SHOW ME YOUR AXES

[J. Loe]

I wanted to put this here cause it’s buried in a thousand page thread on the master blaster forum the treehouse.

This is Gerry Beranek,

this is his axe

A friend of Jerry’s goes by the name of Burnham had this to say

“Jerry was really was going short on the handle on this baby...right at 20 inches from head to tail. I'd never in a million years change it, even if it is shorter than I'd choose .

I can just decipher the makers stamp, "Stroax", "Sweden", and "5 Handmade JP". Note the artfully applied sawchain scoring...extra grip, ya know!”


I think every tree man that’s in the know holds this man in high regard.
Thought his axe should be here.

 

[XP_Slinger]

Here’s a bunch for @XP_Slinger

View attachment 127265 View attachment 127266

Nice haul AJ! With all due respect...you suck! Lol!

 

[ARPILOT]

I like the wood wedge

Thanks, I made my wedge from a piece of Walnut I have, I thought it would stand out

 

[RI Chevy]

View attachment 127259
Finally put the Plumb to work today

Super nice job on that! How does it swing and hit? Looks too nice to use. Lol

 

[ARPILOT]

Super nice job on that! How does it swing and hit? Looks too nice to use. Lol

she handles like a dream ! swings very nice, I was very happy with how well it worked. I kept thinking it was too pretty to use too but.... I'd never know how it felt/swung and curiosity was getting to me. The weight feels just right to me, 3 lb head not too heavy but heavy enough to do work. very smooth handling in all regards. Head stayed rock solid tight so I'm happy about that too !
my new favorite for sure ! This one I did the handle with tung oil and I'm not sold on that yet.... it has the feel and appearance as if I had used polyurethane....it's not rubbing off or coming off and it's not slick but it just feels & looks different. Time will tell how that holds up I guess. I'm not bothered by tung oil on some of my smaller axes/hatchets but if I had to do a full size handle again I'd use BLO

 

[RI Chevy]

[emoji106]
The BLO seems to give a little harder, drier seal on the handles. I think the tung oils seep deeper into the wood. I am interested to get a long term review back from you a year or so down the line.
Both do a good job though.

 

[XP_Slinger]

she handles like a dream ! swings very nice, I was very happy with how well it worked. I kept thinking it was too pretty to use too but.... I'd never know how it felt/swung and curiosity was getting to me. The weight feels just right to me, 3 lb head not too heavy but heavy enough to do work. very smooth handling in all regards. Head stayed rock solid tight so I'm happy about that too !
my new favorite for sure ! This one I did the handle with tung oil and I'm not sold on that yet.... it has the feel and appearance as if I had used polyurethane....it's not rubbing off or coming off and it's not slick but it just feels & looks different. Time will tell how that holds up I guess. I'm not bothered by tung oil on some of my smaller axes/hatchets but if I had to do a full size handle again I'd use BLO

I’ll evho what Jeff said...very nice job my friend. I’m not liking tung oil on full length handles either. Seems too sticky and doesn’t penetrate as much as I’d like.

 

[jakethesnake]

I used some burnt motor oil. Lol.

 

[XP_Slinger]

Looky what I got gents! It’s not a norlund but I finally have a Hudson Bay pattern ax!! Woohoo! It’s 2 1/4 pound on a 24” original handle. It appears to be a newer Collins, but not of Mexican manufacture which is obviously a good thing. Very happy with my fleabay purchase so far, it came with a poorly made mask as well...lol.

 

[RI Chevy]

Don't be cheap Jake!

 

[RI Chevy]

Nice score Josh!

Looks what I got gents! It’s not a norlund but I finally have a Hudson Bay pattern ax!! Woohoo! It’s 2 1/4 pound on a 24” original handle. It appears to be a newer Collins, but not of Mexican manufacture which is obviously a good thing. Very happy with my fleabay purchase so far, it came with a poorly made mask as well...lol.

View attachment 127373
View attachment 127374

View attachment 127375

 

[XP_Slinger]

Nice score Josh!

Thanks Jeff. It wasn’t cheap but I’m happy so that’s all that matters. I have to re-hang it because the head is a little loose but other than that it’s ready to work. I can see a nice wide temper line already, it’s old enough to still have been made with good steel.

 

[jakethesnake]

Don't be cheap Jake!

But but. It was sittin right there. I’ll try to do more better

 

[RI Chevy]

But but. It was sittin right there. I’ll try to do more better

WTF. I'll go out and catch some fish or clams and buy you some good WATCO oil. Jeesh. Lol

 

[jakethesnake]

WTF. I'll go out and catch some fish or clams and buy you some good WATCO oil. Jeesh. Lol

Preciate it clam man.

 

[longleaf]

Looky what I got gents! It’s not a norlund but I finally have a Hudson Bay pattern ax!! Woohoo! It’s 2 1/4 pound on a 24” original handle. It appears to be a newer Collins, but not of Mexican manufacture which is obviously a good thing. Very happy with my fleabay purchase so far, it came with a poorly made mask as well...lol.

View attachment 127373
View attachment 127374

View attachment 127375

That must be the model they made for the military. It looks a lot like one i rehandled for a friend that had U.S. stamped on the opposite side from Collins. The original handle size was his favorite part and I could not find a handle with the same grip size. So I used a draw knife, spoke shave, and sanding block to make a pretty dang close replica.

 

[longleaf]

I also wire brushed the rust and what was left of the green paint off and blued it with gun blue turned out nice

 

[ajschainsaws]

Looky what I got gents! It’s not a norlund but I finally have a Hudson Bay pattern ax!! Woohoo! It’s 2 1/4 pound on a 24” original handle. It appears to be a newer Collins, but not of Mexican manufacture which is obviously a good thing. Very happy with my fleabay purchase so far, it came with a poorly made mask as well...lol.

View attachment 127373
View attachment 127374

View attachment 127375

That’s a beauty great find it’s gorgous I’ve been waiting a long time too see the HB pattern in the Collins
It was made in the same factory as The Norlund Mann tool company
Owned the norlund brand and the Collins Legitimus HB pattern

Now I’ve got another twist to the tale
But I won’t go into that tonight leave for tomorrow

@XP_Slinger if your game we need some more photos of the top and underside and the back of the pole from your new the axe

 

[XP_Slinger]

I also wire brushed the rust and what was left of the green paint off and blued it with gun blue turned out nice

I blued my Plumb cruiser, I really like the look. Very cool story about your friends ax. That Collins handle is narrow but very comfortable, don’t blame him for wanting a replacement that felt the same. I really like it.

 

[XP_Slinger]

That’s a beauty great find it’s gorgous I’ve been waiting a long time too see the HB pattern in the Collins
It was made in the same factory as The Norlund Mann tool company
Owned the norlund brand and the Collins Legitimus HB pattern

Now I’ve got another twist to the tale
But I won’t go into that tonight leave for tomorrow

@XP_Slinger if your game we need some more photos of the top and underside and the back of the pole from your new the axe

Interesting info AJ, I didn’t know Mann owned Collins and Norlund. I’m in for the night so I’ll get pics tomorrow but I do know there aren’t any markings in the areas you want pics of. Only mark on it is the Collins logo. Oh and somebody scribed “wacker “ on the opposite side lol