Thank you, there just isn't much to go on...almost need just one more little clue
Mr Miller, after seeing number 87 inside a diamond on that double bit, I believe you got yourself 1894 Robert Mann(AATCO) " SUPERIOR CAST STEEL"
Seems like all Mann family liked to use diamond mark and "superior cast steel" phrase.
Axes made for James H Mann company were marked with that anchor
Another example of Mann marking their axe with a year
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/l2747-vintage-single-bit-axe-marked-1910115419
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/antique-axe-head-single-bit-8-pound-1955407960
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axe_manufacturing_in_Pennsylvania#Mill_Hall,_PA_(1849-1890,_1891-1926)_‒_Robert_Mann_&_Sons
Mill Hall, PA (1849-1890, 1891-1926) ‒ Robert Mann & Sons
Operations in Mill Hall area were started around 1840 by Willis Mann, who rented a blacksmith shop near
Mackeyville and made axes on a small scale.
[23] This operation was terminated and Willis joined the Reedsville works as a factory superintendent. After several failures at other locations, Robert relocated to Mackeyville in 1847 to work in a retail store owned by Willis.
[24] In early 1849, Robert undertook to build an axe factory on Big Fishing Creek at a site owned by Saul McCormick.
[25] Robert was now 25 years old.
[26] Production started with only four employees, and just one remained after the first year.
[27] When McCormick died in 1857, he was found to be insolvent and had placed a mortgage on the property. The factory was purchased by Robert at the sheriff’s sale for $6,000, paid for partly by sale of 100 acres of factory-owned land. In 1866, following the death of three children due to diphtheria, Robert decided to retire to farming and sell the Mill Hall works to James, who wanted to leave Reedsville over a family dispute.
[28] The transaction was never finalized. Robert was often in poor health and next enlisted management help from nephew Robert C., son of Willis. This relationship also was unsuccessful.
Mann Edge Tool above Mill Hall (ca. 1910).
View of Mann Edge Tool, Mill Hall (ca. 1910).
In fall of 1877, the factory was entirely destroyed by fire. Some production was replaced by agreement with a nearby works in Lamar, the Loveland Axe Co.
[29] Fire losses were partially covered by insurance and the factory was up-and-running again in May 1878.
[30] By 1879, three of Robert’s sons had joined the business. Growth prompted the next move, construction of a second or Lower Plant devoted to double-bit axes (located in Mill Hall on Water St.). A site in Flemington (on Walnut Dr.) also was acquired, which was part of Ricker & Sons Iron Works.
[31] In 1881, Robert decided to retire, with management of the Lower Plant entrusted to son Thomas, while Joseph and Alfred operated the Upper Plant. Both operations shared a common title, Robert Mann & Sons. The Upper Plant had a capacity of about 800 axes per day and employed 100 men; the Lower Plant made 400 axes per day and employed 65 men;
[32] and the Flemington works employed about 30 men, making 300 axes per day.
[29] In 1884, another son, William H., joined the business. Eventually, Alfred and William H. were given control of the Upper Plant. The Lower Plant was sold to Thomas with the youngest son, Robert Jr., as a partner. Joseph, however, withdrew for a time to try his hand at farming.
[33] All axes were to carry the brand of Robert Mann, Mill Hall. A flood in June 1889 destroyed portions of both plants, existing inventory, coal and other supplies. Shortly thereafter, the family decided to sell-out to the Axe Trust.
[34] Alfred and Thomas were made plant superintendents, with Joseph appointed as general superintendent. These arrangements did not survive and in 1892, Joseph was discharged from American Axe and Tool Co.
The Axe Trust ‒ American Axe and Tool Co. (1890-1921)
In the late 1800s, industrial combinations took several forms. Some were loose price-fixing or market division agreements, cartels or pools that often enjoyed only short-term profits due to cheating. Others were more formal trusts or mergers of formerly independent competitors. Franchises were a third form of early trust consolidation. Transformed by improvements in transportation, communication, and finance, numerous corporations discovered that once geographically-isolated markets were now subject to vigorous price competition. A financial panic and worldwide depression in 1893 also resulted in slack output and excess capacity in many industries. The trust movement was the consequence. Estimates are that 3-5,000 independent firms disappeared through mergers between 1895 and 1904, and over 150 industries were transformed into near monopolies, including such vital industries as petroleum, steel, copper, railroads, ship building, farm machinery, telephone, telegraph, beef livestock, salt, and sugar. By standards of the day, the Axe Trust was a fairly modest affair. (It doesn’t even appear in the famous volume by John Moody, The Truth about the Trusts, 1904.) Formed by consolidation of 14 companies in 1890, American Axe and Tool (AAT) controlled about half of axe production.
[35] All three Mann operations signed-on, with sale to AAT of all assets and equipment at Axemann, Reedsville, Tyrone, and Mill Hall. As a cost-reducing measure, these and other acquired plants were quickly closed. However, a number of axe producers were excluded from the Trust, including Kelly Axe (Charleston, WV); Warren Axe (Warren, PA); Dunn Edge Tool (Oakland, ME); Collins Co. (Collinsville, CT); Plumb Co. (Philadelphia, PA); and many others.
[36] Possibly the Trust believed these competitors were too small to worry about or could be forced into bankruptcy through cut-throat practices. Reflecting quality issues, some manufacturers’ advertising and labels indicated they were not part of the Trust (e.g., James Mann’s “Anti-Trust” label). The history of the Axe Trust has never been fully reported, but government antitrust actions may have restrained it.
[37] Several accounts also indicate AAT was troubled by internal operation and management problems. The end of the Trust came in 1921. All assets of AAT were sold and transferred to Kelly Axe Mfg. Co., whose operations continued to expand.
[38] Further, members of the Mann family found that subordinate supervisory roles were not to their liking and either resigned or were discharged from AAT. Two of the Manns – James and Joseph ‒ started new businesses.
