I went to the thrift store today...

[maximillian arango]

And bought nothing lol.


I did see three things and wasn't sure if I should go back and get them.

First thing I saw was a Disston saw.

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj584/arangov3/20140216_143328_zps6e5c6f02.jpg (http://s1269.photobucket.com/user/arangov3/media/20140216_143328_zps6e5c6f02.jpg.html)

Next was a stanley level No. 233-24"

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj584/arangov3/20140216_150300_zpscae35878.jpg (http://s1269.photobucket.com/user/arangov3/media/20140216_150300_zpscae35878.jpg.html)

Finally found this thing while playing around with a piggy bank(don't judge) on my way out its a McKinnon hatchet head

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj584/arangov3/20140216_150902_zps998ab227.jpg (http://s1269.photobucket.com/user/arangov3/media/20140216_150902_zps998ab227.jpg.html)


I am really looking for info on the hatchet head but if anyone was interested the saw and the level were going for 18 dollars each but I passed up because I didn't know if they were worth it and don't need them. I am unsure of how much the hatchet head was going for but I am most interested in that.

Thanks
~max

[Jim Koepke]

At $18 each I would pass on both the saw and the level.

The saw looks like it has been used and sharpened a lot.

A good level shouldn't cost that much for a 24". A new Black & Decker is about that price for a 36".

jtk

[Dave Beauchesne]

I agree with Jim's assessment for the saw and level.
The axe head would intrigue me though -------

[Steve Voigt]

The saw looks like it has lost at least an inch off its width from sharpening. I think I would hold out for a saw that's been used less.
I personally wouldn't buy a level used, unless it was a collector's item (and I don't think that one is).
I like the hatchet head, and agree it's the most interesting. I like the "rockaway" on the label--I used to live off the L train in Brooklyn and would sometimes take it to the last stop--rockaway pkwy. in canarsie. Anyway, I'd happily pay a few bucks for the hatchet head.

[maximillian arango]

I think the hatchet head is Rockaway NJ(5 minutes from me) this is the only information I have found on the "Brand"


Notes for William McKinnon:
From "Industries of New Jersey", 1883. Sent by Robert J. Fridlington, Dept. of History,
College of N.J., Union, NJ.

...about his McKinnon Axe Company, Rockaway, NJ....
The business was established in 1845 by Mr. Wm. McKinnon, who conducted it successfully and
won a reputation for his productions placing him in the front rank among the leading makers
of the best axes in the country. In 1868 (?) his sons, William and Walter McKinnon,
succeeded to the business, and have from that time continued it and carefully guarded and
maintained the old standard reputation which made the name of the McKinnon axes famous in
all business centres.

(Quote, Fridlington) - "I also have a McKinnon axe - two of them, as a matter of fact. One
is a felling axe (which the McKinnons called a "chopping axe") of the distinctive Rockaway
pattern that became so famous. It is a fine, hand-forged piece, made by your great
grandfather. The other one is a broad axe, made by McKinnon Brothers. By the way, I am
trying to find out if the "Rockaway" pattern is still being made. The last authenticated
date that I have is 1937, when the Warren Axe and Tool Co. of Warren, Pa. was making them.
That was forty years ago, of course, but several people have told me that someone is still
making them. Unfortunately, tool manufacturers are not very good about responding to
inquiries of this sort." (from letter dated 6/1/1977 to Dorothy Lord Moore.)


I haven't been able to find much more other than they seem to have only made like 500 heads a year. I think I'm going to go back this Friday, it will still be there since it was hidden away in a shelf when I found it and I put it right back where I found it. I hope it isn't more than 20 bucks.

[Michael Mahan]

seems like high prices for a 'Thrift Store' :rolleyes:

[maximillian arango]

seems like high prices for a 'Thrift Store' :rolleyes:

I'm mistaken in calling it a thrift store, it is an "Antique Store" so I think that justifies the prices.:p

[Steve Voigt]

I think the hatchet head is Rockaway NJ

New Jersey? OK, I've lost all interest then.

:p

[maximillian arango]

New Jersey? OK, I've lost all interest then.

:p

Don't worry I only use books made in New York as door stops and bbq starters so I understand the feeling.:cool: lol

[Steve Voigt]

Don't worry I only use books made in New York as door stops and bbq starters so I understand the feeling.:cool: lol

Ha! Nice. But you might wish you had one of those books to read when your guv Chris has you stuck on the GWB! :D

[maximillian arango]

Ha! Nice. But you might wish you had one of those books to read when your guv Chris has you stuck on the GWB! :D

My guv???? Last I check his first go around I wasn't old enough to vote and his second go around I wrote in Peter Griffin to be my Governor.


I would like to thank you guys for the responses and the humor even if you are/were from the dimmer side of the tunnel.

[Jim Koepke]

I'm mistaken in calling it a thrift store, it is an "Antique Store" so I think that justifies the prices.:p

People can justify ridiculous prices anyway they want.

That level doesn't look very antique to me.

jtk

[maximillian arango]

Very true Mr Koepke, I know that it isn't older than the 70s by the look of it I was just confused because the bubble cylinders were curved and I've never seen that before. Then again I live under a rock and haven't seen much.

[Dave Beauchesne]

Don't be afraid to dicker on the axe head if you get back to it - - If they want twenty, offer a reasonable number - I get turned off by people who ultra-lowball me on what I am asking for something I have for sale, but that is just me - makes me dig in my heels and say ' to heck with you!'

Good luck!

