sunday afternoon, so I cleaned up an old dug axe head I got in a trade last fall and made and hung a straight hickory handle on it. The head weighs right at 2 pounds. I made a 26" hickory handle in a straight pattern, stained the handle with Fiebings dark brown leather dye, and rubbed a couple coats of boiled linseed oil into the handle. Monday evening, I aged the whole thing with flat black spray paint and put a couple of coats of carnuba wax on it. The size is perfect for trekking, pack in encampments, or just general light camp work. Just wanted to share how I spent a nice winter Sunday afternoon (and a little time on Monday).
Before

After



I remain your humble servant,

Just Dave
 
Is that a maker's mark indented on the left side of the blade? Do you have any more information on the axe head? Very interesting piece.

Gus
 
That's the weight in grams. 98%+ chance it's German. Could be Swedish (or possibly other) in a very typical German pattern.
 
The mark on the blade is 800 stamped very deeply. There are no other maker's marks on the head. The axe came out of Missouri off a farmstead from the 1840's. I am fairly certain it is a 19th century head, but beyond that am not sure of much else. I did not believe it to have great collector value, so I thought I would give it another life. It is deeply pitted in spots as would be expected of a dug piece, but sharpened up nicely. I hope to use it soon!

I remain your humble servant,

Just Dave
 
Boy- I'd check around on the 800 stamp. It has to mean something. I found a pick axe in the Black Hills in very good shape, I believe that is around 1870- for $5.00.
 
Very broadly, I would date it 20th century. More likely the middle third of the 20th century. This is still the standard German axe design and still the common method of marking standardized head weights. ;)
 
That is good to know. I like the traditional look of the head. It will make me a good trekking axe. Thanks for the information!

I remain your humble servant,

Just Dave
 
I have some German axes of this basic style, a couple are hand forged (hand forged axe heads were actually commercially produced well into the 20th century...in fact, they still are). One I have is probably closer to 1900 (I'm guessing) that has the little dots and squiggly lines that the Germans liked to put on axe heads going back to at least the 17th century. I have one in particular that I want to use as my own trekking axe (not a hand forged one, but just the right size and shape)!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
horner75 said:
Crockett, Just wondering. What makes you think it is from 1870?

:hmm:

Good question. Really, with so many people, like many here, making repros of old items it may be impossible to prove something is really old. e.g. An H&B hawk buried for a couple years might easily pass off as an 'original'. BTW, he is luck that dig up has plenty of iron and steel left in it and was not 100% rust. Sometimes derusting antiques can leave you with a bucket of gunk and the item is gone.
 
Actually- I was a bit off on that as Beall Bros. didn't open until 1872. I think they shut down 1917.
 
Nice job
I Have one just like yours, its marked German Democratic republic so that style was still being made during the Russian time in east Germany.
Hermit
 
This looks to be the same make of axe. Length from poll to cutting edge five and three quarter inch width of cutting edge three and half inch. I found it in an outbuilding when I moved here twenty years ago, the poll was badly knocked about so I built it up with weld and fettled it into shape and shaped a new handle out of a piece of Ash. It has a very slim profile and would appear to be made out of quite hard steel. While it does hold an edge quite well I would not rate it anywhere near the same quality as a Gransfors or Wetterlings. Oh by the way I live in England so the two Axes are separated by several thousand miles.
 
That axe is a doppelganger for mine! Nice handle! I am coming to believe my axe has European origins. Thanks for posting!

I remain your humble servant,

Just Dave
 
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