Spanish flea market finds & other stuff that might be of interest!

[I'mSoSharp]

Finally found an Estwing..... but in a bad state! Currently got it soaking in linseed oil to see if the rock hard shrunk leather washers want to live again! If they do OK but I'm half hoping they don't as for the huge 2€ outlay I paid for it I fancied re-handling in a slightly different way..... We shall see.

And I'll post the knife on the kitchen cutlery sub-forum as I was surprised to see it stamped Sabatier (famous quality French chefs knives), I've found out their are lots of manufactures using that name but can't find anything quite as rustic as this!!

 

[I'mSoSharp]

And another USA made tool, happy to pick up this Sargent plane today, complete, original & ripe for restoration (shame about the rat gnawing...). After a search the lever cap & iron date it to 1910~18.

 

[I'mSoSharp]

A Wood Plane.

Spoiler

Or a Wooden Wood Plane Plane.

 

[I'mSoSharp]

A girlfriend suggested that I take a photo of the plane on one of the big flat open expances of land that exist here in Spain, she said that in correct English I could then say ~
"The plain wooden wood plane plane on the plain that no longer planes wood"

Today's bits n bobs, nice variety of rusty metal here.

The small hand forged hatchet head has me puzzled......

....because of the eye.....

....which looks like it's had a reinforcing welded on the inside??

Calling J jake pogg I think .......

 

[Hairy Clipper]

Or, perhaps: The plane in Spain planes mainly with the grain.

 

[jake pogg]

You know,an axe is after all such a simple tool(especially a poll-less axe) that an eye can be formed by any of a staggering variety of methods.
I've never seen this exact one,but it looks very similar to any number of ways i've encountered,though they usually had only one lap-weld.
We may never know exactly why it was chosen-mayhaps the guy changed his mind about the size of eye and needed that extra circumference;or had the critical length as planned burn off in the fire as he was momentarily distracted(wife came in the back door to nag him about something),or...?
Actually,i've pulled a similar stunt once:An axe i forged for a friend had a ridiculously insufficient volume inside the eye,he kept breaking handles.
I cut both sides Just like in photos above-in the middle,and lap-welded extensions reaching back to the original poll.
Happens to the best of us!

 

[I'mSoSharp]

Thanks Jake, I suppose a not so good job in the first place or a repair could easily explain such a couple of welds, another we'll never know bit of history.......

 

[I'mSoSharp]

The old Estwing from a few posts up.........

....has become the "Estwing Dark"

Cleaned & cold blued with a dark brown leather handle (thick leather from the seat of a very old chair!) with some black leather stripes. It's had saddle grease applied but anyone any ideas for something maybe a bit tougher?

The Portuguese Billhook has had a handle fitted & a clean/sharpen, this style & many variations like it are typical of the Alentejo region, quite a lot of grape vines grown so that's maybe why. Funnily enough the smaller "back blade" is welded on even though this is a factory Billhook..........

Cleaned the hatchet head I picked up yesterday, it's a Ramon Onraida, slightly larger than the one in the very first post in this thread (+36 & 40), I really like this shape. Think this one's going to be left as is with it's remnents of factory red paint & I'll make a thin slip handle.

And finally anyone have any Ideas of this little fella from a few posts ago, I really have no idea what it could be......

... has a tiny eye.

It's very thin & seems to be hardened, can't imagine a use for it.

 

[I'mSoSharp]

After looking at & admiring the huge mistery adzes on my living room floor for more than a year (from post 244) I thought it was time to put handles on them even if I get it wrong.
I decided that they are too heavy to be hand adzes even though the tight curves resemble hand adzes, they are simply too heavy to be used by one hand.
Fitting a handle with a tight curve backwards like the usual full size two handed shipmakers adze was ruled out as this would make the hammer head useless, the handle angle would be too tight.........
So I decided to make some long simple slip fit handles to match the unusual round adze eyes (as you know "adze eye" is a term to describe a square eyes!).......

20oz Estwing for scale, I said these are big!

