Any Axe Head Experts?

[dkw]

I found this axe head today and was curious about it's age. I've never found a "folded" head before.
I know the site where I found it had a house in the mid 1800s. An aerial picture of the farm from 1939 doesn't show any signs of the house so it was gone before then.

Thanks

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Family Maps of Hinds County, Mississippi, Deluxe Edition - Grab it through Amazon!

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Nice. That's an old one - or at least made the old way. As you say, folded around a mandrel instead of a billet pierced with a chisel and dies then used to shape the hole. One key is to see if it is "Two Pieced" - that is the cutting edge of harder steel ("carbon iron" for a blacksmith) welded in when the rest of the head was folded from soft iron. If the edge is different it' could be as old as the state you found it in (I'm assuming Montana). If it's a "one piece" it could be just as old, or made as late as the Depression from plain old need and available materials.

 

[dkw]

Thanks, If it is two piece, I can't see it. Is it usually visible?

p.s. MO = Missouri

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

That's the trouble. No. Not unless you aggressively clean it or grind into it, which, if it is very old, reduces the value. Catch 22.

Sometimes, from use or the elements, you can spot a section where they have seperated or the join is more obvious.

 

[mojjax]

Here's a pic showing how they were made :

 

[dkw]

Thanks for the info guys. Mine isn't built like the one in Mojjax's post. It's a single piece folded over and joined about half way down the blade. You can kind of see it in the picture below.



I guess I found a "poor man's axe". It's no surprise, though. The people who lived on this site apparently didn't have much money to lose either.

 

[silverswede]

Nice old relic though. Usually the split down the back was made by the owner trying to extend it's usefulness after the handle broke by calling it his splitting wedge and putting a sledge hammer to it. I've even made much newer axe heads look like that with that procedure.