Among my hobbies, I really enjoy working with old axe heads. Its fun to work with one that you get for $5 and turn it into a viable tool. Just finished an old Sager Chemical Double Bit a guy gave to me. Next project will hopefully be a 2.5 lb double bit cruiser axe. If anybodies got one they are looking to part with, let me know! Anybody else enjoy working on and with axes?

I was cleaning up some junk in the woods a couple of years ago and found a 4 lb Plump felling axe head under an old car door. It cleaned up great and I was going to hang it on the wall so I blued it, but I couldnt find the handle I wanted so I wound up putting a regular single bit handle in it and started useing it. The blueing lasted along time but it is rusty again now, but still a sweet cutting axe.

I like old hatchets,I only use one at a time but like buying them as I can.

norlunds are my favorite

I love old axes! I have collected a few cruisers and they are my favorites. Axes are starting to get really popular right now and good deals are getting harder to find.

Here is a Kelly cruiser I fixed up.

What do y'all look far in a good axe?

X2

I picked up a 2 1/4 pound Winchester head at a garage sale a few weeks ago and just put an old handle on it to make it functional. I won't put it to wood but it is pretty cool. I pick up old axes and hatchets and fix them up..pretty fun for me too. Oh, by the way, I paid 50 cents for the Winchester head and two bucks for the handle. I now have 16 hatchets and 5 axes.
This is the latest in which I have $2.50 invested:

Name, is a good place to start. Kelly, Collins, Plumb, are ones I am familiar with, but there are several other U.S. made axes that are very good.





Charlie

I look for an older one. All of mine are well over 50 years old. If it is a loose head I will hold it up with one finger in the eye and ring it like a bell with a piece of metal. It should have a high pitched long ring to it. This is not a proven method to tell quality of the steel but think it is worth doing.

You also need to decide what you are going to use it for mostly so you can pick the right pattern head. I will not buy one with a metal or plastic handel!

Would like to find a big old double headed ax to use in a fisher mount I have in mind.

I like wetterlings myself.

Go to the thread "Check this Out", I just posted. Lots and lots of COOL traps and AXES.




Charlie

It is hard to go wrong with an old American made axe head. They made 'em right back in the day. Swedish and German steel is also excellent. Use a belt sander to get a rough edge, but go sparingly and make sure you don't get the steel hot. Then use a (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) file and a stone to get yourself a good edge. Get yourself a good handle made from hickory or ash. You are set to go!

Very nice axe, MN Man. Great find

Like mentioned above, older ( pre 1970) US axes can be some of the best ever made, pre 1940's even better.

Marshall Wells, Hickory, Collins, Winchester, many good brands. Even some small chips in the blade and light mushrooming in the poll can be belt sanded away and made like new. Hanging a handle can be an art, take your time fitting a new handle.

I've worked on a few ole axes. Enjoyed bringing back to life.
Last winter I remembered some not so good leather I bought at a yard sale.
Figured I make a few sheaths for my axes.
Here's a sheath I made for my camp axe...


Here's sheath for my camp axe and a friends camp axe...

That was fun making the two sheaths for camp axes so I made sheaths for two single bit axes I had in the shed.
If anyone has some leather laying around and wants to put it in service,
Here's the link that helped me with the sheaths...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6hHgTDMmGo

Love bringing old axes back to life. I usually just grab heads that I figure I can use and put a handle I want on it. Never really cared about maker.

I was up to Johnney Thorpes one day, many years ago. And i acquired this from him ... He was on the old military road in his home town of Stoney Creek. He had been rooting around an old stone wall fence and out came this axe head. There is no marks on it so it cant be referenced. But its Big. He thinks it was Revolutionary War or French and Indian war era... He had said as big as it was, it was a tree felling axe head because of it size.. Any input ?

Glad to know I'm in good company here. I admit to being an "axeholic".

Don't know much about any of them. But it's fun to collect, handle, and look at them.

Wife asked what I wanted for Fathers Day, Gransfors Bruks axe was my reply. Have to decide between the Scandanavian Forest and the American Felling...

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Mike

TTT

I want one from the Taiga Forrest region, like the old trapper in "Happy People" has.



Heavy head with a straight, thin bit, and a short sturdy handle.




Charlie

Me too. Anybody have an idea what kind it was or an equivalent?

