Thread: Axe talk

Hello nice to see that I'm not alone in taking an interest in old axes (or forest razor) as me old man would say. I have spent many an hour listening to his stories of falling big timber down on the coast. Anyway heres a couple from my stash.

Originally Posted by lightwood

Matty,
here are some pictures of a commercially supplied Maul like yours. seen in a shop mid last year.

Pete, they look like they would do the job, the ring looks like its compressed on some how.
Very interesting !
I found my Brades Hatchet ...




Melbourne Matty

Paul and Pat, you have both got some great gear there !
Thanks for showing..

Melbourne Matty.

Originally Posted by lightwood

..... but looking at them, there is a definite swelling over the ring......

Peter, it looks to me like the wood bulges on the 'face' side of the ring, too. Is that just gunk around the ring on the bottom pic, or is it a singe mark? I'm thinking if a very hot ring had been put on very dry wood, that's just what would happen when the metal cooled and the wood re-equilibrated.

Maybe that's your answer Matty - stick the maul head in hot sand for a couple of days & drop hot rings over it. You may not need to flip the maul between blows after all......

Cheers,

Here's another way of making a maul.
image.jpg
It comes from a series of illustrated lectures published by local Architecture historian Miles Lewis.
http://www.mileslewis.net/lectures/0...raming-red.pdf
He has has a bunch of excellent photos of historic tools, buildings and methods. Well worth a look.

There is is also a document outlining the development of the local axe stemming from the poor quality English axes that were incapable of working the local woods.
http://www.mileslewis.net/australian...processing.pdf

Nice to see another little Brades hatchet. These are a Kent pattern axe.
The design originated in Kent but was popular in New England as both a single and double beveled axe.
More on another Kent pattern axe here:
Mud Pond Hewing and Framing: THE KENT AXE REVISITED

Here is a Kent pattern axe that Chris Vesper restored a couple of years ago:
https://www.vespertools.com.au/index...d=62&Itemid=38

Originally Posted by hiroller

.....Here's another way of making a maul....

That there maul is what I know as a "beetle". It's better than nothing if you need to wallop things & have only very basic gear to make the walloper. But imo, it's the least pleasant to use: poor balance, severe jar on impact, and the long-grain end soon turns to mush if you belt into steel wedges. But it will get you out of a spot if you're desperate.....

Cheers,

Originally Posted by pmcgee

I think this says "True Temper - Keen Edge - Kelly Works"

They made a Flint Edge. Could that be it?

....

A fallen limb provided a chance to test drive the reground Kelly. With more work on sharpening the edge as well the difference is huge.

Kelly in the wild.jpg

Hi All,
Picked up a Brades Criterion 312, it says on the face.
Does anybody know of such an item.
Unfortunately it has been belted a bit on the head, buy looks like it has never been sharpened. Handle seems authentic, but need some work.
Not sure of the price tag, but Brades is quite a good brand.
Head to Blade edge = 4 1/2in.
Width of Blade = 2 3/4in.
Width of Head = 1 3/4in.
Thickness of Head = 3/4in.
Length of Handle = 13 1/2in.
Reason for the Imperial Size, is because I think it wood have been made in the Imperial Days.

Nice axes here great to see

Originally Posted by rsser

They made a Flint Edge. Could that be it?

Looking online it looks like that's it. Thanks.

Kelly axe - flint 2.jpg Kelly axe - flint 3.jpg Kelly axe - flint.jpg

Originally Posted by issatree

Hi All,
Picked up a Brades Criterion 312, it says on the face.
Does anybody know of such an item.
Unfortunately it has been belted a bit on the head, buy looks like it has never been sharpened. Handle seems authentic, but need some work.
Not sure of the price tag, but Brades is quite a good brand.
Head to Blade edge = 4 1/2in.
Width of Blade = 2 3/4in.
Width of Head = 1 3/4in.
Thickness of Head = 3/4in.
Length of Handle = 13 1/2in.
Reason for the Imperial Size, is because I think it wood have been made in the Imperial Days.

Check out the Brades catalogue page in post #8
Axe talk
According to that, a Brades 312 is a Criterion Scouts Hatchet.

I'm beginning to think those little 1591 Criterions several of us have,

... must have been good sellers down here, back in the day.


Now since my favourite axe is a stihl .....

... Anybody familiar with Brit made Kelly Dandenongs, and are they worth sharpening up ... or do I just stick with my Plumb USA for a general hack.

Scored the poor old Kelly a while back in some scrap ... and it looks as though its been used as bolt cutters ..

Carves, the Kelly in #69 above and in this thread Axe - reshaping the bit is an Aussie-made Kelly Dandenong. So far so good; have yet to give it a proper workout to check how the tarted up edge holds.

It's going into the 4WD for minor track clearing work. The bit's quite long: 145mm from corner to corner in a straight line. It was quite hard to find a leather sheath for it but I finally scored this one: https://www.forestrytools.com.au/index.php?id=798 It's well made.

AxeCoverAus-ex.jpg