Found on island kayaking/metal detecting any ideas on age?

[Slycer516]

 

[Slycer516]

li cleaned it up a bit ... Looks like a wedge or nails fused with axe head

 

[Tedyoh]

Is it an axe head?
edit- ok I posted when you only had the first picture up.

Edit #2 - what island or close to where - that will help a lot - also from other axe heads ive seen posted, they are pretty hard to date, if you clean it may have makers marks or a date stamp on it, I found one with "43" stamped on it, 1743, 1843 or 1943, no one really knows?

 

[Slycer516]

Unless it was designed this way??

 

[Slycer516]

New England ct River island..possibly colonial?

 

[Back-of-the-boat]

I think a wedge would have more width to split the wood, pretty sure it is an ax head, as far as dating they haven't changed a lot over time if you clean it maybe there are more clues on it to help date it.

 

[HAPPYCAMPER]

Soak in vinegar for 24 hours and see how much rust comes off,have done recently to a few Ive found at cellar holes and amazed at how they clean up.



** just added this picture,just took out of vinegar right now to show as an example,yours is a little more heavier on the rust but give it a soak and see what happens.

 

[BosnMate]

Soak in vinegar for 24 hours and see how much rust comes off,have done recently to a few Ive found at cellar holes and amazed at how they clean up.

View attachment 1201401

** just added this picture,just took out of vinegar right now to show as an example,yours is a little more heavier on the rust but give it a soak and see what happens.

Your axe has a steel insert on the cutting edge, and that helps date it, but I'm not much help, because I forget when they stopped doing that. Axe heads now are cast steel.

 

[HAPPYCAMPER]

Ive only recently cleaned a few,thought the black indicated where it was annealed?...is amazing though that a totally crusty axe head cleans up this way,no name on this one,put another in vinegar right after this one.

Your axe has a steel insert on the cutting edge, and that helps date it, but I'm not much help, because I forget when they stopped doing that. Axe heads now are cast steel.