I'm sure his was handmade, but there are some of that style on Amazon. I believe those are made in Bulgaria or some such. the shipping is as much as the axe itself, and I would question the quality.




Charlie

any body ever run across a double bit with the name "Boston's best" ?

Do a "russian axe" search on ebay. Most are hatchet-sized ( 14" handle, helve, haft, whatever. )

The "Russian pattern" has several names... Arkhangelsk, Petrograde, etc... all difficult to locate.

Mike

Seeing this post just reminded me, while tilling my garden the other day, I found what looks to be an old double bit head. Rusty of course but in pretty decent shape, about 8-9 inches long. Old farmhouse shown on the 1875 map. I know nothing about them, where would one look for a makers mark?

The mark should be on one side of the eye. You may have to polish the steel to see it.
Harry Epstien company had real russian military surplus axe heads, I bough 4, re sold 3 and kept one for myself.
I got the last ones. Mine is really good for swamping, or limbing felled trees. I use it often. The steel is good and I can cut roots without dulling. I have no rocks here though.
Here is a poor picture of it, you can't see the whole head.

It is sporting a straight handle till I make a good one. It is no good for splitting but really good for chopping or hewing.

I would say Otter04, that that is a felling axe head. I have no clue on when it was made, however.

Here is a Swedish Hults Bruks axe, very excellent, sold under the Husquvarna brand, good value!

It's an awesome chopper!
Here is an old Finnish axe, they are different but truly great axes, good luck finding one , I have not. They quit making them around 1950 or so

It's either a Billnas or Kellokoski
Here is the blueprint for the handle

They had a strange looking long socketed eye, due to the fact that birch was the hardest wood they had and is much softer than hickory. It would break off fairly quickly with a normal American eye and hard use.

Never could use any tool with that elbow twisting down turned handle.

Collins made good axes but my favorite is a True Temper Kelly Perfect that I've used for fifty years or so. 4 1/2# IIRC My first ax was a double bit Plumb 2 1/2# for Christmas of my seventh year, that and flannel shirt were Christmas.

Bluegrass excellent ax.

Actually the curve in the end of the handle allows your wrist to remain straighter. It probably depends on what is comfortable for you.

I have wanted to post on this thread for a while but haven't had time. Someone asked for reccomendations on an axe. The "right" axe will all depend on the user. Over the past few years I have searched high and low for the best axe and have settled on what I have found to be the best so far. First question is, what are you going to use this axe for? If you're just going to throw it in the woodshed or the bed of your truck, don't worry about spending a lot of money. A cheap axe will serve you for what you need. If you use an axe often and use one year round, then it makes sense to splurge and get a good tool. I use an axe all year and a couple times a week, so it only makes sense for me to get a good one. A lot of people seem to like the fiskars. Personally I don't. Once they are dulled you can't sharpen them with a file and if you break the handle you're done for. I also see a lot of people with estwing axes. I have 2, the 14 inch hatchet and the 26 inch axe. I like them both. I wouldn't want to use them every day and they wouldn't be my first choice, but they are very good tools. They take a good edge and hold one. My only problem is that they are uncomfortable to use because of the all steel handles. What I have found to be the absolute best axe so far is a 28" Snow and Nealley axe with a 2 1/4 pound head. The wooden handle flexes during use which makes them comfortable to use. They also seem to take a pretty good edge. I believe that a 1 3/4-2 3/4 pound head with a 22"-28" handle will serve you best for all around use. That's just my opinion.

Alex

Here are a few. Left to right, Russian in the front, Marshall Wells "Hand Made" double bit, Hult Bruks Swedish, Marshall Wells Zenith, Kelly Howe Thompson Hickory, and my big "Warren" splitting axe.

The Swedish is the newest, bought new last winter, the Russian is 1982 army surplus, the others are 50 to 100 or more years old.
They all get used. The big Warren single bit has split 100's of cords of wood. I bought the head for 3 bucks in 1976, when a kid dug it out of the ground when we were building a log cabin and placing rock footings.
I have lost axes in the past, hence the colored tape or paint on some.

Axe head details
Zenith, (head bought for 5 bucks at a junk shop, a few nicks removed and smoothed up)

Very fine 3/4 axe! My favorite for trapline

The Russian axe and the Hults Bruks "Husquvarna "

The Russky is a great limbing and general purpose axe, fast chopper! Not good for splitting The Hults is a superb axe, second favorite at the moment. I chopped out most of the parts for my sled with the Zenith or the Hults

More work to do on it later.

