Last week I picked up this little axe/hatchet from a car boot sale for £1. I often see rusty old axe heads or neglected/abused axes and I'm a bit of a sucker for them, especially as I only pay £2 - 50p for them and they are usually good, old steel. This one was a bit different to my usual findings though. Normally what I see are yankee pattern, Kent pattern and the occasional Rhineland pattern heads, this is something different altogether.
When I picked it up the first thing I noticed was the handle, which was more like what I would expect on a lump hammer. Then I realised how chunky the head was. It reminded me of my Roselli axe. The Roselli axe is a great all rounder (I did a review of it here), but it excels at splitting (for an axe its size).
When I started putting an edge back on this new axe find I noticed something strange about the grind. The beard section was a much thinner grind than the heel, which is really quite thick. I haven't measured the angles yet, but there is quite a difference. I also noticed that the handle is offset similar to what you would expect on a right handed side axe.
This has got me thinking that either these two features (differential grind and offset handle) are deliberate features, that would make this more than just a kindling splitter, or it was poorly made and hafted. It would seem strange to me to have an offset handle on anything other than a carving axe, but the obtuse angle of the grind is not my idea of an ideal carving axe. I guess I'll just have to get it sharp and give it a go.
It looks like a right handed single bevel broad axe to me, with the offset handle to keep your fingers out of the way when flattening beams or boards. Perhaps somebody tried to accidentally make the grind symmetrical? I have seen several of them (very popular axe historically in Germany) and yours looks a lot like one. Does it have a maker's stamp on it? Cheers from Munich, Germany.
ReplyDeleteRudy