Now they have handles something has become clear, even though they are not angled like the usual ships adze that we know that can be used by swinging between the feet they feel like they would work really well on a vertical plane like the side of a ship, the mass is enough to feel like they'd work without a big swing just short blows should remove wood.

The smaller one shows signs inside the eye that it has been forged by making a wrap, there are voids both top & bottom inside the eye though nothing that affects the handle fit.

I feel like they could be India/Asia ship building tools but as yet haven't found anything to back that up despite hours of Googling.... Impressive adzes whatever the origin!

 

[flexo]

i usually skip the adze but not there!

 

[I'mSoSharp]

I've cleaned & handled the "Alentejo" hatchet heads from post 357.

One is wrought iron, still managed to get an edge on the hardened steel.

On another one, can you tell where the hardened steel was welded in? It looks worse in the photo but is perfectly sound.

 

[jake pogg]

On another one, can you tell where the hardened steel was welded in? It looks worse in the photo but is perfectly sound.

In appearance(which can be deceptive in photos) it looks very like either a full insert,and inlaid bit,or a steel edge skew-welded to the iron.
Adze-like,from one side only.
Look for the weld on the other side,it could be further or nearer the edge,it don't need to be symmetrical on such a down-to-earth tool.

I'd not worry about soundness at all.Blending in welds requires several more high heats,and other persnickety moves,increasing the time/fuel/et c. for producing the tool.
(that orchard farmer farm/hand may not appreciate the increase in cost!)

If a smith is confident the weld is sound,it was common to let a tool out of the shop with welds quite visible,And often filled with dark crud.
(i'd venture a half-educated guess that it's silicate slag that melted out of that WI that is the body of this axe).

Thanks,I'mSoSharp,you're building a neat little data base for these sweet regional Biscayne axes.
Tying it to a specific region(and hopefully/wishfully-purpose,what they is Forhelps appreciate these even more.
Very cool.

 

[I'mSoSharp]

The welded bit hatchet looks much worse in the photo Jake, it has a smaller line at the same height on the other side, I have no doubt it's a solid working tool.
These three hatchets came from the Alentejo region of Portugal, they would have been made in Portugal not northern Spain but obviously there are similarities in construction & shape to the Basque axes as there will in many countries using similar methods to make them.
From this tiny sample & others I've seen I'd say the Portuguese hatchet heads are generally longer than the Spanish ones for the same size bit.

 

[I'mSoSharp]

Another old carbon steel meat carving knife saved from the bin........

As found.

After a grind & a handle from an old shelf unit upright!

.

 

[I'mSoSharp]

Found these at the weekend, the "L" shaped implement is something I've only seen here in Spain, it's used on a long wooden handle for trimming palm trees, the blade is sharpened on all five sides. The hammer head is a really nice shape, I can only guess at it being a Jewelers or silversmiths, it looks like wrought.

The small claw hammer head would have had straps on the handle that would fold into the indentations, it has one of the nicest makers marks though not sure who made it or what the mark actually depicts, a man & an archery target?

 

[I'mSoSharp]

This weekend's findings, a nice hatchet head that's very corroded & interesting because it has more heel than on the usual findings, no makers mark.........

And another hand grinder, nicely geared this one but the stone is going to need centering/balancing......

Some smaller bits n pieces, lovely French made snips & the smallest hand vice I've seen that I'm rather pleased with.

 

[I'mSoSharp]

Another trip to Portugal turned up this lot....

Bit of cleaning to do

 

[I'mSoSharp]

The hatchet from the post above with it's cracked handle removed.
It's interesting to see the method of forging, a wrap with a filler piece I assume....... Calling J jake pogg

 

[Ernest DuBois]

It's interesting to see the method of forging, a wrap with a filler piece I assume..[/USER]

You can see a similar forging when you go to the film linked in Balisong; The Woodsman topic. After the feature film there is a short segment showing this technique.

 

[Miller '72]

Another trip to Portugal turned up this lot....

Bit of cleaning to do

I always get excited when i see you are posting some new finds!
Yes i am more and more intrigued by the axes and tools across the pond but your finds in Spain, Portugal and surrounding areas are at times most unique.
Thanks always for sharing.