Look what I found

[GILLY]

When we first took over our acreage this past summer, I was clearing overgrown brush, and at the base of one of the big spruces I have, I found this hewing axe stuck into the trunk and "grown" into it. I took it to the great grandson of the original settler for this property, he figured it was his great grandads from the 1880's.......all of the origianl buildings on my property were hand-hewn log buildings.
I hate like heck to have an antique like this because I want to use it, I have planned on getting a hewing axe to make a couple of small building projects here, but I went and found this one. A local lumberyard owner and cabinet maker told me that the steel used in these old ones if far superior to what we can get now, unless I get a handforged one from sweden. I have a well seasoned piece of hazlenut with a nice bend in it to make an offset handle for it..................I think it will look great on my shop wall........if I can just keep my greasy fingers off of it and not use it.........

[Richard_FL]

The only thing better than buying a tool is finding one! congratz

[squbrigg]

Boy, that's quite a find and look at the shape it's still in! I bet you could still get a good edge on it and put it to use! It would make a great wall piece, and think of the history it tells about the place. Only in the prairies could a axe head last that long. Here it would be reduced to rust dust in no time. Lucky you had dry air out there.

Bob

[MDWine]

I think the best tribute to your property, the previous owners, and the tool is to clean it up, use it, and love it...

Hey, even "old tools" need love!!! I know I do Talking

[GILLY]

If we did'nt have such a dry climate here this axe would have been nothing but a stain in the trunk it was in. I do think I'll use it though.

[AlArchie]

Gilly, be very careful if you decide to use that old axe. It looks as if it is formed from several pieces of steel and the blade is probably hammer-welded to the eye. There appears to be a crack in the weld,that has develped just below the eye near the upper part of the blade. It could ber I'm misreading the rust pattern, here, though.

A lot of these old axes were made that way.....the blade itself is one piece of steel and the eye is formed from another, hand forged around a form, and them hammer-welded onto the blade. In a hammer weld, the pieces to be joined are heated nearly white hot in a forge, a flux of silica put between the pieces and the pieces hammered together while still white hot.

Be a shame to have that axe come apart after a few uses, after it's survived this long! It would look great lightly cleaned, re-hung (handled), and put up on the wall over your work area.

Al

[GILLY]

Al, what you see near the eye is a gouge in the metal from when I was hacking it out of the tree trunk. All in all, the metal appears good, but I won't be sure until I clean it up.

[Kenny_S]

Great find Gilly! I don't know much about theses things but Itend to agree with ALA in putting a handle in it and mount it on the wall. Frist, I would get some kind of rust perventive, that would keep the ax from rusting any more. Yeper, Tools today, don't touch the quality of yesterday's tools. Maybe I was born 100 years to late.

[MelNM]

Your lucky Gilly what a great find. Whatever you decide to do with it would be great, display or tool.
Mel

[Mryooper]

http://www.oldtoolphotos.com/toolphoto.asp?photo=52

above site might help Gilly