My old "Hickory" spent decades in my hand and in my pack, the blade is nearly worn to a nub


It has a home made handle of ash, with a rounded octagonal cross section. I would mourn its loss.

I had a Keen Kutter that I only used for cutting down a Christmas tree every year. It is with a friend in VA.

Not sure if you would call this an axe but it's a Marshall-Wells

^thats a beautiful axe!

Yes that Marshall wells Zenith broadaxe is a beaut! Zenith was top of their line.

Yessir, thats a broadaxe. Used for making straight cuts in wood used for building. Probably weighs quite a bit.

Right handed at that. Watched a guy square a log with a square, a chalkline, a broadaxe, a regular axe and an adze. The adze impressed me as rather dangerous for his toes. The guy was good he could take a full stroke that stopped just short of the end of his boot.
I can only wish I was that good.

Here's a good read.

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/recr...pdf99232823.pdf

Watched a guy at Silver Dollar City hewing these out with a broad axe.

Mike

Well, this post got me to look through my "stuff" to see what I had in the line of hatchets and axes that I had accumulated over the years from various garage sales. I found these. My reasoning for all the cheap hatchets was I often would forget one at the trap site so I thought I should have a few spares on hand. I have only lost one so far so I should be good for a while. I get them cheap so it is kind of fun to find an old one and fix it up so it is functional.


The first axe on the left is a Stro Bro from Sweden 2 1/4 # that I paid one dollar for. The next is the Winchester that I have $2.50 into and the third is an Idunno that I paid $2.00 for and refurbished.

I missed out on a Norlund Hudson Bay axe today at a garage sale. A friend called and said he saw one for $8.00 but he did not get it because he has several and it was pretty rusty. When I rushed over there it was gone (of course). Dang!

I see you have the same disease

Probably less costly than collecting traps.....
And I see I ain't the only one that paints my trapping hatchets orange....

How do you define a Cruiser axe ? Why were they named this ? I do know what cruising timber means. Were they carried by a timer cruiser ?

Some cool old axes guys..and hatchets too. Thanks for the pics!

Yes they were. Up here the original cruiser axe is a Hudson Bay pattern axe on a 20-28" handle. That's what I have always been taught in forestry. More widely know is the double bit cruiser axe which is a 2.5 pound head with a 28" handle double bit.

Alex

The timber cruisers preferred to use these small axes to blaze trees because of their light head (+\-2.5#) and short handel (26-28"). The only true way to tell is the size of the eye. 2.5"x5/8" or close to that.

I like a double bit axe, don't know why the single bit is so popular.

My dad was the only one I ever saw twist the axe when splitting wood. Never get the axe stuck in the block doing it that way.

Jim

Here is a 2 1/2 lb. Plumb cruiser that I keep in my truck.

This is a Collins Hudson bay that I fixed up to keep in the Jeep.

Never handled a double bit. Never found the need for one. I prefer to have the poll and my axe for driving stuff. I know it's the cardinal sin of an axe but when I'm snowshoeing into beaver flowages in the winter I'm not going to lug a hammer just to drive nails. That's what I have the back of my axe for. I also use it for driving fencing sticks. Also with a double bit axe you can't stick it into the back of your belt and carry it Indian style. I find it very handy to carry that way at times.

Alex

Cruiser axes are also 8 1/2 inches long or less.

That's a sweet Hudson Bay pattern Collins, Mttwill!
My very first axe was the same, I bought it for 7 bucks corn picking money in about 1971. My dad had a logging company and lots of cruiser double bits for the loggers, one of them took my Collins. Nobody would fess up and nobody thought it was a big deal except me.

Not really an axe, but a hatchet. Forged by a blacksmith near me. Going to look into getting him to make a single bit for use of the hammer as well. The first pic has his last name/mark on it.
Sharp as a razor as well.

I just picked up an Olympia double bit head at a garage sale yesterday and just now put a handle on it. The head was $3.00 and the handle was 3 times that (new).
Is there a cure for this addiction?

It's a terminal disease

Anyone know of a source of good handles?

I have had mixed results with House brand handles, first few were good then 2 broke off at the eye on axes in the first minutes of use, the hickory was red colored and seemed brittle. The all white wood handles seemed better. And I am very picky about handles and look through a whole pile to find the one I want.
There may be other brands that are more consistent, or my supplier is getting factory seconds and selling them as firsts. Most people think a handle is a handle. But we axe nuts know different.

