# Early Axe Head?



## Just Dig it (May 21, 2007)

I found this  at a  house in middleboro mass that belongs to my  grandfathers girlfriend..the house itself was built in the 1850's but the recently  collapsed barn in the rear that is built into the hillside was built earlier   the previous owner of the house was  a family  decendant  to the original settlers and told doris (my grandfathers Gf)that  the  barn was used as a house until the family  could afford  to build a  house off the  money they made farming..the collapsed barn is being excavated and  this is  one of my  finds..she  said  i could take  anything i dig  up or  they  dig  up just be careful!...so i am thinking of sandblasting sharpening and  refirmishing this axe to give to my kids...im pretty sure its older then 1850 at least 

 what do you guys think?
 (the small piece of  metal is  the  wedge for the  top of  the  axe ..it was held in place  by dirt and a  tiny  piece of severely rotted wood)


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## Just Dig it (May 21, 2007)

Thanks for all the info Lobey..Glad i didnt  ruin her..i dont even have kids i was just saying someday
 the barn was built in the   mid -  late 1700's so thats  one old axe head!


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## capsoda (May 21, 2007)

Hey Eric, I agree with Richard. If you blast with sand or glass besides pitting it will imbed silica in it and paint won't stick well and oil won't coat either. If you want to make it look clean a wire wheel or blasting lightly with iron oxide will do it.


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## GuntherHess (May 21, 2007)

If you sharpen it dont grind the flat side. I see many in antique shops that people ruin by grinding both sides of the blade.


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## LC (May 22, 2007)

Matt, found this one several years ago. I was going to sandblast it as well, but talked myself out of it. Might try just taking a wire brush to it and leave it at that. The cutting edge measures 10 3/4" wide. Roughly 8 3/4" across the middle. Looks like it is stamped *G. Cilley, Warranted Cast Steel*.  I am not sure if I spelled the last name correctly or not, I can not read all of it clearly. I am not sure as to its age, but it is a nice piece.


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## LC (May 22, 2007)

Here is the stamp, do not know if anyone out there can see it better than me to check the spelling of the last name or not.


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## Just Dig it (May 22, 2007)

Yours Looks Looks Beautiful ! So Sharpen one side You Say?
 it appears  both were Sharpened  on this  one
 Just Checking i dont want  to boch it


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## Just Dig it (May 22, 2007)

sry  typed looks twice


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## GuntherHess (May 22, 2007)

A hewing ax should be flat on one side and a bevelled edge on the other side.

 That big marked broadhead ax is nice.

 If they get too pitted its hard to do much with them.


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## LC (May 22, 2007)

This is a hewing axe. It is flat on one side, so the side that has the bevel is the side that needs to be sharpened. I am leaving well enough alone on this one. Do not want to take the chance of messing it up.


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## bottlebum (May 26, 2007)

Hey, nice find.
 The best thing that you could do with it is to clean carefully with a wire brush and then coat with parrafin wax, this will give it a good layer of protection and can be easily removed if need be.


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## bottlebum (May 26, 2007)

Oh, forgot to mention cleaning with a mild soap and water solution before coating with the melted wax.
 Good luck on your future hunts!


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## bottlebum (May 27, 2007)

Hi again,
 In case you were interested in my method of preservation, I thought that I should better elaborate on the waxing step. 
 The easiest way to do it would be to......
 #1) find an old cooking pot big enough to hold enough water to  completely submerge the object.
 #2)bring the water to a rolling boil
 #3)run a wire through the handle hole of your axe head
 #4)place the head into the boiling water and let it get good and hot
 #5)after it is hot, take some parrifan wax(available at the grocery stores, used for canning) and drop it into the water
 #6)when the wax is melted it will stay on top of the water, grab the wire and slowly lift the object out and hang to cool. 
 The wax will coat the object as you are removing it. The slower you pull it out, the thicker the coat of  wax will be. The faster you lift it out, the thinner the coating will be.

 To remove the wax, put the object in boiling water until it heats up, turn off the heat and let the water cool with the object in it. You will find that the wax has come off and returned to it's solid form, on top of the water and can be reused.
 Trappers use this method to wax their traps. It protects the traps from getting too rusty and keeps the trap from freezing up during the winter. The wax is a great preservative for old iron.
 Hope this helps. Bill


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## Just Dig it (May 27, 2007)

Thanks Bill thats a very indept informative preservation tactic i will deffinatley not right it off when it comes  time thank you all for your input......Eric J


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## LC (May 27, 2007)

Thanks Bill, I read your post on how to coat an item with wax, made a copy of it to keep. Never thought of using wax as a sealer. Plan to try it on something small here soon to see how it works.


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## bottlebum (May 27, 2007)

Glad to help Eric, Could probably even  use a furniture spray wax? Oh well, keep us posted on those great finds.


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## Just Dig it (May 28, 2007)

Roger that.!


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## cc6pack (May 28, 2007)

Eric 

 If you want to try a simple electrolysis method I can send you instructions.


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## bottlebum (May 28, 2007)

Hi Eric, Thanks for the offer but I am already familiar with the  use of electrolysis for cleaning and If I might add, have gotten  some amazing results.
 Thank You, Bill


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## cc6pack (May 28, 2007)

Bill

 I was suggesting this to Eric, you are correct I've had very good results also.  Here's a shell that I cleaned


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## bottlebum (May 28, 2007)

OOPS! sorry,
 The shell looks like it turned out real nice. I've used the method on coins that I've found here in Florida with good results. The soil here can be pretty rough on them.
 Take care!


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## Just Dig it (May 28, 2007)

i want to use the  axe i wouldnt  mind  finding the best  available option to  keep it structuraly sound during and after the cleaning it was in a barn that was  torn down  they said  they  hadnt seen it so i would assume  stuck in around or under the barn somewhere im assuming underso it isnt  badly damaged i want to use it because if i didnt  find it  it  would be  gone...which makes  me think that i need to repair and use it  till the day it  cracks..then its lifespan is up so whats  the best  method? is the  question at hand...is coca cola to harsh?the water then oil?


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## bottlebum (May 29, 2007)

Mmmm! Before you break it, why don't you send it down here to me so that I can take a closer look at it. That way I'll better be able to answer that one. lol


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## WindyCityBrian (Oct 22, 2007)

I suggest you put that thing in a sealed tupper ware tub of non virgin olive oil for about six months - maybe wash it off and scrub with a nylon brush and some dish soap every once in a while, change the olive oil tof resh and redo for another six months and that axe might look a lot betrter without roughing it up just leave it sit and the o - o  will do wonders. if it gets really gooky then change the oil before 6 months - 


 good for copper bronze and iron.


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## JGUIS (Oct 24, 2007)

Let it sit somewhere with zero humidity for a couple weeks, then use a wire wheel.  Wear a mask, and keep liquids off of it till your showing good steel.  I alternate between silicone spray, and olive oil for keeping the surface rust off.


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