STRANGE AXE HEAD

M ELEY · 8th September 2009, 05:07 AM

Fearn has a good point. Many of these older tools were re-shaped over time to be used for a specific purpose. If you note the thickness of the spike end versus the edged end, it may be that this might have been a spike hammer at one time, but flattened into said shape to act as another type of tool. As a collector of spike axes, I had an axe at one time with similar head with thickened spike and thinner down-turned blade that was some sort of rock hammer, but had been reshaped into a ginseng axe for digging up roots. I agree with American or European, with the shape resembling many of the Underhill tool patterns of early-mid 19th century. Haven't seen this exact shape, so this is just my opinion. Hartsler & Knowles "American Indian Tomahawks and Frontiersmen's Trade Axes" is an excellent resource, with some of the tool-type spike axes in the back reference.

8th September 2009, 05:07 AM	#6
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,141	Fearn has a good point. Many of these older tools were re-shaped over time to be used for a specific purpose. If you note the thickness of the spike end versus the edged end, it may be that this might have been a spike hammer at one time, but flattened into said shape to act as another type of tool. As a collector of spike axes, I had an axe at one time with similar head with thickened spike and thinner down-turned blade that was some sort of rock hammer, but had been reshaped into a ginseng axe for digging up roots. I agree with American or European, with the shape resembling many of the Underhill tool patterns of early-mid 19th century. Haven't seen this exact shape, so this is just my opinion. Hartsler & Knowles "American Indian Tomahawks and Frontiersmen's Trade Axes" is an excellent resource, with some of the tool-type spike axes in the back reference.