+1 on a source for handles

I have had very good luck with house handels. I pay the extra for the hand picked and no lacquer. When you order make sure you dont click the seconds.

Plumb victory,I seen 6 axes go at auction last sat and I'm still sick I let them all go ,I stinking did not bid, I did snatch up a crosscut.

Oh my ,I shiver at the thought of using a DB axe much less carring one about on the line ! Awful ! IMHO

I prefer a double bit axe except when i'm trapping. They often balance better than their competition and I have come to like the versatility of two edges. I carry a small single bit forest axe while out and about trapping and bumming around.

Picked up a couple at the flea market today. Near as I can tell there isn't anything too fancy about them. Google searches weren't a great help. Histories varied and were somewhat murky.

A KellyWorks Woodslasher double bit.

Lakeside double bit.

I'll see if I can post pics of them if anyone is interested.

Mike

House handles usually have pretty straight grain, alot of guys on other forums swear by em, with enough looking youll eventually find a decent handle at the hardware store...

Here's my little collection

I totally redid the double bit and the ones on the 28" and 36" axes, a quick soak in vinegar will handle most of em, had to take a grinder to the shiny one though. For bushcraft and hiking the wetterlings bushman is my go to though, the swedes have axe making perfected. Eventually I want to add a few Hudson bay heads and maybe a Rockaway (like the shape), the local spots are all sold out though.

Both good user bits. Kelly was out of WV and made several brand lines of axes woodslasher if memory serves was a good midgrade user axe of good make and temper.
Lakeside was a montgomery ward brand.

That's a fine collection there Bushwack.

Mike

You nailed it Warrior, the Lakeside, as mentioned, was Montgomery Ward's house brand. Most info I have come across puts my axe into the 50's or 60's era. But who can say for sure?

The Kelly Works is a little murkier as they moved several times throughout their history. No real way to discern any real age to it. Of the two axes, it is definitely in the roughest shape. It will take a lot of elbow grease to put any edge on it. Someone also rehung it with a cheap haft that is twisted about 30° off center at the bottom.

I'm glad to know that neither is too valuable to use. An axe should be cared for, but also used.

Mike

Great thread guys! Thanks for posting.

TTT for Lots of Mink

I wish I knew the maker of this old axe. My grandpa had it and used it a lot. It is well over 100 years old. No name that I can see. I use it all the time at the line shack.

I have a true temper black prince
can anybody tell me about them?
Its like bran new

Why would an axe/hatchet have a square hole right through the side?

Some heads are drilled for a cross pin to be installed to stop a head from flying off. I believe racing axes and heads used in competition are required to be pinned.
Not sure on a square hole though.

Found an old hatchet? with Belknap on the head anyone know anything about it? Sharpened it up and plan on using it. Put the question mark after hatchet cause not sure if you call it that as it has a hammer head on the side opposite of the cutting edge.

Hammer head could be a framer, riggers, lathing or roofing hatchet.

I recently bought a Husqvarna axe for my son in law. After looking it over, I decided I needed a new one for myself. Husqvarna is made by Hults Bruk so I paid the extra money for the same axe with the Hults Bruk markings. The differences between the two that I see are the Hults Bruk cutting edge has a mirror finish and is definitely shaving sharp. The Husqvarna has a much cheaper sheath that is fastened with a snap. The sheath on the H.B. is heavy leather with a welt and attached with a easily replaced leather thong. Price difference was about $50. Now, to get to the woodlot and try it out.

t

Doing some restorations right now, as well as enjoying some ones I finished up.



First is a Hudson bay Collins, seconds an unnamed hatched stamped "U.S.A"
Thirds a roofing hatchet I plan on modifying into a gransfors bruks style chopper, gonna remove the poll and reshape the edge

I almost forgot this one too.
Somebody didn't know what they were doing

That's axe abuse
Gonna cut it at the bottom of that chip and just use it as a nessmuk style belt hatchet.

My father was working all the time to provide for the family and myself while i was growing up. Needless to say, he didn't have a lot of time to take me outdoors, but when he did I appreciated the heck out of it. As a younger lad i played a lot of video games and sat inside. Now that I have a job, (and thankfully a bit of money to spend on toys) I find that i want to do things, or make things in reality. I just started trapping last year, and I am in the process of starting to renovate axes as well. Living in the middle of nowhere, I need a place to get wood for axe handles. Anyone know of a good company that makes axe handle blanks?

house handles is most people's go to, straight grain and multiple handle sizes.

