Can anyone help ID this axe or adze

[Ignoramus8581]

bought this at a garage sale as a present to my son. I already have a perfect Russian made carpenting axe, but this one seemed like it was made for actually using it, was in a good shape and the price was right. So it is a present to my 6 y.o. son, whom I will teach to use it safely. I already sharpened it on a bench grinder.

My question is, do you have any idea who may have made it and what is its intended use. My guess is carpenting but I do not know that too well.

thanks

i

[willshak]

on 9/1/2007 10:21 PM Ignoramus8581 said the following:

That's what we here in the US would call a Tomahawk. :-)

[<marierdj]

See

looks like a B. Swedish Carving Axe The carving axe, with its design based on traditional Swedish carving techniques, is good for roughing large carvings and architectural work. It has a 4-1/2" single-bevel face, a 14-1/2" long handle and a 2 lb head.

[Ross Hebeisen]

Norwegian head axe. ross

[Andy Dingley]

pattern. If it's old, then it might be of iron, forge-welded to a steel insert for the edge. The handle is a poorly-shaped replacement which puts the edge in the wrong position relative to your hand.

It's a general purpose axe, rather than a specifically shaped one for carpentry.

It's not a tomahawk. A tomahawk head is of quite a distinctive form.

[Ignoramus20336]

Yes, looks like this is "it". Thanks a lot. That's exactly what I wanted. It is a very multi-purpose axe.

i

[HeyBub]

It looks like a copy of the axe young George Washington used to chop down the cherry tree.

I'm quite proud of the fact that I own Washington's axe! Passed down to me through eleven generations. In the intervening 267 years, the axe has had seven new handles and two new heads. Other than that, it's the original.

[Andy Dingley]

It's quite different to those Gr=E4nsfors axes.

Firstly, this is a carpenter's axe not a carver's axe. A carver's axe has a prominently curved edge, a general purpose (or carpenter's axe) has a straight edge, or a straight edge with crowned corners.

Secondly the shape of the eye is different. Swedish axes usually have a flat top edge here, so the head is asymmetric and the top of the handle is nearly flush with the neck of the blade. A Kent pattern is symmetrical, so the neck is some way below the handle and the cheeks of the eye are raised up above it. Kent cheeks are also triangular, so the handle is usually left quite some way above the eye.

[Limey Lurker]

I agree with you,Andy!

[Leif Thorvaldson]

======>And what's your six year old son planning to make with this axe? Seems a tad young to be handling such a potentially dangerous tool.

Leif

[Ignoramus31653]

He will use it under adult supervision at first (my supervision). An axe is a tool that one learns how to use, by doing.

i