Campbell Bros axes

As I am preparing to split some of my oak billets, I took a look at my axes.
I have this hewing head I picked up years ago, in need of a haft (handle)

It was a gift from one of Heather's in-law from the small island of Whitehead New Brunswick, itself just off the bigger island of Grand Manan in the Bay of Fundy.
You get there with two ferries, a big one from Black Rock NB on the mainland (near St-John NB) then a small 8 vehicles one to Whitehead.

The ferry terminal in Whitehead

Me practising early retirement on the island, circa 2005

Just off the bigger island of Grand Manan is the island of Whitehead

This is where my axe came from

Blake knew I collect tools, so he kept an eye out in his travels and brought me some once in a while.
This is how this hewing axe came to me.

The single bevel side

and flat reverse side, makes this a hewing axe

Pics as received in 2012

I long ago cleaned it and picked up a suitable (?) haft and wedges kit to put it back into service but I never got around to it.
At my local seasonal outdoor flea market in Wilmot, there is often a guy who makes and sell all sort of handles for tools: Axes, mattock, pick, shovels etc.  He just happens to have an old working handle offset lathe to make them.  Here is one example, I do not know how his machine look like.

I just brought my head with me and this is what he sold me

This is what it would look like, if I ever installed it.

Look like I got it set for a lefty... :-)

The wedge kit came with a large wooden wedge 

and two metal wedges to lock it in place.

The kit says for heads from 2-1/4 to 4 pounds

So how much does my head weigh??

Ouch, 5 pounds.  Maybe I need a bigger wedge kit??

Yes Dear, breakfast is almost ready :-)

It has lay about ever since, mostly in my unheated garage, time to bring it in and show it some love...
This is what it looks like today, after all these years of neglect.

It is stamped clearly

CAMPBELL'S XXX TOOLS

ST. JOHN N.B.

and further down 

C

XXX

C

The bevel side fared well

The flat side, not as good :-(

Compare to picture as found above.

Remedial actions are needed

The head is 10 inch long

It definitively shows signs of being hand forged

The poll is 4 in wide

The bit (cutting edge) is 6 in wide

The typical hewing form

Single bevel cutting edge and flat on the other side

Lets have a look at Campbells of St. John New Brunswick.

The company was formed under the banner of Campbell & Fowler in 1863, in St John NB
In 1879, it became simply W. Campbell, then Campbell Bros in 1893 until dissolved in 1926

At this point, I am not sure if the Fowler was Joshua Fowler who came from Maine and established himself in St John NB. It would seems quite a good fit.  He is quoted has having operated in St John from 1860 to at least 1922, while the Canadian record indicated 1873-1920 (see both links above) for his solo company.

The odds of having two different Fowler, making axes in St John NB

 at roughly the same time, seems remote

If J Fowler Co Ltd started in 1873, that is about the time Campbell & Fowler changed name to W Campbell.

Back to our Campbell:

Label from Canadian Forest Industries 1916

Text under label reproduced below

Quote: Campbell's XXX single and double bit axes are made from the best material by skilled workmen who are paid an extra price for the best goods that can be produced.  Every axes is properly heated in forging, carefully tempered by an expert, grounded true and thin to a keen edge which it will retain.
This axe has been on the market for 12 years with increasing demand each season.  Lumbermen appreciate axes, which they can rely upon to stand up to all conditions. Unquote

That would indicate it was made by Campbell's Bros since 1904 (1916-12=1904) and that the XXX markings indicate their best steel and products.
At the time most Maritimes axes and edge tool makers used mostly steel imported from Britain, presumably Sheffield. Canadian steel making will be concentrated in and around Ontario, near water ways (St Lawrence river, Great Lakes etc) Hamilton On being an early center of steel making in Canada.

Pic from book axe maker of America

The cancelled stamps read Apr 1902

Pic from auction site Vance Auctions 

Canadian Forest 1916

See the faint arm raised with hammer logo on this adze

I believe this was a latter logo in the 20th century until their closure in 1926

Pic from a woodforum

Blenkhorn's Chief from nearby to me Canning NS was one of their fierce competitor.

They were both reputed to make the finest axes

All this to say, I believe that this axe was manufactured between at the earliest 1893, latest 1926
I think somewhere in the early 20th century.

Bob, cooking breakfast with the mother of all "chopper" :-)

Stanley history as told on PBS

Came across this film yesterday. It was made for PBS in 2018.
It recall the birth, rise and fall (?) of the company to this day.

It's a one hour documentary, but very interesting.  Highly recommended

A couple things learned:
Things we take for granted today...
Stanley was the first to put in boxes a pair of hinges with the screws included.
Later in the 50s they came out with shrink wrap on a piece of cardboard, so you could hang the hardware or tool on a peg board for easy display and retrieval.

