A colonial axehead

Oct 1, 2018
422
646
Western PA, Northern NJ
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I found this axehead last spring about half a mile from the venango path, near Kennerdell Pa. I had assumed that it was from the late 1800s, judging by the area's history. However, a friend and I brought it to a blacksmith at a civil war reenactor's encampment and he told us it was probably from the mid 1700s. I was blown away to find something so old, in fact this axe head is arguably my oldest find. I returned to the site I had found it and came across a handfull of nails, a horseshoe, a thimble, and two pieces of metal that I think are for holding pots. I plan on going back to the site to locate where these artifacts came from, hopefully I find a home site from the 1750s-60s.
 

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Upvote 13

Digger RJ

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Aug 24, 2017
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I found this axehead last spring about half a mile from the venango path, near Kennerdell Pa. I had assumed that it was from the late 1800s, judging by the area's history. However, a friend and I brought it to a blacksmith at a civil war reenactor's encampment and he told us it was probably from the mid 1700s. I was blown away to find something so old, in fact this axe head is arguably my oldest find. I returned to the site I had found it and came across a handfull of nails, a horseshoe, a thimble, and two pieces of metal that I think are for holding pots. I plan on going back to the site to locate where these artifacts came from, hopefully I find a home site from the 1750s-60s.
Nice!!! Congrats!!!
 

UnderMiner

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Jul 27, 2014
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You found Davy Crockett's axe! Or more likely someone who heard of Davy Crockett. Maybe it's the axe they used to slay a bear!
 

OP
OP
EnvoyToTheMolePeople
Oct 1, 2018
422
646
Western PA, Northern NJ
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Garrett AT Max
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All Treasure Hunting
To support Radon's suggestion, note how close the blade end is to where the handle was attached. Usually there is more distance, suggesting that this head has been sharpened a great many times.
The blacksmith said the reason for this is that the blade is that the axe is iron but it had a steel wedge for a blade. The iron survived, but the steel did not. It's also possible that the steel broke off elsewhere and that's why they got rid of the axe.
 

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