I added greatly to my axe, hatchet and adze collection today. I found the perfect type of online auction to buy at, poorly advertised and in the middle of nowhere.



















Anyone else have any luck at the auctions this weekend?

Any other axe collectors?

Keith

There is some good craftsmanship on some of those axes and good custom made handles. A few look hand forged.

I paid $12.43 average per piece for 87 pieces. Some of those Collins and Kellys are worth pretty good money.

Keith

Not a collector but have a bunch of old heads that lost their handles and a legitimate old broad ax.

There was an old German blacksmith near here that used to make the tools for the shipyard when they were making wood minesweepers. He showed me an adze that he made that was as perfect as you could make it, absolutely beautiful workmanship. I should have offered to buy it.....

9th picture down 3rd from left with the black handle.. I have one and never knew what it was called Thanks

They are called aircraft rescue axes or aircraft crash axes. The rubber handle protects you from being electrocuted, while using the tool to peel through the skin of the plane to rescue crash survivors. I think they started making them in WWII. I have 2 now, slightly different from each other.

Keith

That adze is probably worth a few hundred dollars.

A lot of German blacksmiths, many from around Lancaster, Pennsylvania, from the 1700s on, made some very fine tools that are in high demand today.

Keith

I see you picked up some Railroad tools too-Adzes,Plug punch,cold set,tamping pick.

I was hoping you would chime in. I thought those heavy adzes might be used for railroad work. How were the plug punch, cold set and tamping pick used?

I get a lot of railroad tools and hammers in auctions lots I want axes and hatches from. I have a sort of incidental collection of probably 40 distinctly different hammers and sledges.

Keith

The plug punch is used when guaging rail-spikes are pulled,holes are plugged,and the punch is held over the plug and a man drives the plug down below the tie plate by hitting the top of the punch with a sledge or spike hammer.Then the rail and plates are pushed in to guage by men with lining bars and one man spikes the rail to guage.Ties are adzed where the plates have cut into the tie.
The cold set was used to cut steel,frozen bolts,etc,could even cut a rail-just knick the rail all the way around the head web and base and drop the rail on another rail and it would snap clean where knicked.Same as the plug punch,one man hold the cold set and another man hit the cold set on the head with a sledge or spike maul.Cold sets were also used to bump jointed rail in winter when you had to repair a pull apart.Place cold set in the closed up joints on each side of the pull apart and bump the rails ahead by driving open the closed up joints with the cold set and a spike hammer or sledge.

Tamping picks were used in rock ballast,track was lifted with jacks,either by eye or level board,and the ballast was driven under the hollow spots under the ties under the rail with tamping picks,tamping bars or jackhammers.

Adzes were used when shimming track in winter due to frost heaving.Since ties were frozen in the ground,Snow was shovelled out of the shim spot,spikes were pulled,rail raised with claw bars the tie plates removed,the holes plugged,ties adzed where the tie plates had cut in to the ties,shims installed to level track,track lined and spiked with shim spikes.

We used to shim track all winter on the moosonee line-hundreds of spots a winter.Usually a 6 man gang,shimming all day.Main job in winter.Shim spots would pop up all winter long.In spring when the frost was coming out of the ground they would all need to be removed in a couple weeks.

Good times working on the railgang.

On the Pulaski's (4th picture down) look and see if either are a True Temper. They were the ones that always held the best edge. Like many others on here, I have 1,000's of hours of experience on the business end of those things.

Thank you very much for explaining the tools use.

Keith

Went to an auction today, didn't have anything I really needed or wanted. Just a normal purchase of a can of diet Coke and a candy bar.

KeithC. Interesting stuff right there. Thanks for posting. Boco thanks for the explanation on how the railroad tools are used. Good stuff

The 2nd pic has a couple Hudson Bay type axe heads. What do you think those weigh?

A couple of nice ice axes, few norlunds, pulaskis and looks like ya even got a WWII aircraft axe which is pretty cool! Nice score.

The top axe, like a modified Hudson Bay pattern, with the upswell, is a Cornetta from El Salvador aand weighs just under 2 pounds, 7 ounces.

The next one, is a Collins in Hudson Bay pattern, and weighs just under 2 pounds, 12 ounces.

The third is a Collins Legitimus, in Hudson Bay pattern and weighs just under 2 pounds, 14 ounces.

Keith

The Pulaski on top is a True Temper Kelly Works, with the "Kelly World's Finest Stamp" on the other side.

The other Pulaski is a Mann True American made in Lewistown, PA.

The loose Pulaski head is unmarked.

Keith

Thanks.

Keith

You're right. Some are definitely hand forged.

Keith