Axe head | Collectors Weekly

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Posted 8 years ago

I found this on a western Massachusetts property built in 1782 About 10" deep . Does anyone know how to date axe heads?

UncleRon, 8 years ago
Very roughly, 100 t0 200 years old, give or take. That is a classic American tree-felling axe - a massive square head with a poll, and I'm pretty sure I can see a piece of steel sandwiched between the iron at the cutting edge (look for the color difference). Contrast it with earlier Indian trade axes often made in France and England, which are long, thin, and have no poll. Until around 1700 axe heads were made by simply wrapping a piece of iron around a mandrel which made the hole for the handle - round at first and later oval. An axe like that, with all the weight on the blade-side, is difficult to control - it wants to rotate in the hand as it is swung. During the 18th century a piece of steel was added at the edge for better edge retention and a piece of iron or steel (the poll) was added on the opposite side (or in the case of your head, left there by design) to counter-balance the weight of the blade, making the axe much more controllable. This has been the standard felling axe design ever since.
Electricbutter, 8 years ago
Thanks for the info UncleRon. I wonder what we would see if I put it through an exray machine....

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