Axe me again. (French 19c Boarding Axe?)

[kronckew]

just bought this on them interweb.

marked "A Giroult" with the word "DEPOSF"
there appears to be a small anchor stamp on the head as well.
Length OA 17in or 42cm across the head 19cm. does not appear to have a belt clip.

coming to me from france.

more details oin arrival...

[CutlassCollector]

Hi Kronckew,

It's a rare French fire axe from around 1900 - a direct descendant of the Boarding axe that it closely resembles.
It may even have gone to sea as a fire axe in the military but it came after the age of sail.
A. Giroult from Paris operated from approx 1870 - 1930 supplying helmets, buttons, uniforms and equipment to the French fire brigade and the military and sold some swords as well.

I'd say this was a good find and a good buy.
I've no idea what DEPOSF means though.

Regards,
CC

[kronckew]

thanks for the info cc. i suspected it might be from the lack of a belt clip, but it looked like a nice axe in any case and possibly the nearest i'd get to a real antique boarder. i've messaged the vendor with details for his own info, i still like the axe tho. if i ever sell it i'll pass on the true provinance as far as we know here. googling 'french fire axe' had not helped any.

i have a tame blacksmith that makes a repro of the boarding axe (with clip) for about the same price i paid for this one. a well known indian blade maker also makes them around the same price mark. have resisted buying either. so caveat emptor.

vendor has mentioned to wood haft is a bit loose and might be tightened by soaking in water (something i am reluctant to do with steel items but was a techique historically used on axes) but i might give it a good bath in linseed oil. or maybe some thin wedges...will decide when it arrives.

[fernando]

Originally Posted by CutlassCollector

... I've no idea what DEPOSF means though...

(MARQUE) DEPOSEE = REGISTERED (TRADEMARK)

[CutlassCollector]

Yes it's a good axe with its own history. I think it rare as I have only seen a couple go for sale in the last several years, both sold as boarding axes and both for silly prices. You got a good deal.

I've tried the soaking in water and it works well for a week or so then when the wood dries out you are back to square one. The same result for Teak oil but with the added benefit of the axe smells good.
Let me know if Linseed works better.

And Fernando - many thanks for Deposee - makes sense.

Regards,
CC

[kronckew]

i've contacted the vendor, he's in france at the moment & will be back thursday to post it. his son runs an antique militaria business in the UK. looks like i might be draining my bank into his, some nice stuff on line. he mentioned he'd seen a german fire axe that was a fair copy.

apparently he was wandering a french street market and found someone selling old tools this one was in the pile & he got it for cheap. apparently i got it fairly cheap too. so we're both happy.

our village general store is also the local undertaker/coffin maker so i'll buy a quart of real boiled linseed oil (not chemically artificially 'boiled' like at the DIY store) & ask their advice.

my wood method is ' soak overnight in (boiled) linseed oil, then rub in once a day & wipe off excess for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for a year, then once a year. way back, i once soaked a wooden ramrod for a hawken rifle (repo) for 6 mo. or so in a capped pipe full of a kerosene and linseed oil mix. makes it nice and springy & stronger so you don't shatter it while loading a tight patched ball. (also used a starter of course.)

a starter (mine was all wood): the short stub is used to initially push the ball on top of the patch cloth into the muzzle, patch knife trims the patch, then the longer one starts the ball further down, then you ram it the rest of the way with the ramrod. you can skip the starter if you are in a hurry & the white-eye bluebellies are attacking your teepees. you can even skip the patch if you are really in a hurry, tho it does reduce the velocity, but the target will likely be close enough that it doesn't matter much if you are that desperate.