A 19th century naval boarding ax

M ELEY · 27th December 2020, 04:24 AM

Thank you, Jim, for your input on this piece. Yes, I had forgotten Peterson's amazing tome on the subject of spike axes/tomahawks. I have wanted a copy of this volume for years, but they are long out of print and I can't afford, like, $800 for a copy!! Thanks for posting a pic of the m1833 French model, which features the bearded blade and front/rear langets like my specimen. That's the interesting thing about naval items; there were 'official' patterns issued to seamen (after 1790's, that is) and there were 'private purchase' items for the merchant class and privateers. Private purchase axes/cutlass/pikes could literally be anything from contemporary surplus items, older stock items from decades before, or primitive blacksmith items/put-together pieces made in small batches custom for what that ship's captain wanted or wished to spend. You rarely see this kind of mishmash of items with the exception of Spanish colonial, American Revolutionary War pieces and CW Confederate items. I understand some collectors shy away from these types, but I for one love them for that exact reason. They are one-off, unique in a sense and many seriously border on the level of folk-art!

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27th December 2020, 04:24 AM	#5
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,141	Thank you, Jim, for your input on this piece. Yes, I had forgotten Peterson's amazing tome on the subject of spike axes/tomahawks. I have wanted a copy of this volume for years, but they are long out of print and I can't afford, like, $800 for a copy!! Thanks for posting a pic of the m1833 French model, which features the bearded blade and front/rear langets like my specimen. That's the interesting thing about naval items; there were 'official' patterns issued to seamen (after 1790's, that is) and there were 'private purchase' items for the merchant class and privateers. Private purchase axes/cutlass/pikes could literally be anything from contemporary surplus items, older stock items from decades before, or primitive blacksmith items/put-together pieces made in small batches custom for what that ship's captain wanted or wished to spend. You rarely see this kind of mishmash of items with the exception of Spanish colonial, American Revolutionary War pieces and CW Confederate items. I understand some collectors shy away from these types, but I for one love them for that exact reason. They are one-off, unique in a sense and many seriously border on the level of folk-art!