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Double, double, toil and trouble

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Glenn MacGrady said:
Well, I can't help being bemused and ribbing Mike because the tools and gear in Mike's shop and house are all meticulously organized and maintained. Hooks, hangers, drawers, boxes, containers, cubicles, file drawers.

Yet he obviously has some sort of Mr. Hydey-hole from which he can extricate objects in worse shape than the average Neanderthal tool found in 30,000 year old Alpine midden mounds.
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Another double bit axe appears from Mr Hydey-hole to clean, sharpen and hang. And lookee there, I now have a Lansky dual grit sharpening puck. $7.99 at an old timey Feed and Seed store in rural NC.



It is visibly stamped - a Mann (Lewiston Pa) Knot Klipper, 2 lbs 12 oz. The head shape is somewhat similar to a Crown of Michigan axe, but with a lot more curve at the bottom of the edges. It is a distinctively and unusually shaped axe head and I haven’t found a depiction that looks quite like it.

OK, truth be told, this wasn’t a Hydey-hole fetch. A favorite bro-in-law saw the Michigan Double and Boys axes and mailed me this one with a request to clean and hang. He found the Lumbersexual thing even more amusing than me.

So intrigued that he went to see Cirque Alfonse perform Timber!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTO0Gmmi0KM
 
dang, I have got to see that show now! My wife is French Canadian, she will love that! Too bad most of their performances are in the States. Big run in Tennessee. Is there a big French community there?

As for the axe, is that the actual shape, or is one side worn down more than the other?
 
memaquay said:
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As for the axe, is that the actual shape, or is one side worn down more than the other?
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No, that is the original shape, overall the head is in very good condition. From another angle; tres canoe shaped.



It is a very strange shaped axe head. I’d love to find that that design is called.
 
Sorry ! But having those axe heads laying on the Obituaries, is freaking me out a little ! :confused:

Jim
 
Jim Dodd said:
Sorry ! But having those axe heads laying on the Obituaries, is freaking me out a little ! :confused:
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Note they are all disembodied head shot photographs. BWAHAHAHA!

That is the Washington Post. While I will time a morning drive some miles away to snatch one of the three copies of the Post that the nearest county store is allotted (and know the 5 other newspaper junkies who compete for them) I will not drive into DC again as long as I live, even if there are things to chop there.

I do read the obits. Not those small paid ones, but the longer wire service stuff or staff written obits of famous, infamous and un-famous folks.

There is a lot of history in the local un-famous, especially some of the Greatest Generation; from farm boy to WWII fighter pilot ace, inventor and entrepreneur. Some obits are a look back in time at the odd twists and turns of a well lived life.

Back to the axe. I picked up a really nice, straight grained Hickory double bit handle today from my country hardware purveyor. Time to clean that puppy up and get the hang of it.
 
Cleaning and hanging

Time to clamp the axe head down and get to cleaning and sanding. Shop saver hint – If you cut narrow wedges from a piece of wood (think shaped thwart ends or etc), save ‘em. Having a box of various depth hardwood wedges comes in handy.





After several sanding sessions – 80, 120, 220, 320 - the bizarre double bit cleaned up nicely. It still sports some dings amidships, which I tried to remove with a Dremel wire brush (and made worse, so I went back to sanding).



Cleaned up to the best of my ability and patience it is time to start shaping the axe handle to fit, and I find myself on the axe head horns of a quandary. Nearest I can find to that design is a Crown of Michigan

https://www.google.com/search?q=types+of+axe+heads&biw=1280&bih=899&tbm=isch&imgil=IQb2ywc_Dt7fLM%253A%253BeqCguRHx87g5UM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.treasurenet.com%25252Fforums%25252Fmy-collections%25252F282841-axe-head-showroom.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=IQb2ywc_Dt7fLM%253A%252CeqCguRHx87g5UM%252C_&usg=__ctW6aAsTY8t43RLhuQui1j16Hgo%3D&ved=0CDYQyjc&ei=X4cVVdPqHqO1sQTu9YGAAw#imgdii=_&imgrc=IQb2ywc_Dt7fLM%253A%3BeqCguRHx87g5UM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.treasurenet.com%252Fforums%252Fattachment.php%253Fattachmentid%253D607224%2526d%253D1332457239%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.treasurenet.com%252Fforums%252Fmy-collections%252F282841-axe-head-showroom.html%3B564%3B546

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-dou...ce8aab4&pid=100011&rk=1&rkt=1&sd=161580753759

But this axe has far more recurve, and more of a point than any Michigan double bit I have seen

This seems right, but somehow looks wrong.



This somehow looks better (maybe just because it is so canoe shaped) and would bring more of the blade into play. Add to that the eye at the bottom of the “upright canoe” is 2 9/16[SUP]th[/SUP] x 5/8, and the top of the canoe 1/16 inch wider all the way around, so the handle would hold better in that guise when wedged.



