# Hurd Tool



## 2find4me (Jan 22, 2013)

Found this old axe shaped tool today.  Embossed: Hurd Cast Steel  No. 7 & some other words I can't make out.


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## RED Matthews (Jan 22, 2013)

Hello, and that looks like a good find.  It almost qualifies as a broad axe, but not with that short a handle.  Is the blade offset?  It was normally on a broad axe.  They were used to straight side small beams, I think.   RED Matthews


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## Plumbata (Jan 22, 2013)

Nice find!

 It looks like a Broad Axe to me. The handles could be quite long, to shorter than a standard hatchet handle. They represent one of the important items in a homesteader's toolkit, and were used to square logs and beams for building purposes. A standard axe would be used to score/gouge the log down the length on 4 sides, then the broadaxe would be brought in to cut off the excess. The blades were sharpened only on 1 side, so that one could easily cut and trim the excess and create relatively true and uniform flat faces, and the handles were offset so that one's hands and knuckles wouldn't hit the log you are working on. There are still old standing barns one can check out whose structural beams were made in this manner.

 They have always been rather collectible and desirable tools, provided some fool didn't sharpen the other side previously, and although your item appears more "recent" (cast versus hand-forged) it is still a good find.


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## LC (Jan 22, 2013)

That's a great piece , especially being it is incised with a name , many of them are plain . The last plain one I sold was for fifty dollars and that was several years ago .They could be for straightening a log , but I always thought that the offset ones were used for notching the logs , maybe they were used for both .


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## botlguy (Jan 22, 2013)

Since we're on an educational kick here (I enjoy this) here's another sort of tool to do the preliminary siding of a log. It takes off material faster and then the broad axe does the finish unless you want it finer, then you can use a draw knife or plane. this is called an "ADZ".


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## Plumbata (Jan 22, 2013)

Nowadays it is tough to find adzes in nice shape, which haven't been used for digging in the dirt. Like broad-axes they were only sharpened on one side so a uniform flat plane could be cut, instead of having the tool dig into the wood. Use one improperly and if not ruined, you will have to re-work or grind off a large amount of the metal to get the working edge back where it should be.


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## 2find4me (Jan 22, 2013)

Thanks for the info!!!!  The blade appears to be bent or offset. Has anyone heard of this brand of tool & how old or how much its worth?


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## botlguy (Jan 22, 2013)

> ORIGINAL:  2find4me
> 
> Thanks for the info!!!!  The blade appears to be bent or offset. Has anyone heard of this brand of tool & how old or how much its worth?


 It shouldn't be too difficult to research that tool, at least not for someone other than me. I do not believe they are worth a great deal, perhaps $20 - $30. Just my gut feeling.


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## epackage (Jan 22, 2013)

Looking at the sales of similar pieces on Ebay you may be in the $100-200 range, take a look for yourself here...

 http://www.ebay.com/sch/Collectibles-/1/i.html?_sac=1&_from=R40&LH_Complete=1&_nkw=%22broad+axe%22&_sop=3


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## 2find4me (Jan 22, 2013)

Wow, thank you!!!!  I found almost the exact same one on ebay!!!!  
 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Unusual-Large-Antique-Broad-Axe-Head-Nearly-12-Across-Over-7-Pounds-Off-Set-/221148964532?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item337d8166b4


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## botlguy (Jan 22, 2013)

WOW ! Worth a LOT more than I thought. Glad you did some more research.[]


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## andy volkerts (Jan 23, 2013)

> ORIGINAL:  2find4me
> 
> Thanks for the info!!!!  The blade appears to be bent or offset. Has anyone heard of this brand of tool & how old or how much its worth?


 Yeah go to google and type in Hurd axe company, you will find that it was a subsidiary of the American axe co and the Johnsonville axe co. all the info you would ever want to know, including stampings on the blades and advertising pieces......pretty cool


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## ironmountain (Jan 23, 2013)

Im digging these antique tool threads on here... 
 Nice axe!   

 I'm a sucker for handheld woodworking tools.  adz,axes,hatches,draw knives etc...

 If you have a ReStore near you (Habitat For Humanity resale store) you can get old hand tools for dirt cheap.  huge bastard files, clamps, planes for a couple bucks each..heck..got my 2box fisher tw5 metal detector for 20bucks...those run about 700new...


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## LC (Jan 23, 2013)

For some reason a good many years ago I thought I had to have those old hand saws , the ones with the heart shaped looking shape cut out in the handles where your fingers wrap around inside it . If they were four or five bucks I would buy them , bring them home and hang them on a rod over top the ceiling joices in the  garage . They are still out there , probably forty or fifty of them just wasting space . Different name brands , no  Winchesters though lol .


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## 2find4me (Jan 23, 2013)

I will be listing this axe & a bunch of other antique tools on ebay if anyone is interested.


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## 2find4me (Feb 1, 2013)

Just put this & some other antique tools on ebay, be sure to check it out!  http://www.ebay.com/itm/181073157981?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649


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