[maximillian arango]

If they want twenty I am fine with that since I feel like it is worth more to me since it is local, but if they ask for 80 because it will look great as a paper weight then I will just have to walk away in fear of offending the seller with an offer. I will just feel bad for letting a peace of history and a good tool fall off the face of the earth.

Sucks that price is dictated by how an item is seen and not what it is, example, one person may see a rare "stanley number 5 plane bull nose" (https://s3.amazonaws.com/ljimg/mhv06g7.jpg) while someone else sees a worthless plane that was broken in half and filed smooth.

[Michael Mahan]

If they want twenty I am fine with that since I feel like it is worth more to me since it is local, but if they ask for 80 because it will look great as a paper weight then I will just have to walk away in fear of offending the seller with an offer.
I never fear what a seller thinks of me by my offers , if they are offended by my offers that's their issue .
market value & asking price that's like asking the night to be day , they are not the same :p

[Jack Curtis]

I'd recommend a trip to Joel's Tools for Woodworking (somewhere in NYC) or a woodworking club right away to get that bad taste out of your mouth. :)

[Paul Incognito]

You've gotten some good insight on the tools in question. I'll add my 2 cents...
D-8's are pretty common, at least way down here in De. I agree with Jim, no more than 5 bucks. If it had close to a full plate and was perfectly straight, maybe I'd go to 10.
A level can be checked for accuracy. If you need a 2' level and this one checks out to be straight and true, then I'd spend another 5 on it.
I just bought 2 single bevel hewing hatchet heads for 20 or 30 cents a piece. I'd have gone to 10 times that, but definitely not over $5 each.
But it seems that the used and "antique" tool market has plenty to offer down here. It seems to vary depending on location.
Just my rambling thoughts, your mileage may vary, hope this helps, etc...
PI

[Jim Koepke]

Don't be afraid to dicker on the axe head if you get back to it - - If they want twenty, offer a reasonable number - I get turned off by people who ultra-lowball me on what I am asking for something I have for sale, but that is just me - makes me dig in my heels and say ' to heck with you!'

Dave has a good point here. You do not want to offend a seller. You may find something else next time and don't want them to have bad memories of the last time you came in.


If they want twenty I am fine with that since I feel like it is worth more to me

I almost always ask if they will take $15 on something when they are asking $20.

About the only time I don't is when I am thinking, "Darn I never thought I would find one at that low of a price." Sometimes while I am thinking some sellers have offered a lower price.

If a sellers price is more than twice what I want to pay, the phrase, "I think we are too far apart on price," is my polite way of saying no but leaving it open for the seller to either come down or ask how much I am willing to pay. I am very careful what I say if they ask. If a number is thrown out, they might agree to it. People can do what they want at that point, but I feel obligated to buy if the seller agrees to my price. About the best that can be done at that point is if the number is $10 ask, "$10 even?" Meaning they will take care of the sales tax. That doesn't do anything when hunting rust in Oregon because they do not have a sales tax. But the sellers in southern Washington know very well what it means.

Sellers come to their prices in many ways. Some of them are just crazy.

jtk

[maximillian arango]

I didn't get a shot to go down there I'm hoping it snows enough tonight so I get a delayed opening at school so I can take a trip. Thanks for the advice I feel better prepared to negotiate and still be respectful.

[maximillian arango]

double post

[Bob Garay]

Hi Max, I am doing research on the McKinnon axe co. of Rockaway. You axe you show is unique in that it still has the label on it. Did you ever purchase it? If so I would be interested in seeing it. I live in Hopatcong and could meet you. I would like to take a photo for my research article. Please let me know. Thanks, Bob

[Bob Garay]

294834294835294836294837
Here are a couple of the unique McKinnon Axe company products I have in my collection. A broad axe, a mortise axe, a slick chisel, and a farming hoe.

[george wilson]

Get the axe. It has a nice Hudson's Bay shape.

That's quite a hoe. Is that a tobacco hoe? I'm not an agriculturalist. Have seen the 18th. C. versions,though.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

That hoe is a threshing hoe. Where I live it would have been used to chop up sugar cane. I have found a few of them at the ruins of sugar cane distilleries. One really fine example, which I gave to the National Park, was found right off the main path at the Cinnamon Bay ruins in St. John. Amazing it had gone unseen for so many years. I am sure they had other uses, but that is what they were used for in the islands during the sailing days

[Bob Garay]

Hi Max get ahold of me about this axe head. I would like to photo the label better for my research. Thanks, Bob - takeadip@optonline.net

[george wilson]

Amazing how many different patterns they have for something as simple as a hoe/ Why wouldn't a very similar tobacco hoe do the same work on cane?

Shovels---- A million different patterns of them too. My main response to them is to avoid getting on the handle of one of them!! I had enough of digging 300 foot trenches 4 feet deep to bury water pipes when I was a teenager in Alaska. One of the reasons why my skeleton is now worn out.

[maximillian arango]

Hi Bob Sorry I didn't see your post earlier I will be hiking tomorrow at the Delaware water gap. When I get home I can send you some pictures or meet up some time so you can check it out. I have some information about the head/label that I got from a McKinnon decedent I reached out to back when I bought it.

[Moses Yoder]

They are probably going to want 40 for the axe head. I tend to collect stuff with labels/boxes so if I had the money I would buy. To me it does not matter what the average person thinks it is worth, only what I think it is worth to me. I am saying 40 for the axe head because they want 18 for a $5 saw. The level is not really antique but it is vintage. I would be more interested in the yard stick in the first photo.

[maximillian arango]

I actually picked up the axe for 15 or 10 dollars I was surprised when the guy said that much so I bought it