Axe question

[Mike Olson]

I went looking at the flea market yesterday for an Axe to take camping but what I found makes me want to add it to my Neander woodworking tools. I can't remember the name for this type of axe but because one side is flat, i know it's for quick edging/roughing to size of lumber. oh, and i got it for $5
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Anyone have some ideas on how old this is? and maybe a maker? or any other info? the handle is currently 14" long and obviously broken and will need replacement. What would be a standard size for the handle?

Oh and the only markings on it are 3 initials. ?.H.S.
I'm guessing it's really old as the main head seems to be raught iron, as the mushroomed end appears to have a grain to it. There is also some nice steel forge welded to the cutting edge. It also appears to have been used on the one side to hammer in some cut nails at least that's what the indentations look like.

Thanks,
Mike

[Chris Vandiver]

It is called a broad axe.

[Andrew Gibson]

I picked up a similar looking Hatchet at a Flea Market a few months ago, think I gave 6 or 8 bucks for it.
Mine looks quite a bit newer then yours. I made a quick replacement handle for it... one of these days i need to make a good handle. the pick has the original handle.

187564

[john brenton]

I've heard it called a broad axe, or a hewing axe/hatchet. I replaced my handle with a curved hickory handle from ACE hardware...it cost something like $4 for the handle. Its a bit of a chore to fit the handle with the triangular design of the head.

[ray hampton]

I'm not sure that it is big enough to call this a " broad axe " maybe a broad hatchet or hewing hatchet

[Mike Olson]

Andrew, Is the flat side of yours showing in the picture? if so, it's for a lefty.
On mine, the flat side is totally flat "except for the mushroom" and the other side has a surface that's got some curvy pattern.
I'll stop buy my local hardware store on the way home tonight and see about a hatchet handle. I'll have to use a hack saw to cut off the old one due to all the nails stuck in it...

[Jim Koepke]

Andrew, Is the flat side of yours showing in the picture? if so, it's for a lefty.

Isn't that all relative to which side of the log you are standing?

Maybe you need one of each… :D

jtk

[john brenton]

You sure about it being for a lefty? I always thought you chopped with the flat side in?

That's a heck of a grind angle though. You'd have to check it out, but I've found too much radius to be a bad thing. Mine is like andrews, but perhaps a little less curved at the edge.

I've had a couple and have seen a wide variety in sharpening. Some will bevel both sides (like a small back bevel, some have more bevel than others, some with a heavier radius etc. I figure that they must have worked for their original owner all those years ago. The one I kept for myself took a lot of work to get a truly sharp edge. Sharpening axes to hair shave sharp isn't easy. Some might say its unnecessary, but it depends how you use it. If you want a cool effect, hewing with a razor sharp hewing hatchet leaves a really rustic look but with a glassy surface.

[Alfred Kraemer]

I think it's a hewing hatchet. Last year I bought one too. After cleaning it up I found that it was made by Underhill and on the flat side I could see that it was laminated - a piece of steel forgewelded to the iron head. It holds an edge better than a more recent hatchet I have.
Given the looks of the hatchet you have I;m pretty sure that it is laminated. If you have a good portion of the laminated steel left you have a good hatchet.
I hope it wasn't ground the wrong way. that's what was done with a number that I have seen..


Alfred.

[ray hampton]

Isn't that all relative to which side of the log you are standing?

Maybe you need one of each… :D

jtk

the logger would hew one side of each log and then hew the other side before turning the log

[Andrew Gibson]

I couden't decide which side I wanted the flat on so I left it as it is pictured. I think it would be a little better the other way. when I get around to makeing a good handle I will flip it.

[Stanley Covington]

Its called a Kent Hatchet. Also called a broad hatchet, or a carpenter's hatchet. See the following link: http://autonopedia.org/crafts_and_technology/Tools/Tools_and_How_to_Use_Them/Axes_and_Hatchets.html

A very handy tool to have around as it can hew to a line (that's why its flat on one side) for cutting and squaring a lintel, drive stakes, and even open a can of beans in an emergency. Used to be standard in every carpenter's tool kit before power tools became prevalent. If you rehandle it, be sure to either steam/bend the new handle or cut it so it is curved away from the flat edge so you can use it to hew. Everyone will think your old hatchet is very strange, but you will know the secret.

Stan

[Mike Olson]

I couden't decide which side I wanted the flat on so I left it as it is pictured. I think it would be a little better the other way. when I get around to makeing a good handle I will flip it.

The way the head is made i guess it is reversible, I hadn't thought of that.

[Andrew Gibson]

I don't think that the handle that was on mine was origional. even if it was it had mails and all sorts of stuff in the end in an attempt to wedge the head. so I am sure the head had come off at some point and easily could have been flipped around.

[ray hampton]

by flipping the handle, you changing it from a right-hand axe to a left-hand aze

[Fred Washam]

What you have is a broad or hewing hatchet,( same thing, just two names). Yours is mounted to be used right handed, although the original handle is probably long gone. It would have been either bent or carved with a very gentle curve away from the flat side of the hatchet to give clearance for you hand when hewing. I have a newer version ( Vaughn) which uses a curved head to solve that problem, allowing the use of a straight handle. Your hatchet is best used for shaping green wood for various projects such as handles, spoons, turning blanks etc... Leave the flat side flat,(except for a very small back bevel), and you will have much better control when shaping parts. It greatly reduces the tendancy for the axe to dig into the wood and spoil your work.

[Mike Olson]

Thanks Fred, There is currently a slight back bevel on the flat side now and I wasn't sure if I should keep it or not when I start sharpening it. I guess I'll leave it how it is and just touch up the edge.

I went to the Hardware store today and none of their replacement hatchet handles appear to fit, so I guess I'll be making one from scratch eventually. Maybe that will be my first project with this hewing hatchet on my next backpacking trip. Anyone know the best Length for the handle? 14" or 19"? just wondering as those were the two lengths available at the HW store for replacements.

Thanks again,
Mike

[David Keller NC]

The form of your hatchet would suggest that it's quite old - possibly 18th century. Unfortunately, though, it would be very difficult to tell for sure without a metallurgical analysis (the composition of wrought iron and steel varied according to the manufacturing method, and is characteristic of the time period when it was made). The form suggests a British origin, but it could just as easily be American.