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On my way back to the shop in Portland I stopped to visit the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site in Saugus, Massachusetts just north of Boston. The axe could not have been the tool that built America without the...
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No discussion of axe manufacturing in Maine can take place without reviewing the important role of Oakland, Maine. This town of about 2,000 people in 1900 could boast of a dozen axe and edge tool companies – some of which are...
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One of the questions that we are frequently asked is “why doesn’t my axe have any maker’s mark or other manufacturer’s ID engraved into it?” The answer is simple. Many manufacturers glued paper labels to the axe head. These labels...
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I traveled to bladesmith Nick Rossi’s Portland workshop recently to have him explain what metals were traditionally used in axe making in the United States from colonial times through the Civil War. In addition to creating museum quality knives which...
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I am sitting here with Fred Safford of Clear Lake Lumber in Spartansburg, PA. Fred you have “SAF” after your name on your business card. What does that mean? Fred Safford – It refers to my membership in the Society...
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