any ideas on this axehead

tinpan

tinpan

Silver Member
Sep 4, 2004
4,664
1,586
Eaglehawk
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
GPX
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting

Attachments

  • axehead003.jpg
    axehead003.jpg
    32.1 KB · Views: 611
Sort by date Sort by votes
pic
 

Attachments

  • axehead004.jpg
    axehead004.jpg
    33.5 KB · Views: 601
Upvote 0
Cool Axe....Yours resembles a Wisconsin Full Peeling axehead. Alot of times the shape of the head would tell what part of the country the man came from. Pole axe(one sided ) or a doublebit axe. Pole axes were common in Connecticut,New england,Ohio,Jersey ......Doublebits in Michigan,Wisconsin and Minnesota....
 

Upvote 0
Kinda looks like the head of the throwing axes used at lumberjack/logging festivals around the country. This style is popular because it can be stuck in the target with the points as well as a full strike.
 

Upvote 0
gypsyheart said:
Well I will take a wild stab at it and say its hand forged so that could place it before 1880.....
Click to expand...
Hand forged? ??? Really? :-\ Based on what? :o I mean, this looks like a common doublebit that was used in logging operations. Here in Northern California an axe like that would have been mass-produced around 1930. I assume the same would be true for Australia.
 

Upvote 0
hi treasuretal and what do you base your facts on.first like i said australians use a single edge axe head and never massed produced doubleaxe heads of anytype and i would say its imported and have no idea on its age.i bet gypsy is right and your wrong

tinpan
 

Upvote 0
Here's a pic of a standard Throwing Axe. they have been in use for many years. Possibly this is what you found.
 

Attachments

  • kastyx.gif
    kastyx.gif
    6.3 KB · Views: 439
Upvote 0
Axeheads were mass produced long before the 30's The lumber camps that I have been digging the last 7 years are from the 1890's. I have found dozens of axeheads that are exactly the same shape as the next, length, thickness and height. I leave them in the woods for someone else to dig them up in the next 100 years.
 

Upvote 0
tinpan said:
hi treasuretal and what do you base your facts on.first like i said australians use a single edge axe head and never massed produced doubleaxe heads of anytype and i would say its imported and have no idea on its age.i bet gypsy is right and your wrong

tinpan
Click to expand...
Yikes!! Didn't realize I was stepping on anyone's toes by posting my opinions. And for the record, I wasn't posting "facts," I was posting my opinion based on my experience. And an import is exactly what I was implying. Perhaps gypsy is correct. I didn't realize your question was out of my bounds. So sorry. :-*
 

Upvote 0
Looks kinda' medieval to me ??? guess not.
More than likely a throwing axe Tinpan.Interesting find ! ;D
 

Attachments

  • images.jpg
    images.jpg
    2.8 KB · Views: 371
Upvote 0
I said >>>>>>>>>I would take a wild stab at guessing the date at 1880
Most quality throwing axes are still hand forged ...not mass produced. The photo above in silverswedes post is taken from a hand forged axe website.

My wild stab also involved thinking about the places that Tinpan hunts....old mines....out in the boonies....and the older sites ,which also made me think it was of an older find.

Treasuretales......Just for curiousity sake....what made you feel that it was mass produced by looking at a photo of it ? From the logging camp museums here in Wisconsin we are seeing these same types since about 1836.
 

Upvote 0
Many Aussies travelled to the gold fields in califorrnia and when the gold fields were discovered in australia many california miners and blacksmiths moved there. It is very possible that the axe was made by an american blacksmith in australia. He would be inclined to make what he was familiar with. It is also possible that it was made by an australian blacksmith as a special order by an american miner who wanted tools he was familiar with. exanimo, ss
 

Upvote 0
Hmmm... no, not mass produced. At first I passed it off as a logging tool... its handy to have two sharp edges with one tool if you have to travel a distance to your work site. But it resembles a throwing axe more than a logging tool... and I can't help but wonder if it was originally a weapon rather than a tool? But I've been going off the deep end lately, so take this with a grain of salt. Nice find tinpan.
 