Just picked up this bad boy...don't ask how much...but oh my...what an axe.

john neeman stalwort

you're a lucky man...
Neeman himself is supposed to have a new company called "autine" I heard, nonetheless both companies are still great, now go scratch it up and show us how it does

I would never waste a penny of my money on an Autine axe. The quality isn't there for the price. I would buy a Neeman. They should never be confused with each other.

they were both founded by the same guy, I feel like you watched the wranglerstar video on it...

I got it second hand, but the guy before me had never once used it. Was scared to mark it up, so I saved quite a bit on it...

Certainly a bit heavier than my gransfors axe, but I am hesitant to actually use it lol. It's just so...pretty lol

I have seen quality issues a few times. Their handles are very poor along with other issues. This is totally unexceptable at the prices charged. John Neeman company was a partnership and Autine is what came after the falling out.

Heres a couple i just finished cleaning and putting handles on...

Anyone carry a true temper tommy axe? I like the looks of them and my just have to pick one up.

Alex

A hatchet with a square hole in it is an old linemans hatchet , for cutting the flat "gain" in poles to bolt the crossarm on, the square hole is to hold the square bolt head when wrenching the nut on. Linemen have not used such axes for 60-70 years.

Thanks Dale, I've seen a few of those and wondered. Now I know.

That's cool. Thanks for the info Dale. I will sure keep that in the back of my head when I'm digging around in flea markets.

Mike

didn't know what you were talking about till I got one a few days ago, its still in the process of being restored but it looks like it has a nice thin bit on it, probably will make a good chopper.

I just purchased this from a guy in Canada, he spent a few years in Finland and this is his last one for sale.

It should arrive between today and Monday.
Now I have to make a handle out of birch.

how much do you pay for it? I like the looks of those old Finnish heads

$150 + shipping

An old timey RR shim axe.

That looks like the axe used in Finland to do " finish hewing" smoothing up the hewn surfaces after the building was erected.

This axe is a metal detector find, and was, supposedly, used in the Turpentine industry, in my area of Florida. I haven't verified that though.

When found, it had at least a quarter inch of flaking rust covering it. Gave it an Ospho treatment, and it didn't turn out half bad. It's been a couple of years since I did it, and it doesn't seem to have changed any.

Yep, thats a turpentine head for sure. Upper left of this chart:

Thanks for posting the chart, Bushwack. That's a handy tool to have.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXfVRZ_hF8g
Does any one add cord, leather or metal to there axe handles to protect them from over strikes? I hate seeing a good handle get chipped and chewed up. My son in law used this technique to cover about 3 or 4 " next to the head on a hatchet I have. He put the woven part on the edge that will bear the brunt of the hits. I haven't tested it out yet.

I wouldn't as that just the place you don't want to hold moisture and dirt.

Anybody buy one of the trapper axes in the Trappers Post? I'm looking hard!

Warrior, I don't see that as a problem for me. My handles have been well treated with boiled linseed oil, and the leather can be unlaced and removed between uses. The chord actually has spaces between the strands and should breathe. The chord will be more time consuming, but can be removed and redone when needed. Miley - If you are talking about the Snow & Neiley axes, I have heard that their heads are not forged in the U.S. any more.

Got a pair of husqvarna's for Christmas....splitting axe and a hatchet.

I put it on all of my axes I usually reach for when it comes time to do work, just make sure to wrap it tight or it slides right down the handle.

I wrapped 3" or so of my splitting maul with wire. I split a fair bit of wood since and no chips or nicks

An Axe to Grind

www.fs.fed.us › pdfpubs › pdf99232823

Snow and nealley axes have been made completely in the USA since last year. The Amish folks in Smyrna bought the name and moved everything to Smyrna and moved the entire production to the USA. Heads and handles are now both made in the US.

Alex

Mont, be curious to hear your reviews on the house husqvarnas, esp the splitting axe. I have been thinking of picking one up myself just haven't pulled the trigger. Any more pics and initial thoughts?

Check out Wranglerstar on youtube. I think he did a full review on it.

I love this thread. I'm gonna swallow some pride here though and admit that I'm horrible at putting new handles on. Any tips?

Practice!