is an old plumb hand axe any good

J

jpknives919

Joined
Apr 17, 2017
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recently i bought my a an old hand axe at a yard sale for 50 cents because it was rusted on the surfice the people didnt think they could sell it for much more so i got a good deal on that and an indian made knife with a beautiful carved sheath which also had a little sufice rust. it was too good of a deal to pass up to toys for a dollar. after i got the rust out of the axe i noticed the name PLUMB written in big letters. so is this just a plain roofers axe that rusted over or is it made with good steel. if it old do yall think the head was forge welded in as ive heard they used to do because of metal shortiges. and if it is welded in how can i tell. ALSO when i was working on it i noticed that there was some kind of heavy cote of some kind on it. i think it is bees wax but am not sure how to tell.

any help is appriciated
 
During the glory days of Plumb (before they were taken over by Ames in the 70s and then by Cooper Tools in 1980s) they were known for using excellent steel and top notch manufacturing processes. A vintage Plumb roofing hammer or hatchet will not be weld construction. You'll be hard pressed to find equivalent quality in a new version of such a tool today.
 
Most folks think they have a roofing axe nine times out of ten it ends up being a half hatchet. If you can post pictures it would be most helpful.
Plumb quit welding bits pretty early. Back in the teens. They used a proprietary steel that is very good. The vintage stuff is indeed premium quality.
 
garry3 said:
Most folks think they have a roofing axe nine times out of ten it ends up being a half hatchet. If you can post pictures it would be most helpful.
Plumb quit welding bits pretty early. Back in the teens. They used a proprietary steel that is very good. The vintage stuff is indeed premium quality.
Click to expand...
Yep, it's usually a half hatchet, a riggers axe, or a lathing hatchet.
 
Hickory n steel said:
Yep, it's usually a half hatchet, a riggers axe, or a lathing hatchet.
Click to expand...
You know, like, 'who cares'. I distinctly remember rookie (myself included) constructo-wannabees of the 1970s wondering what drywall hatchets were all about (markedly offset head and face) but no one questioned whether the 'tool crib relic' they were tasked to use was a half/riggers/lathing or roofing hatchet.
You are correct though in asking for a photo. Heaven knows there might even be a ship's anchor in the Plumb stamp!
 
300Six said:
You know, like, 'who cares'. I distinctly remember rookie (myself included) constructo-wannabees of the 1970s wondering what drywall hatchets were all about (markedly offset head and face) but no one questioned whether the 'tool crib relic' they were tasked to use was a half/riggers/lathing or roofing hatchet.
You are correct though in asking for a photo. Heaven knows there might even be a ship's anchor in the Plumb stamp!
Click to expand...
My thought was that in learning that their tool isn't exactly what they thought it was and learning that there are other types of carpentry / trades type hatchets it may spark a deeper interest than they may have initially had.
I don't think there's anything wrong with potentially calling a tool the wrong name.
 
Hickory n steel said:
My thought was that in learning that their tool isn't exactly what they thought it was and learning that there are other types of carpentry / trades type hatchets it may spark a deeper interest than they may have initially had.
I don't think there's anything wrong with potentially calling a tool the wrong name.
Click to expand...
And they have little in common with one another....
 
As a 'newbie' myself to the rich American history of axes and hatchets, I very much appreciate the wisdom shared by the guys with the knowledge.
And the CORRECT terminology is fundamental to learning that history.
 
sorry i havent replied sooner guys theres been alot of deaths in my comunity. as far as putting a picture of my hatchet thing ive tried to get an acount with multiple places that enable me to post pictures on here but none worke for some reason they all say that something errored. and im pretty sure its a roofing hatchet because i use them all the time building fences
 
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