I’ve never seen a double bit axe hung that way, but I haven’t seen one with quite those exaggerated curves either.

Should I hang it “upright canoe” or “capsized canoe”?

And, to clarify, I have nothing against Garfield or Charlie Brown. Although Beetle Bailey and Mark Trail do annoy me at times.
 
That looks even goofier once attached to a handle. Maybe there's good reason you can't find another example of this head shape out there.

I'd vote for upright canoe. Maybe you could paint a water line on it with some canoeish decals before sending it back to your brother in law.

Alan
 
I originally thought it had been way over sharpened, but after seeing the ebay photo posted by memaquay I think it wouldn't have been all that hard to do. Those Mann Knot Clippers might've been rather specialized for a particular task? My uninformed and wild guess would be to fit it as an "upside down canoe", with the heel down. Here's my "compliment sandwich".
(Compliment bread with non-compliment filling).
You cleaned it up nicely.
It's an ugly axe head.
You've done the axe world proud with your patience and skill.

When you've fitted and hung this piece of history on the wall, there'll be folks stopping and pondering this axe. That's not a bad thing.
 
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I just logged on here to correct my earlier insult. I'm sorry for calling it ugly. These things can be personal, and I should know better.
I should've called it unique. I stand by my compliments however.
 
OK ! That's better ! Now with the Funnies as a background I'm relaxed !

I too save wedges. I've used them in a home made clamp system. Also as scrapers, door wedges, and a multitude of things. I'm one of those people that hate to throw away, something I think I can use.

Have you decided which way it goes ! I'm guessing the top photo.

Jim
 
I am guessing that someone ground a Michigan double into that shape for a particular task like limbing. It used to be common for people to modify tools and make their own tools. Hand work takes a lot of effort and people were always looking for and edge so to speak even if it was psychological.
 
memaquay said:
I still think someone over sharpened one side. I looked up Mann Knot Clippers, there are quite a few pics on the interweb.]
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Mem, I’ve been all over the web looking for a photo of a double bit with that shape and found nada. I did find a variety of Mann Knot Klipper on e-bay and the like. From some history of the Mann Co “Knot Klipper” seems to have been a product line name for a wide variety of Mann axes from full sized to cruiser, singles and doubles.

Odyssey said:
I just logged on here to correct my earlier insult. I'm sorry for calling it ugly. These things can be personal, and I should know better.
I should've called it unique. I stand by my compliments however.
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Oddy, I’m going to go with uniquely ugly. Enough so I did a 600 grit wet sand this morning before I move on to hanging. Ugly baby gets shinier and shinier. That 600 grit wet turned out to be an invaluable step. And, sad to say, I have some 1500 mirror fine in the shop…stop me before I sand again.

ppine said:
I am guessing that someone ground a Michigan double into that shape for a particular task like limbing. It used to be common for people to modify tools and make their own tools. Hand work takes a lot of effort and people were always looking for and edge so to speak even if it was psychological.
Click to expand...

Ppine, I was reluctant to believe that someone reshaped the head to that extent, but having found exactly zero similar axe heads in some hours of web search I’m coming around to see evidence of just that.

Having 600 grit sanded the head I can now see several cracks that had heretofore been invisibly. One edge of the eye has a ¼” inch split, and one blade has a jagged sideways Y split. I knew that side of the blade had a couple of dings that needed re-profiling, but the splits and cracks were not apparent until I shined it up near mirror smooth.

Methinks someone radically reshaped the head and destroyed the temper. With that jagged chip waiting to fly off the blade and the crack in the eye this one is for display purposes only. Sad to say I will not swing it even once and will make sure BIL Bart understands the dangers.

That being said I’m back to which way to hang it. Does it really matter for a pure display piece?

I’m leaning towards incorrect and hanging it “upright canoe”. To my eye it would look cooler on display and only an axe head would know the difference, but I guess BIL Bart should get a vote in that too.

And y’all as well – upright or capsized?
 
Well, if you hang the head in the upright canoe position, it will be a unique discussion piece that will generate lots of comments. If you hang it the way an axe head is suppose to be, it will only be ugly. Being somewhat ugly myself, I know how important it is to have an edge when being displayed to the in-laws and such.
 
memaquay said:
Well, if you hang the head in the upright canoe position, it will be a unique discussion piece that will generate lots of comments. If you hang it the way an axe head is suppose to be, it will only be ugly. Being somewhat ugly myself, I know how important it is to have an edge when being displayed to the in-laws and such.
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I agree, but this is the will of the people.

I spoke with BIL about position and he immediately replied that his only preference was for well hung. When I told him my on-line tripper friends get a vote too he replied “Wait, other people get a vote on MY axe?

Vote early and vote often.

Since I won’t be well hung today it’s on to 1500 grit.
 
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