Our trusty resident sawyer has been up to it again. I will let Peter tell it …. I was up to the Mill yesterday to take measurements for replacing that flat belt drive down in the dungeon. On the way out, I stuck my nose in the wood working shop to see what was interesting and found this totally rust encrusted broad axe head. Of course, it was just crying out for a cleanup and a new handle so I couldn't resist.
It polished up real nice after a bath in rust remover over night. It is finished with gun blue and gun oil. The handle is reversible and made of birds-eye maple. It is a real nice piece of steel; you could shave with it now. In fact, it's so sharp that I had to make guard to to protect the blade and everything around when not in use!
See Hand Hewing Timbers for a brief primer on how this axe was used.
The photo below is from the O'Hara photo archives. Peter thinks it was taken in the 1940s and wonders if the broad axe laying on the far log, and the one he has restored, are the same axe. If anyone knows when this photograph was actually taken, who the people are or any other information about this photo, we would be pleased to hear from you.
