COTS Project Thread

Square_peg said:
You make such fine handles. I'm in lust.
Click to expand...

Thank you! I know one thing - Locust is nice to look at. "Honey" is the right word because once the BLO goes on it is a beautiful honey color, and it smells like honey too, which is probably more likely where the name comes from. :p
 
:) That picture is a bit of a lie I think - the Ct is behind the HB there. But at any rate it's a 3lb True Temper Flint Edge Kelly Works.
 
What else? Hammers. Both are Champions. The big one has a huge 2-1/2 marking on it but it weighs exactly 2lbs. I didn't do the cleanup on the smaller one. As usual, hangs for a local friend of mine who seems to have a Champion addiction. I used Rail Road pick/spike ... I don't remember what ... handles this time. I don't think I've ever seen them at the hardware store before but maybe I just overlooked them. This time however, none of the sledge hammer handles passed inspection so I may have just looked further than the end of my nose and found two of these. Remarkably, the nicest shaped handles hanging on the rack and since they are apparently for a slip-fit tool, the tongue end is huge (not as huge as a regular pick handle, which I use sometimes as well) and without a kerf. One can manage two very nicely shaped hammer handles from one of these.

blacksmith_16sept1 by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

blacksmith_16sept2 by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

blacksmith_16sept3 by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr
 
That is "Champion" work COTS! Since your work is consistently such high quality I run out of adjectives sometimes :)

Your friend can't help but be really happy with those. If he has an affection for Champion hammers and collects them I can't think of anything cooler than having them hung/prepped to that level.

*I will buy a thesaurus.
 
Haha! Thanks everyone. Agent, your adjectives are great, but who knew hammers and axes could be an avenue for enhancing vocabulary?
 
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cityofthesouth said:
What else? Hammers. Both are Champions. The big one has a huge 2-1/2 marking on it but it weighs exactly 2lbs. I didn't do the cleanup on the smaller one. As usual, hangs for a local friend of mine who seems to have a Champion addiction. I used Rail Road pick/spike ... I don't remember what ... handles this time. I don't think I've ever seen them at the hardware store before but maybe I just overlooked them. This time however, none of the sledge hammer handles passed inspection so I may have just looked further than the end of my nose and found two of these. Remarkably, the nicest shaped handles hanging on the rack and since they are apparently for a slip-fit tool, the tongue end is huge (not as huge as a regular pick handle, which I use sometimes as well) and without a kerf. One can manage two very nicely shaped hammer handles from one of these.

blacksmith_16sept1 by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

blacksmith_16sept2 by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

blacksmith_16sept3 by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr
Click to expand...

Wow, the handle on that second gamer is just awesome ! I love the rounded bottom on hammer handles, thought it looks especially nice on the bottom of an octagonal handle.
 
Thanks. Hopefully the rounded bottoms protect the handles some from bumps and bruises - especially with the chubby swell I left on the smaller one.
 
Apparently it's been months! I go in and out of projects, maybe you guys are the same. I'll get off on another hobby and hit it hard for awhile, then move on to another one and usually circle back around. Anyway, the hammers are boring, so boring in fact, I didn't even take "after" pics. You guys know the drill. But I snapped a couple of the DBs. One, obviously, is a nice TT with one bit pretty well worn, stuck it on a hardware store House handle that got as much work as you would expect .... and I just realized it's not even in the picture. Derp. Well the handle was pretty comical, around the shoulder it was completely shattered from repeated overstrikes to the point that I just broke it off by hand with very little effort. The other one, that is pictured, was on a nice older replacement handle that I elected to keep. Fortunately as you can see, someone hung it pretty high and left me plenty to work with. Had to remove some shoulder damage but you can hardly tell it was there. I thinned it just a little crosswise, but it was nice and straight and smooth. The only marking I could find on the head was possibly 3-1/2, some red paint and poorly finished drop forging evidence. I suspect that it represents the decline of whichever company made it, possibly the 80s or 90s? It's got some cheek, but very little, with thin bits, and it's rough overall. Steel reacted positively during sharpening.

Also pictured is a pretty recent maul and flat cheeked hatchet that spent some time in the dirt neither of which may ever see wood again. The important piece is the little Plumb Boys axe. It has an unfortunate chip in the bit but even after reprofiling it weighs just over 2-1/4lbs. That is the original red handle in the pic and this axe is worthy of a quality handle. My plan is to get myself a Red Elm (because it's red of course) and craft a handle for it. All of these are for other folks, no joy for me.

novemberprojects_before by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

doublebits_TTKP4 by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

doublebits_TTKP3 by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

doublebits_TTKP1 by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr
 
Square_peg said:
It's good to see this thread again. The TT is a Perfect, isn't it?
Click to expand...

Thanks pegs. Yep it's a Perfect (marked 3 2). Got another one sitting here that weighs almost 4-1/4lbs (no weight markings) just like it (phantom bevels and all) that'll pop up in here at some point.
 
My favorite thread. COTS, both those double bits look like well-hung honest working axes.

Thanks for "circling back around" :thumbup:
 
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