"600" Axe

[rxh]

Bought today for £1.67 - I liked the shape. I am intrigued that the only marking is "600" - does that mean anything to anyone?

The metal cleaned up nicely and I think I'll make a new handle for it.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

The shape looks French to me, in which case could the 600 be grammes ? Looks possible.

 

[AndyT]

Axes, like billhooks, used to be available in thousands of subtly different patterns. English and French manufacturers routinely used pattern numbers to distinguish them, in catalogues and on the article itself. Nowadays the choice available is far smaller.
Finding which maker had an axe like that as item no 600 may be quite a challenge.

 

[heimlaga]

600 grammes probably made east of the Iron Curtain or possibly in Asia before the flood of Asinan made stuff hit us. They sold those in every discount store in Finland back in the 80-ies and early 90-ies. The steel was often very bad quality or carelessly hardened.

I hope I have missidentified yours. Test it and if it holds and edge I am either proven wrong or you have been lucky and found the only one that got correctly hardened by misstake.

By the way....sorry mate......

 

[rxh]

Thanks for your replies. Yes, it does indeed weigh about 600 grammes. It can be filed so probably won't keep an edge well.

I may have a go at hardening it.

I paid the princely sum of £1.67 for it so I don't feel too hard done by. It was one of six tools for £10, the others being:
- Piercing saw, Eclipse, almost new condition.
- Complex moulding plane, Atkin & Son, Sheffield works.
- Complex moulding plane, Edward Preston & Sons, warranted.
- Complex moulding plane, I. Sorby, warranted, Sheffield.
- Complex moulding plane, T. Mackenzie, No. 3, Loveday St., Birmingham.
The saw is in nearly new condition and I think the planes will clean up nicely.

 

[garethharvey]

Prior to reading others replies, I also would have assumed that the number would have been the weight

 

[AndyT]

I agree that if it weighs 600g, has no maker's name and looks like a modern cheapie, that's the most likely explanation.

Still, a very good tenner's worth all in.

 

[Mike Jordan]

It's the extreme end of the security services! 007 is equipped with a Walther or Berretta 009 is a user of cheaper but effective tools.

 

[ED65]

It can be filed so probably won't keep an edge well.

In case you don't know American axes are routinely hardened so that they can be sharpened by file, it's not considered sub-par there.

Obviously with an unknown steel and unknown hardening this could be anything all the way to fully annealed which is softer even than saw temper, which would probably make it too soft to be worth using for most users. If you can differentially harden it without distorting the eye it would transform it to something very good.

Congrats on getting that lot for a tenner! That was a great deal.

 

[Rhyolith]

It can be filed so probably won't keep an edge well.

Yes, I don't think this is an indication of bad or soft steel. I sharpen my Whitehouse feeling axe with a file and that holds its edge for ages!

 

[Sheffield Tony]

It can be filed so probably won't keep an edge well.

Yes, I don't think this is an indication of bad or soft steel. I sharpen my Whitehouse feeling axe with a file and that holds its edge for ages!

Indeed:

https://www.gransforsbruk.com/en/produc ... s-axe-file

The one underneath is a pair of diamond plates, but the top one is just a file.

 

[Chrispy]

I strongly suspect that some less informed people have in the past put a old axe or hammer head in the fire to remove a broken handle before replacing with a new one.