Axe and adze heads,

[MisterHelix]

Today I went up to the top of the ridge where an old road runs through my land. I first found a splitting wedge up on the slope. Then up top I found a mattock or froe or adze, as well as a broken axe head. The axe head looks pretty old, but I have a lot to learn about dating artifacts.
I’ll clean them up and see if there’s any makers marks.

I also found a hundred foot coil of logging cable, an hose nozzle, and a decomposed guitar.

Oh! And a live round with the soft point all corroded away.

 

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[robertk]

That's a strange break in the axe head. Makes you wonder what happened to it.

 

[MisterHelix]

That's a strange break in the axe head. Makes you wonder what happened to it.

I reckon somebody pounded on the back of it with a sledge or another axe until it broke. I found another one today , along with a hoe. Up on the same ridge.

 

[Almy]

I've found several old axeheads with either bulging or a break in the thin area where the handle was attached. This area cannot stand the pounding on the poll when using the head as a wedge. But apparently it was done a lot, maybe after the handle broke or the head failed in some way.
The large handle hole in the head with the 90 degree blade suggests a soil tool. I would expect an adze to have a more ax-sized handle. A froe has a blade plane parallel to the handle and at 90 degrees to it, so it is not that. You have a nice source of old, iron tools, some of which would probably contribute to an interesting display. I have even made a handle and used an old mattock in my garden. They are sturdier than a hoe and do about the same job in heavier soils.

 

[Digger RJ]

Today I went up to the top of the ridge where an old road runs through my land. I first found a splitting wedge up on the slope. Then up top I found a mattock or froe or adze, as well as a broken axe head. The axe head looks pretty old, but I have a lot to learn about dating artifacts.
I’ll clean them up and see if there’s any makers marks.

I also found a hundred foot coil of logging cable, an hose nozzle, and a decomposed guitar.

Oh! And a live round with the soft point all corroded away.
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Nice!!! Congrats!!!