It followed me home (Part 2)

A sweet Collins score tonight up in Winsted CT.

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Cant have enough Collins
 
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crbnSteeladdict said:
Three years ago JB kept finding weirdly shaped handles. Top of the pic axe with black tape and the one underneath Rockaway axe are just few examples of those handles.
Have I, by accident, stumbled on possible explanation for those peculiar hafts? This handle looks commercially made to me.
excellent-ship-builders-mast-makers_1_6d733c230ca6a26eb59901f67aa6444f.jpg

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/excellent-ship-builders-mast-makers-2003563597
I believe the seller was wrong calling it a Masting axe and it is actually New England pattern.
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https://archive.org/details/DouglasAxeMfgCoCatalogue1873/page/n71/mode/2up
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Some makers called that a masting axe.
 
the-accumulator said:
I googled Dr Barton and found a reference to unusual curved handles. Mine has that for sure, but it has no oval logo and virtually no patina
View attachment 1354475
View attachment 1354476
It also has "J.W." deeply stamped on the opposite side. It's all rather a mystery to me! Thanks for the Dr Barton lead. T-A
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Head is stamped "2", "D.R. Barton", "JW" and "U.S.
vintage-antique-huge-r-barton_1_28e8fd1cedd4160662f61f948994bb25.jpg

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-antique-huge-r-barton-1955410236
In 1865 on the 17th of March the great flood of Rochester occurred. It destroyed his manufacturing building that he had purchased in 1832. He borrowed $200,000 from Royal & William Mack to rebuild his company. They became partners until 1873 when David bought back his company. At that point he started stamping his tools D.R. Barton 1832 verses the Mack's were still making tools as D.R. Barton and Company. On April 26th 1875 he passed away after a short illness. His wife and son sold the company back to the Mack's a year later and they used his name for about 5 more years.
https://www.davistownmuseum.org/bioBarton.html
 
crbnSteeladdict said:
Head is stamped "2", "D.R. Barton", "JW" and "U.S.
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The "J.W." on mine is a match. Also, there is another mark beyond the BARTON, apparently a partial character, that might be a model number. But how can my axe be 140+ years old with a finish that looks so nearly new?? This tool was NOT sold to me as a priceless nineteenth century treasure for some great sum of money; I paid twenty-some-odd dollars for it at a local garage sale. Sounds too good to be true, don't you think?
Thanks for the link. T-A
 
the-accumulator said:
The "J.W." on mine is a match. Also, there is another mark beyond the BARTON, apparently a partial character, that might be a model number. But how can my axe be 140+ years old with a finish that looks so nearly new?? This tool was NOT sold to me as a priceless nineteenth century treasure for some great sum of money; I paid twenty-some-odd dollars for it at a local garage sale. Sounds too good to be true, don't you think?
Thanks for the link. T-A
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Yeah, I will take off your hands: $28 seems fair? LOL
Your axe was a regular user at one point of time(slightly worn toe). The handle had to be deep scrubbed with steel wool or even sandpaper . Same story with the head.
The look of the steel reminds me of the polished bit of my misidentified Legitimus Frankensteinus
Currently I believe it was designated wood splitting axe of the former owner (slightly crooked flint edge bit actually redirected part of vertical force to one side and prevented sticking in the wood)
Abrasive properties of split wood kept flint edge shiny but the areas right behind the welds kept original patina
https://bladeforums.com/threads/it-followed-me-home-part-2.1190276/page-233#post-17558657
 
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crbnSteeladdict said:
The same catalog lists Ship pattern model (seems to be longer with narrower cutting edge in comparison to New England):
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I've noticed the same difference between the New England pattern and a masting axe before myself. In the catalogues I have it seems that indeed the New England pattern wasn't as "pinched" at the waist. I'm also wondering if the New England pattern wasn't a single bevel? But the patterns varied enough between companies I think it's quite difficult to know the difference for sure. I'll try to remember to take some photo id the examples I've got later. See if we can figure it out!
 
the-accumulator said:
I googled Dr Barton and found a reference to unusual curved handles. Mine has that for sure, but it has no oval logo and virtually no patina
View attachment 1354475
View attachment 1354476
It also has "J.W." deeply stamped on the opposite side. It's all rather a mystery to me! Thanks for the Dr Barton lead. T-A
Click to expand...

That handle is typical and correct for a masting axe. Sometimes they're shorter but the curve is common.
 
the-accumulator said:
This tool was NOT sold to me as a priceless nineteenth century treasure for some great sum of money; I paid twenty-some-odd dollars for it at a local garage sale. Sounds too good to be true, don't you think?
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I bought my first masting axe 7 years ago on ebay for $10. It was listed as a 'hatchet' and nobody else bid on it. You had to read the text to learn that it was 10" long.
 
crbnSteeladdict said:
Head is stamped "2", "D.R. Barton", "JW" and "U.S.
vintage-antique-huge-r-barton_1_28e8fd1cedd4160662f61f948994bb25.jpg

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-antique-huge-r-barton-1955410236
In 1865 on the 17th of March the great flood of Rochester occurred. It destroyed his manufacturing building that he had purchased in 1832. He borrowed $200,000 from Royal & William Mack to rebuild his company. They became partners until 1873 when David bought back his company. At that point he started stamping his tools D.R. Barton 1832 verses the Mack's were still making tools as D.R. Barton and Company. On April 26th 1875 he passed away after a short illness. His wife and son sold the company back to the Mack's a year later and they used his name for about 5 more years.
https://www.davistownmuseum.org/bioBarton.html
Click to expand...

Kinda a rough, sad story here...well, not for thw Macks

Beautiful masting axe...that handle man! Sweet
 
Miller '72 said:
Kinda a rough, sad story here...well, not for thw Macks

Beautiful masting axe...that handle man! Sweet
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I can understand flood damage. What really boggles my mind are fires. W.C. Kelly might have set few fires on purpose but if you look into Douglas Axe Co, Mann clan, even McKinnon it is never ending story of shops burning down. I wish I knew how those started. Is there a list of safety measures to prevent fires in blacksmith facilities?
 
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