Axes with hardened poll

[rjdankert]

Fine looking axe. Reminds me of the Tommy Axe with that claw. . .

Here is the earliest ad (1941) I could find for a Tommy:

https://books.google.com/books?id=C...nt -history -production -introduction&f=false

Reminds me of the Findlay Hatchetaxe.

No mention specifically about the poll. Could the entire head have the same hardness?


Bob

 

[rjdankert]

- double post / deleted -

 

[Square_peg]

No mention specifically about the poll. Could the entire head have the same hardness?

You can differentially harden the two ends of a tool made with one steel. A good number of these Tommy Axes have broken claws, a testament to the hardness of that end of the axe.

 

[Slim278]

Van Camp 1939. Notice this has a welded bit. I think an axe like this will mushroom not chip. However used wisely and not like a sledge, it should hold up well.

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[rjdankert]

. . . A good number of these Tommy Axes have broken claws, . . .

Well then, I'll be taking that one off my list to Santa.

Bob

 

[rjdankert]

Poking around the internet, I came across a couple of TT Tommy Axes that I thought might be interesting in this thread.

This was from a listing for two heads, a Tommy and a Collins. They look like they got the vinegar treatment. Could just be the lighting but the bit on the Collins is darker compared to the body while the bit on the bit on the Tommy is lighter than the body and lighter than the Collins bit. However, the poll on the Tommy is the darkest part and about the same as the Collins bit.

Here is a close up of the Tommy to show the coloring of the poll. Is the claw hardened?

Here is a different Tommy with a broken claw. Coincidence?

Photo with the gracious permission of _Land_.


As I said, I just thought these pictures were interesting. No implications or conclusions intended.

Bob

 

[Square_peg]

The Tommy axe looks to have an overlaid bit.

 

[Square_peg]

The claws could be spot heated to temper them slightly softer than the hammer face.

I've seen numerous examp I es of broken claws being ground off.

 

[rjdankert]

. . .
I've seen numerous examp I es of broken claws being ground off.

Sounds like a reasonable thing to do. Once one or both claws get broken off a Tommy its usefulness as a nail puller would be at least diminished if not worthless. So what's left is a hatchet with a ragged appendage hanging off the bottom of the poll which could find its way into someone's hide.

Bob

 

[Square_peg]

Yeah, some guys grind them off and then try to pass off the hatchet as a Dynamic that never had a claw. But you see the grind marks.


Ran across this today. It should help dispel the notion that a hardened poll won't mushroom. This is a Plumb Anchor Brand shingling hatchet.

A hardened poll will take much more abuse than a soft poll but it's not indestructible.

 

[_Land_]

Poking around the internet, I came across a couple of TT Tommy Axes that I thought might be interesting in this thread.

Here is a different Tommy with a broken claw. Coincidence?

Bob

Hehe.
I know that table and those axes.

The claws in the pictures of the other/vinegar treated Tommy in Bob's post do look like they are a lighter color than the rest of the poll. Since my intent on mine with the broken claw is to get rid of the claws, I'll take a file to the claw/claw remnant to see if I can make a determination of whether or not the claws are hardened. Pre-test, I'm guessing that they are because it would be a whole lot easier in the manufacturing process to temper the claws with the rest of the poll, but Bob's question and arrow on the photo above mine in his post have me wondering.

Edit to add: Just saw Square_Peg's excellent point about how the claws themselves could be spot heated seperately to lessen the hardness.

Chris

 

[rjdankert]

Hehe.
I know that table and those axes.
. . .

I take it that is your picture. Do you mind if I keep it in the post?

. . . Since my intent on mine with the broken claw is to get rid of the claws, I'll take a file to the claw/claw remnant to see if I can make a determination of whether or not the claws are hardened. . .

I don't know if you noticed that the pictures of the Tommy I think was "vinegared" show both claws. First picture - right claw, second - left claw. Both have the same light color. Are you going to try and snap that other claw off?

Bob

 

[rjdankert]

FWIW - Snip from Vaughan website page (yellow highlight by me):

Bob

 

[_Land_]

I take it that is your picture. Do you mind if I keep it in the post?

I don't mind at all.

I don't know if you noticed that the pictures of the Tommy I think was "vinegared" show both claws. First picture - right claw, second - left claw. Both have the same light color. Are you going to try and snap that other claw off?

I did notice that. I don't know yet how I'll remove the claw and claw stub. I don't have a band saw, unfortunately, so I'll have to do it with a grinder or a cutoff wheel.

Chris

 

[Square_peg]

FWIW - Snip from Vaughan website page (yellow highlight by me):

Bob

Good find!

I love Vaughan hammers. Been using them for years. I have at least 4 sizes at home and 2 at work. I use others, too, but Vaughans are my favorites.

 

[Slim278]

Saw this one on Ebay. Has come chips that could indicate a hard poll. Unfortunately it brought more than I wanted to pay.

 

[Square_peg]

I'd bet you're right.

 

[Steve Tall]

...There are old school axes with hardened steel added to the poll that provided a striking surface that were forged welded on there - still hardened polls...

This look like an example (found online), stamped
HANDMADE
LAKESIDE
on one side, and
STEEL POLL
on the other side.

 

[Square_peg]

Wow, that's very distinctive.

 

[Steve Tall]

Here's another axe with a hardened poll, from a 1919 publication (1916 patent, according to the illustration):

Campbell's Poll Axe
Lumbermen often find it difficult to get steel poll axes which stand hard usage in driving saw or tree wedges...
... will not flatten out, as is generally the case with the old style of axe having a thin piece of inferior steel welded on the poll.
... will balance perfectly on the handle....
from Canadian Forestry Journal, 1919
https://archive.org/stream/canadianforestry15canauoft#page/87/mode/1up
https://archive.org/stream/canadianforestry15canauoft#page/80/mode/1up