Identifying Swedish axe makers marks is notoriously difficult. With Gransfors Bruks makers marks, the oldest are fairly easy to date. While others are almost impossible. This is not meant to be a complete history. Rather this is meant as a reference for makers marks produced by Gransfors Bruks. I will also cover makers marks from both of their forges. Both the one in Gransfors and the forge in Bergsjo. Unfortunately, even their own summary bounces around so much it can be difficult to follow. Overall much of the information has been lost to history due to multiple changes in ownership, lack of interest, facility upgrades and natural disasters. I did try to confirm my information with Gransfors Bruks without much success. You see it used by virtually every Swedish forge at one point in time.
Antique axe Stock Photos and Images
Showing up in countless catalogs and print material. Gransfors big move to export started in the s with export to Russia then dropped off during the s. With the 40s and 50s seeing a huge growth in export to South America and the US. Most of the paper labels seen are on South American patterns from this period between and Thanks Steve. The one picture on the page is from the Gransfors Bruk forum. But I see now it also has a stamp. So the Corona Cat could even potentially be a current label. Showing up only on modern patterned axe heads. Likely from sometime during their boom years during to Keep it with pride. Your email address will not be published. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Related Posts. Social Facebook Instagram. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published.
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By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use. To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Privacy. After forging each axe the blacksmith stamps the Hults Bruk logo on the steel, signifying the axe has been made to the highest standards. Thicker, deeper lines identify the hot stamp and sometimes you can notice the edges of the stamp around the bottom of the text. Hot stamped axe heads have the HB logo and weight information stamped on the same side. Hults Bruk axes with HB hot stamps have been produced between and the present day. Cold stamps have thin lines and the stamp is not very deep. Because the stamps are not deep they have a tendency to get ground off during refurbishing. Cold stamped axe heads also have stamps on both sides. One side will feature the logo and the opposite side will have the axe head weight. Hults Bruk axes with cold stamps were produced until Below are additional manufacturing information and significant production methods that can help put a date range on a vintage Hults Bruk axe. Prior to Hults Bruk axes were made of two separate steels. The main part of the head was made of iron and high quality edge steel was baked into the axe bit.
Anyone have a way to date old axe heads?
It can be very difficult to tell if an axe was produced in this way. From to today the axe head is forged from a single piece of high-quality steel. Over the years Hults Bruk has painted the axe heads black, blue, red and green. The blue painted Agdor axe is perhaps the best-known throughout the world. During the s a huge number of blue Agdor axes were sold in North America. Historically the black and red colors are for specific markets, while green was for specific customers. Today Hults Bruk still produces axes with black or blue painted axe heads. You can create a new view of axes by using any of the menus below. Filter by year produced in decades , by the type of axe or hatchet, or by whether or not the item has been identified. All rights reserved. Single Steel vs.Steel Bit Prior to Hults Bruk axes were made of two separate steels. Axe Paint Over the years Hults Bruk has painted the axe heads black, blue, red and green. Submit Your HB Axe. View Maker's Marks. View Old Catalogs. Year Produced Select year produced s s s. Forums Recent Posts New posts. What's new New posts Latest activity. Account Upgrade. Log in Register. What's new. Recent Posts. New posts. Log in.
Antique axe head identification help
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. What to look for in a old axe head? Thread starter Wendelwood Start date Jan 10, Wendelwood Tracker. Joined Dec 11, Messages 32 Likes Sorry if this has been asked before, I haven't had any luck with the search feature. This will be my first axe so I know next to nothing. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Any websites or leads would also be helpful. Baduddy Supporter Supporter. Bushcraft Friend. I'm not your guy for that advise but believe me there are a few guys in here that know a tone and have done some nice work on old ones. I'll be praying it works out for ya. I truly regret that I do not have pictures of the two tell tail signs someone burned out a handle and ruined the heat treat.Axes should not have carbon scale on the surface that can be chipped off. A forged finish is not the same as mill scale. Council tools sport utility line is black but it doesn't chip off. Its carburized but not scale. There is also a strange pooling affect on the surface where the surface melted or changed in very high heat. That affect is different from worn or scaled up dies that produce weird patterns in the forging process. This is a great example of a die that had scale build up and didn't get cleaned. This is a great axe with very good steel. This one has scale on it, which shouldn't be there, but the head is still good. I'd avoid this in the future. The bit might have been buried before the handle was burned out but I don't know for sure. Sometimes you just get duds. I've bough five axes I can remember out of hundreds that were dead soft or past the useable hard steel. Try not to buy axes with enormous amounts of wear. Toe wear is the worst because it dives so far back into the good steel. Avoid deformed eyes. ATsawyer Guide. Start with an intact eye and an intact toe. Most eBay pics show you heads from several angles. Typically, old axe heads have their toes rounded from chopping into the ground, which will make it more difficult to pop chips on the far wood since not all wood fibers will be severed.
https://northernwoodlands.org/images/made/images/articles/Axes_SUM20_2_web_382_500_65.jpgWhat to look for in a old axe head?
It doesn't much matter what old time brand you buy, most will be good steel. Just don't cut your toe Bad toe! Good toes! The worn toe is a good one to look out for. Sometimes the whole bit will be worn evenly but worn out too much for efficient work. A badly mushroomed pole is another thing to look out for. In my opinion the two views I look for are a side profile pic and a pic from the top. These two views tell me most of what I want to know about an axe. A high centerline is a good sign in my opinion because manufacturers stopped adding them to axes about the same time quality took a huge dive. So an axe with a high centerline stands a better chance of being a better axe.Knife Supporter Supporter. Joined Sep 4, Messages 9, Likes 52, Rust cleans up. Extremely thick bits usually mean the axe has lost a lot of length. The heat treated steel could be mostly used up. Good tips from everyone so far, this is more than enough to get started. Thank you! What do you guys think about this one? High centerline and I think the toe looks good? Free shipping for many products! Wendelwood said:. See how much steel is left on this one? Does have a-lot of pits and rust Condition is "Used". The poll end is in very good condition, with just a slight amount of mushrooming see pic 9. The axe head has scratches, scrapes and pitting on both sides of the head, that's to be expected of an old used wood working tool see pics.
How To Identify and Date Hults Bruk Axes
I like this one. Id buy this but my wife would hurt me. Expensive but excellent condition. No wear at all. Just a bit of rust. Scooter Guide. Joined Aug 11, Messages 1, Likes 7, It has been beaten in pretty much all directions. The whole bottom shows impacts from being removed and the top from resetting. The poll has a good bit of mushrooming and the bit is worn quite a bit. Prices may not be so in your AO, so it might be worth it to you. I however would pass. I concur W batmanacw much better heads. I still believe they are overpriced for my area. Joined Aug 26, Messages Likes 1, Of the heads shown I think the Vaughan is the best candidate price wise for rehab. I find them to have good steel and geometry.I'll try one of the ones posted or use them as templates for what to look for. Any good resources on the actual restoration process or rehandling one? JD Miller Guide. You must log in or register to reply here. Axes and hatchets have been used for generations. They are synonymous with everyday activities, such as cutting wood and hunting. If you happen to find one laying around, it could be worth a lot of money. Therefore, it is worth doing some investigating to figure out when it was made and what brand manufactured it. If you want to correctly date an axe head, find out who the manufacturer is and what year it was constructed. Typically the axe will have markings that are unique to the designer. You can compare these marks to digital catalogs and see if they match up. This will give clues to the age and value of the axe. The history behind these tools is intriguing when you imagine how they were used and what the purpose was. Since most axes deteriorate over time, answering these questions can be somewhat challenging.
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