mystery hatchet...

[ummm?]

Hey. Im not really a pointy objects person. I found this in my front yard, just chilling in the grass. its kind of strange to say the least. I cant seem to find anything thats quite like it (with the limited research ive been doing). Does anyone know what exactly it is or what its used for... or how it would have ended up in my front lawn?

 

[Hawgsnawt]

its an old hatchet used to install cedar shake roof.... the holes along the top should have a movable screw in stud that was used to measure each shingle's overlap to keep a uniform pattern across the roof. The bottom edge was sharpened enough to split a wooden shingle to desired width based on what was needed at the time.

not overly rare item, but not real common either..... it likely bounced out of the back of some old roofers truck as he passed by and maybe cartwheeled up into the yard? or perhaps some kid found it in Dads shop and was using it to throw like a tomahawk.... a bad throw could have landed it in the yard....../shrug

 

[Lieblad]

mn" ??

 

[Moonw]

Does it bear dried blood ?
Is your neighbor last name "Borden" ??

Hahaha, I'm too late!

 

[Old Axeman]

This hatchet is often mistaken for a wood shake or shingle roofing hatchet. It is for installing 3- tab roofing. The missing gauge pin was used to set the exposure, usually 5". The bottom was sharpened to cut the shingles instead of a gyp knife (Old carpenters name for a utility knife. Utility knives were first invented to cut gypsum board. Gyp board is a 20th century invention, the earlist I found was installed in 1929 and the joints were covered with 1/4" x 2" wood strips instead of tape and mud) These hatchets came after 3 tab roofing and were never around before that. Historically never used for wood shingle roofing or lathe and plaster work. They are used today for wood shingle roofing because roofers do 3-tab and wood shingles, so the line got blurred .

 

[300Six]

This hatchet is often mistaken for a wood shake or shingle roofing hatchet. It is for installing 3- tab roofing. The missing gauge pin was used to set the exposure, usually 5". The bottom was sharpened to cut the shingles instead of a gyp knife (Old carpenters name for a utility knife. Utility knives were first invented to cut gypsum board. Gyp board is a 20th century invention, the earlist I found was installed in 1929 and the joints were covered with 1/4" x 2" wood strips instead of tape and mud) These hatchets came after 3 tab roofing and were never around before that. Historically never used for wood shingle roofing or lathe and plaster work. They are used today for wood shingle roofing because roofers do 3-tab and wood shingles, so the line got blurred .

Lovely explanation Old Axeman. I was an asphalt shingle roofing contractor in the mid 1980s and all of the 'lifers' in that profession at the time wielded these. The hole in the handle was for a string or leather lace to go around the wrist. A hammer that slipped and fell to the ground from up high was both a danger down below and a nuisance to retrieve. Pneumatic staplers and air nailers (and utility knives with disposable hook blades) had pretty much supplanted roofing hatchets/hammers by the late 80s but every proud roofer still carried one on their pouch. I was hired to work on a lavish cedar shake roof project on Lake of the Woods in northern Ontario 15 years ago but by that time Butane-powered nailers and cordless circular saws had pretty much obsoleted any use for shingle hatchets, whether tapered at the ends and sides of the blades or tapered only at the ends.

 

[ummm?]

.....

 

[ummm?]

cool thankyou very much for the insight. i was thinking as well that it had probably (hopefully) fallen off a truck or something, i live on a very busy street

 

[Hickory n steel]

It's definitely a shingling hatchet.
It probably fell of a truck, but not knowing your area it could be anything. ( drug addicts often get paranoid and will walk around with the first weapon they can find )

 

[quinton]

This hatchet is often mistaken for a wood shake or shingle roofing hatchet. It is for installing 3- tab roofing. The missing gauge pin was used to set the exposure, usually 5". The bottom was sharpened to cut the shingles instead of a gyp knife (Old carpenters name for a utility knife. Utility knives were first invented to cut gypsum board. Gyp board is a 20th century invention, the earlist I found was installed in 1929 and the joints were covered with 1/4" x 2" wood strips instead of tape and mud) These hatchets came after 3 tab roofing and were never around before that. Historically never used for wood shingle roofing or lathe and plaster work. They are used today for wood shingle roofing because roofers do 3-tab and wood shingles, so the line got blurred .

Lovely explanation Old Axeman. I was an asphalt shingle roofing contractor in the mid 1980s and all of the 'lifers' in that profession at the time wielded these. The hole in the handle was for a string or leather lace to go around the wrist. A hammer that slipped and fell to the ground from up high was both a danger down below and a nuisance to retrieve. Pneumatic staplers and air nailers (and utility knives with disposable hook blades) had pretty much supplanted roofing hatchets/hammers by the late 80s but every proud roofer still carried one on their pouch. I was hired to work on a lavish cedar shake roof project on Lake of the Woods in northern Ontario 15 years ago but by that time Butane-powered nailers and cordless circular saws had pretty much obsoleted any use for shingle hatchets, whether tapered at the ends and sides of the blades or tapered only at the ends.

Thanks guys. They never were popular around here (eastern Ky) and I often wondered about them.