It followed me home (Part 2)

This poor guy needed saving.



Holy crap! That's a nice axe and a great haft, too! Do you think the haft is original? Craftsman 'singsong' stamp with phantom bevels. Lots of steel remaining beyond the bevels. Gotta love that.

If you feel ambitious it would be nice to know how the cross section of that haft measures at various points along it.
 
Holy crap! That's a nice axe and a great haft, too! Do you think the haft is original? Craftsman 'singsong' stamp with phantom bevels. Lots of steel remaining beyond the bevels. Gotta love that.

If you feel ambitious it would be nice to know how the cross section of that haft measures at various points along it.
Thank you, I was delighted to get it. Yes, the haft is most likely original. It stays pretty consistent just shy of 1 1/4" all the way up to about 7" from the head then it starts fanning out.



 
Ok, nothing to get excited about here. I snagged this because of what I saw under the 3 screws.




So open advice time. Any suggestions or technique as to reinstalling this? Do I just use a wood wedge and then tap a hole in the center? Is it that simple. Or is there more to it?
Yeah you've got the right idea. What I do with those is use 3 different size drill bits. Increasing in size while decreasing in depth. Those plumb half hatchets are nice. And yours looks nice too and looks to be on the original stick. It'll clean up very well! Great find!
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Yeah you've got the right idea. What I do with those is use 3 different size drill bits. Increasing in size while decreasing in depth. Those plumb half hatchets are nice. And yours looks nice too and looks to be on the original stick. It'll clean up very well! Great find!
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Right on, I had a small step bit it worked pretty well. I left the handle alone for once. Just hung it about a 1/2" lower to get into some better wood. Thanks for the info and the pic! You got a nice looking Plumb there!
 
2lb. 11oz. Mckinnon Rockaway, “1845” hatchet.
I don’t know anything about this. The only other reference to one I can find is someone calling it a “Mckinnon hatchet” but he had never heard of it either.

I suspect it was made in the later years of operation (closed in 1930) and the 1845 name must just have been to commentate when William Mckinnon opened up his first blacksmith shop in 1845. It is in the scrolling on the corners and in large red lettering diagonal across the label.

I don’t know, I’d appreciate any information on it, it’s a mystery to me.

Looks like it was made for South American export with the poll but it has a somewhat crude American shaped eye.
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Short history of the McKinnons. Pretty sure not new information for some of you geeks. ;)
https://www.craftsofnj.org/images/sitemedia/toolshed/Tool Shed No177-201409.pdf

If you look at the pencil line drawing in that pdf then you'll see why I like the Rockaway pattern. It has a long toe as compared to the heel. I like this when bucking a log on the trail or road. It's always the underside that is more difficult to cut. The strong toe leads into the underside better than an axe with an even heel and toe.
 
Wow, those are both clean! Nice find!
Thanks! Flea market find. I'm not particularly pleased with the 5 minute sharpening job the guy put on it; at least it appears to have been done with a file. I'd much rather have found it untouched on the bits, but he didn't butcher it so all is well. The hang was so horrible I immediately removed the head when I got home. Im thinking the TT haft is actually for a smaller DB head, so not original to this Flint Edge but that's ok it's still a great handle I can put a 2.5 lb head on in the future!
 
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What makes you think that? Is it handle's length or the size of the eye?
Nice yours is in GREAT shape! Its the size of the eye that makes me think it was meant for a smaller DB. There was a poor attempt at added filler wedge on one side of the eye that I basically pulled out with my fingers. Gaps on bottom of eye as well. I think I'll save the haft for a future project of a smaller DB that fits better. Length is 32.5" as it sits. You can see that the head was sitting lower than the shoulder, and he just attempted to wedge it like that.
 
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