Axes

Thanks to Gorges Smythe for bringing the event to our attention a couple months ago.

We had the chance to drive down to Waterboro for the Axe Meet-up today .

It was a small event

Perhaps six or seven tents  . . .

displaying their collections . . .

some broad hewing axes

A pile of new Wetterlings

 the skinny ones are mortising axes

Some ornate spoke shaves

of course there was some horse trading taking place

One fellow was carving axe handles

Some new and some old

Trade items

Axe handles for sale

Overstock for sale in front , not for sale on the right side

More for sale in a rack made out of a shipping pallet

This fellow came eleven hundred miles all the way from Indiana just for the meet.

He specializes in restoring broken axe heads for customers

This one is one of his jobs that came to him with sixteen cracks in the head

More of his projects to be worked on

Some elaborate stamping

A pair of Shapleigh Hardware hatchets that are quite valuable

more projects

A few more in his display

From the other end

Some saws for trading

His "front door" display

some oldies

and some for trade

A British made six pounder for sale . Got to be a real hefty fellow to swing that one.

A double bit Keen Kuttter with scallops could be had for a price

More trade goods

A Black Raven double bit

A Kelly

Song and verse sales pitch stamped right on it

the trio

Another Black Raven a brand I was not familiar with from Charleston West Virginia

A three and a half pound restored Kelly and a two and three quarter pound Spiller

Another Black Raven

And a couple more

A Hubbard Spencer Bartlet

Speer Hardware

A rather commie looking emblem on a Dorpian double bit .

And another double bit Black Raven

Emerson and Stevens

A lumberman's marking axe

With the company logo to mark the cut logs before the river drive . .

. . .  so they could be identified and separated from others at the take out .

A pound and a half double bit used by the company agent to mark trees to be cut

The President's Axe

Houses a knife in the handle

Two of the rare axes actually

The story goes that president Roosevelt was gifted one of these upon his 1902 visit to Oakland Maine.

One fellow was wearing a neat T shirt . .

. . . and it just so happens that I brought one of my axes for identification and the general consensus was that it was an Emerson & Stevens made in 1944. I also bought a neat sheath for it

From the fellow in the T shirt I learned that we now have an axe manufacturer in nearby South Portland that is operating under the name Brant & Cochran .

 They are making a really nice axe that will set you back a couple dead Benjamins

From right to left the progression from raw steel to shaped head.

No one does neat labels like that anymore

Or like this one

A Spiller

And a really broad Spiller

One of each flavor

Another Hubbard

A couple of short shipwright's hewing axes

A couple more offset hewing axes

Another pound and a quarter company boss marking axe

And a mortising axe

Broad headed hewing axes

One from Douglas Massachusetts.

At the top an Estonian broad axe

a trio of double bits

Another carpenter's mortising tool

Another pound and a quarter Marsh and Sons marking axe

This one with an inscription

Once owned by Perry Green

An older Snow and Neally

Two and a quarter pound

Little brother to my own three and a half pound Snow and Neally on the right here

A mid 1950s pilot survival axe cast out of titanium with the steel edge and but cast in place and said to float when dropped in water. You filled the hollow handle with water for added weight. Apparently they can still be ordered from the manufacturer.

A Vulcan

Even though there were only about six or seven tents we spent close to five hours at the meet learning and chatting with the collectors and I finally was able to identify the two axes I inherited from my wife's grand mother ten years ago as a Snow & Neally and an Emerson & Stevens Forest King from 1944.