mystery axe head

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Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
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  • November 5, 2010 at 4:34 pm #42091
    mitchmaine
    Participant

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    have had this axe head on our farm for ever. before there was a me. no one in our family could ever remember what it was for or how it was used. we thought it might have been a stamping or branding ax for marking logs on a drive to help separate them at the mill. but there are clearly no markings. still wondering why a double bitted axe would have a hammer head worked into the head. any suggestions out there?

    mitch

    November 5, 2010 at 5:32 pm #63071
    lancek
    Participant

    Just a guess but maybe it was used for setting log dogs or spikes

    November 5, 2010 at 10:24 pm #63072
    mitchmaine
    Participant

    boom chain maybe, sounds like a good guess to me. sure would like to know. thanks, tim.

    mitch

    November 6, 2010 at 7:03 am #63076
    jac
    Participant

    Mitch whats a boom chain :o?

    November 6, 2010 at 9:44 am #63070
    OldKat
    Participant

    Know what I would do with that axe head if I had it Mitch? I’d put a nice handle on it and show it all sorts of people. Then when they asked; “Why is there a hammer head built into the face of that axe?” … I’d grab it up and hold it up real menacing like and say; “It’s to bop people with who ask what it is there for!” 😀

    Just kidding. Interesting looking head, never seen anything quite like it.

    November 6, 2010 at 11:12 am #63073
    mitchmaine
    Participant

    hey john, a boom was a bunch of floating logs strung together meant to hold logs and pulp and keep it from floating away. they moved logs in booms across the lakes or used them at the mills for sorting. i think 1976 was the last of that around here. the boom chain looked like a big version of a cattle head chain. you passed it through holes bored in the ends of the boom logs and used it to fasten the logs together. one end was a t-swivel that passed through a chain link and open up and couldn’t free itself.

    oldkat, how are ya doin’? every time anybody ever saw that axe head, and i leave it out alot, they’d say “hey, what’s that thing for?”. i’m still waiting for “hey, i got one of those, it’s a…” good to hear ya.

    mitch

    November 7, 2010 at 2:38 am #63077
    Farrier
    Participant

    Could it be some sort of combination ax/skip hammer? I can’t tell from the pic but is the edge on the hammer side sharp or blunt? Being a blacksmith myself, I have studied quiet a few old tools and I can tell you that there are ALOT of old tools out there that were made/modified for a specific job or chore that was done regularly or was just needed once and unless you talk to whoever used it, the purpose of some of these old tools is lost to the ages.

    November 7, 2010 at 3:01 am #63074
    mitchmaine
    Participant

    hey farrier, its sharp both sides and flares on the on side to make the hammer head.
    whatever purpose it was originaly made for, it didn’t catch on , it seems. i’ve never struck anything with it. i may just hang a handle on it and give it a try, i might even figure out what it might be good for. thanks all for the great suggestions and interest.
    your friend, mitch

    November 7, 2010 at 10:35 am #63068
    Carl Russell
    Moderator

    It seems to me to probably be some personal modification of the one good tool some guy had. Possibly for use in building projects where spikes were driven after logs were shaped/notched, or for wrapping hooks off of binder chains on logging sleds. It seems like too heavy to be used for just driving nails…..

    Oh, Oh, perhaps it isn’t a hammerhead, but some extension to prevent the sharp part of the axe from hitting the ground or some other hard surface when used to split wood, or some other similar action…..

    Sorry, time change, too much energy for this time of day… gotta go get chores done.

    Carl

    November 8, 2010 at 3:27 am #63075
    mitchmaine
    Participant

    hey carl, we used to have a bunch of wedges kicking around meant to slip in behind a crosscut saw to keep it from binding. that and kerosine to keep the pitch from binding the blade. they were only about 3/8 inch thick. not enough to lift or tip a tree. you got me wondering if the axehead was made or meant to drive those wedges and notch and limb with too. an all purpose ax, like the jack of all trades, a master of none. possibility….thanks for the help. see ya in unity? mitch

    November 8, 2010 at 4:41 pm #63069
    Carl Russell
    Moderator

    Mitch, I would go along with that supposition.

    Yes, see you next week, Carl

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