Upvote 0
It seems we have a situation where alot of us "Yanks" are commenting on an unusual type axe head forTinpans' part of the world. Here we can buy single bit or double bit mass produced axes in any Walmart. The purpose for the different types of heads is important. Single bit or "pole axe" for mainly limbing and splitting wood also driving wedges shims and spikes in mine timbers. Double bit for all around woods work, tree falling, under cutting for saw falling. chopping holes in the ice for fishing. The two bits kept you with an extra sharp edge when working. The throwing axe was probably an improvement on the tomahawk. It is thrown end over end and more possibilities of a sharp edge striking the target or victim the better. Ancient "Battle Axes" included a spear point on the top edge. I'm hoping Tinpans' axe is hand forged, smaller than a regular double bit, "my working axe is 11" bit-to-bit and 3 1/2 top to bottom of eye" and is old, old, old, Everyone has made some real good points here and it's been fun.
 

Upvote 0
I have to agree with Silverswede. I have double bitted axes and single bit axes out in my garage. Have always owned them, for working in the woods. Also have a double bitted hatchet and a single bit hatchet. The ones which I have , don't have as much curve in them, which would give them more blade area for throwing.
Clayton
 

Upvote 0
Yes, probably a logging tool. (I know that's a flip-flop from my last post... I was being optimistic :) )Too bad its not marked. The bits have more of an arch than the ones I've found in New England. What are the measurements Tinpan? It appears small (ish) by the photos.
 

Upvote 0
gypsyheart said:
I said >>>>>>>>>I would take a wild stab at guessing the date at 1880
Most quality throwing axes are still hand forged ...not mass produced. The photo above in silverswedes post is taken from a hand forged axe website.

My wild stab also involved thinking about the places that Tinpan hunts....old mines....out in the boonies....and the older sites ,which also made me think it was of an older find.

Treasuretales......Just for curiousity sake....what made you feel that it was mass produced by looking at a photo of it ? From the logging camp museums here in Wisconsin we are seeing these same types since about 1836.
Click to expand...


Well, at the risk of getting the axe (lol), I'll attempt to better explain my OPINIONS. Seems everyone else has one, but apparently I didn't post mine properly or with enough "respect" to veteran treasurenet members. I'll say right now that I don't think my post waranted such hostility. I'm learning the ropes and guess I tripped myself up on one of them. I meant no offense to tinpan or Gypsy. But I thought opinions where what was requested. So maybe you guys can cut me a little slack before you smack me around next time????

I've dug up a couple axeheads very similar to the one tinpan has pictured on this thread. The ones I dug up were from locations in California, USA which were at logging camps that appeared and disappeared in the 1930s. I've seen axeheads from the 1880s (again, in America, not Australia) and they had much more "sweep" (curve) to their heads which also added length to the curved bit portion (length from top of bit to bottom of bit). The photo Tinpan posted that shows the handle hole is interesting, IMO, because it shows the tips or bits as being tapered and re-tapered (for lack of a technical word). You'll notice that the throwing axes don't have a double tapered bit, but instead have a smooth and uniform taper from handle hole to bit blade. Making a uniform double taper by hand-forging would have been quite a feat in the 1880s, IMO. And the handle hole is quite uniform as well. If you go to the Tuatahi website and read about throwing axes, it states that the handle can be ordered AND TRIMMED TO FIT THE HOLE, because their axes are not completely uniform.

Here's a link for Tuatahi Throwing Axes (a New Zealand company). http://www.tuatahiaxes.com/pics/trowingaxes.jpg I live near a logging supply store (Bailiey's) that stocks these axes, I've seen them first-hand. They don't have a double taper. So based on these things, I formed my OPINIONS. I never said I was an expert. Nor did I say anybody was wrong. I merely questioned how a certain "stab" at the date and type of axe were derived. Believe me, I will steer clear of certain posters in the future. And I will tippy-toe around the forum like Cinderfella. ;D Now I'm sure somebody will try very hard to shoot holes in my theory, so blast away. I'm interested in the ultimate answer and not the "glory."
 

Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.

This might be a fraternal collar pin.

⬅️ Previous Thread

Spanish Cob forum......under coin forum

Next Thread ➡️

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Simplex Metal Detector

Latest Discussions

Back
Top