Saturday, August 11, 2018

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.