Old hatchet head

[Finndog119]

I was detecting an old farmhouse site in the woods yesterday. I found a few things from the 1930s, Buffalo nickel and a wheaty. Can anybody determine the age of these two Hatchet heads? They were both phone in the area where the barn one stood. Thank you.

 

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[Ant]

There's a member that posted that his father is a collector. He wrote to the best of my recollection that in order to positively date an ax head find the manufacturer name or logo on the side of the head. I would say they are from around the same date of the coins that found in the area, scrub them with a plastic scrub brush soap and water. They aren't copper or brass so no petina to be concerned with.

This is the best ax head that I have found (1981), left most likely by a gold prospector. I cleaned it, put a handle on it, and I use it every now and then for mild work. Found it along side a small obscure creek while deer hunting in the mountains, not far from the Zodaic crime site that took place at Lake Berryessia.

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[Finndog119]

Thank you Art. I will try and see what I can do with it, maybe there is some type of marking on it. We used to do military training in Lake Berryessa.

Tim

 

[BosnMate]

I'm not an expert on axes, but I remember reading a bit about how they were made, and there is/was a blacksmith locally that made tomahawk heads the same way they were made in the 1700's up into the 1800's, and I watched him build a couple. Axe and hatchet heads were originally made of single piece of wrought iron that was folded around a handle-shaped pattern, making the eye, then the blade part was forge welded together except at the cutting edge, and there a steel wedge or cutting edge was inserted into the head and also forge welded into place. This was done I believe even after axe heads were being cast, the cutting edge was added and welded into the blade. My grandson found an axe head in the creek behind the house that was obviously built that way, so I think that style of construction lasted into the 1900's. I'll try and take a picture of the head showing the insert later today and post it here. So method of construction could broadly date an axe or hatchet head. Trying to date by the shape of the axe head seems to me like it would be impossible. Of course battle axes and tomahawks are in unique shapes, which does help date them, I'm talking about the axes used as tools, falling axes, splitting axes, shingle hatchets, etc. have been around for a long time, and are still made today.

 

[BosnMate]

Here's the axe head I was talking about, only it looks like the steel edge was overlaid on the blade, rather than inserted. Here's a close up showing
the overlaid steel edge.

 

[trdking]

There's a member that posted that his father is a collector. He wrote to the best of my recollection that in order to positively date an ax head find the manufacturer name or logo on the side of the head. I would say they are from around the same date of the coins that found in the area, scrub them with a plastic scrub brush soap and water. They aren't copper or brass so no petina to be concerned with.

This is the best ax head that I have found (1981), left most likely by a gold prospector. I cleaned it, put a handle on it, and I use it every now and then for mild work. Found it along side a small obscure creek while deer hunting in the mountains, not far from the Zodaic crime site that took place at Lake Berryessia.

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I Agree. Clean them up. There will be a makers mark on them. THey do not appear to be old enough to predate the mark. The Odd shaped one looks like a Plumb. Very cool stuff. Show us the clean pics?

Cheers