Various Stanley products thru the years:

The first genius idea was to put in the screws with the hinges together.

They still do that to this day. So much more convenient !!

BTW National hardware is now owned by Stanley

Tools came in various packaging, but started with a cardboard box

From L-R

Stanley USA (New Britain CT) Stanley Canada (Roxton Pond Qc) Stanley UK

Spoiler alert: The arrival of giant distributors like Home Depot and Walmart changed the landscape...
Hello China :-)

Meanwhile I was planning on doing more yard clean up today, but my back as other ideas, so I guess it will have to wait...

This is were I am now

Hoping to have the fire pit lit again, if the weather cooperate.

All mostly oak's branches

The oak on the side is all cleaned up, remain only my log

Got this small one to finish cleaning up

One side of the driveway is done

The other I was hoping to get done today, but I don't think so...

Now my biggest problem is to figured out how I am going to move my logs.
Fresh oak logs are a tad on the heavy side...

Two down there...

...and one here

I am going to need some younger people with strong backs and forearms :-)

Bob, nursing his broken back this AM and thinking about building
a steam powered log crane Thing-A-Majig.. Hummm

Dealing with storm damages

For the last month or so, we have been getting strong winds storms, one after another often with rain.
We did not had any broken trees, but some got a good trimming, quite a few broken branches here and there.

So after a few more pruning's, it was time to bring back Dennis and cut a few more trees and some more serious pruning's. We got lucky so far, but to prevent further damages some had to go...

The house inspection at purchase time, 2011

The parking area is surrounded by a few big trees, Maple, Oak 

That crooked oak tree between our two Lincolns (2011) 

has since grown and some of its branches are now over our vehicles,

 despite the occasional trimmings thru the years.

An early trim scar (2011) on the maple

Soon the cut will be fully enclosed and become a dead knot

The oak drop a few branches lately but somehow managed to missed both vehicles (car and truck)

At first I was just going to gave it a trim, but then decided, why take more chances?

So down the tree came.

Of course, I saved a couple of logs (oak)

That should also reduce the squirrels activity near our parked vehicles, hopefully...

With the tree in the back gone, 

and the maple to the left trimmed

should be able to handle safely the next storms.

The big oak in the front yard also got an haircut, especially the lower branches that were over arching the driveway

and you probably noticed another tree missing in this pic, in front of the big oak.

Looking at this pic, it need a few more lower branches trimmed on the right

There was a small ornamental maple (not native of this country). It probably got stunned young for lack of water or food, but it fell sick and was being taken over by ants.  Down it went, to be later replaced by another , hardier one.

That tree center was rotted

very spongy.  No I did not saved any of it

We are technically standing at the bottom of the sea, well a few millions year ago, but the valley soil is very sandy, hence lots of ants. The soil, the bogs, the peat moss and some areas being irrigated by the relentless tidal bores, make the valley soil very fertile.

On the right of the house, there is a cluster of three oaks.  Besides making a mess in my gutters, the one closest to the house was removed before it became too big.  The two others are getting a respite for now.

This house was built in 1976, thru the years some of the early landscaping decisions are becoming a problem(s).  Some of the ornamental trees have not been cared for early on and have since succumbed to diseases.  Their growth severely hampered.  Others trees and shrubs species were planted too close to the house and will soon caused more serious problems.
Foliage are too close to the house sidings and gutters, the roots will eventually put pressure against the cement block foundation (weak spot) and on and on.  Time for some corrective action.  In some case that mean simply removing a tree or transplanting shrubs away from the foundation.
But fear not, we are replacing many of these trees that we cut down. The new ones would be better suited for our climes (Humm maybe a Saguaro?? :-) and located further away, with room to grow.  Free ranging trees I guess you could say :-)

Yah, I'm pretty sure there is some squirrels activity in that oak, Dad

This past summer, the bushes by the side of the house got a severe trim

The oak closest to the house is going out

Of course I saved a log, but I may also try my hand 

at splitting and riving a few piece of firewood

There also a small overgrowth ornamental shrub -tree-ish that took a severe incline due to strong winds. We removed it to make room for a future greenhouse.

My new pile of firewood awaiting to be piled.

And yes, I burned some of my previous firewood already

I am taking advantage of this crazy weather, plus 9 C today..!! to clean up most of it before winter start in earnest.  I may lit the firepit one more time this season, will see what the weather looks like.

For the first time this year, I never got the right weather (too cold, too hot, to wet) and time to touch up a few areas of paint on the house.  Hopefully will have the right weather next spring/summer.

Bob, trying to keep up with the never ending yard work.
You know what I'm up to for a little while, weather permitting