Ax History · A Catalog Reference
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A Catalog Reference

Ax History

PatternsWeightsPricesMaker’s MarksDating

What each brand offered, over time — patterns, weights, prices, and how to date a head by its stamp — with every fact tied to a primary source. Built the way a definitive reference should be: the document that proves a claim is never more than a click away.

✓ Primary — read directly from the source ~ Corroborated — reliable secondary, awaiting a primary ⚑ Archival — the source is identified but off-line

The rule throughout: a primary source establishes a fact; secondary works are only leads. Every page carries its sources and a confidence flag, so you always know what proves what.

The makers

Where American Axes Were ForgedMap of the eastern United States locating the American axe makers covered by this guide. New England holds Collins at Collinsville, Connecticut; Douglas at East Douglas, Massachusetts; Underhill at Nashua, New Hampshire; and the Maine shops Emerson & Stevens at Oakland and Snow & Nealley at Bangor. Pennsylvania holds Warren, Mann at Lewistown, American Axe & Tool at Glassport, and Plumb at Philadelphia, with Kelly / True Temper at Charleston, West Virginia. Each pin links to that maker's page; a legend lists every maker with its town and years. Where American Axes Were Forged 1826–2003 · the New England shops and the Pennsylvania works Collins & Co. — open pageCollins & Co. Kelly / True Temper — open pageKelly / True Temper Fayette R. Plumb — open pageFayette R. Plumb American Axe & Tool — open pageAmerican Axe & Tool Mann Edge Tool — open pageMann Edge Tool Warren Axe & Tool — open pageWarren Axe & Tool Douglas Axe Mfg. — open pageDouglas Axe Mfg. Underhill Edge Tool — open pageUnderhill Edge Tool Emerson & Stevens — open pageEmerson & Stevens Snow & Nealley — open pageSnow & Nealley Collins & Co. — open page Kelly / True Temper — open page Fayette R. Plumb — open page American Axe & Tool — open page Mann Edge Tool — open page Warren Axe & Tool — open page Douglas Axe Mfg. — open page Underhill Edge Tool — open page Emerson & Stevens — open page Snow & Nealley — open page The makers — by founding year Collins & Co. — open page 1Collins & Co.· Collinsville, CT · 1826–1966(name later bought by Mann) Douglas Axe Mfg. — open page 2Douglas Axe Mfg.· East Douglas, MA · 1834–1897(sales office in Boston) Underhill Edge Tool — open page 3Underhill Edge Tool· Nashua, NH · 1852–1890 Snow & Nealley — open page 4Snow & Nealley· Bangor, ME · 1864–today(revived; now Smyrna, ME) Fayette R. Plumb — open page 5Fayette R. Plumb· Philadelphia, PA · 1869–1980s(Bridesburg works) Emerson & Stevens — open page 6Emerson & Stevens· Oakland, ME · 1870–1965(West Waterville to 1877) Kelly / True Temper — open page 7Kelly / True Temper· Charleston, WV · 1874–1983(HQ in Cleveland, OH) American Axe & Tool — open page 8American Axe & Tool· Glassport, PA · 1889–1921(the 14-maker “axe trust”) Mann Edge Tool — open page 9Mann Edge Tool· Lewistown, PA · 1893–2003(bought the Collins name, 1966) Warren Axe & Tool — open page10Warren Axe & Tool· Warren, PA · 1893–1958(the Sager Chemical Axe) axhistory.com · makers located from period catalogs & trademark records
Each pin and legend entry links to that maker’s page — tap one to jump in.
1826–1966Collins & Co.
America's oldest and, for a century, largest axe works. The Legitimus mark.
Legitimus datingfounding era
1874–1983True Temper / Kelly
The Kelly line under American Fork & Hoe → True Temper; a private-label brand ladder.
network hubtrademark dating
1869–Fayette R. Plumb
The priced one — a real 60-year price series and the Anchor Brand.
priced · over timeAutograf / Permabond
1889–1921American Axe & Tool
The 1889 "axe trust" of fourteen makers — the Rosetta Stone of house-brand names.
network hubthe trust
1893–2003Mann Edge Tool
Survivor of the Mann dynasty; bought the Collins name in 1966 — the "M" on late heads.
network hubthe "M" tell
1893–1958Warren / Sager
The Sager Chemical Axe — the two-digit year stamped on the poll.
pricedexact-year dating
1834–1897Douglas Axe
The Hunt family's East Douglas works; "Hunt's Superior Axes." Into the trust, 1897.
priced (jobber)founding era
1852–1890Underhill Edge Tool
Nashua, N.H.; bought Amoskeag in 1879, folded into the trust in 1890.
priced (1886)into the trust
c.1870–1965Emerson & Stevens
Oakland, Maine's last axe shop. Dated by the temperer's initial + the year.
initial + yearMaine
1864–Snow & Nealley
Bangor, Maine; the L.L. Bean co-stamp. A living brand, revived in 2012.
co-stamp datingMaine · living
Sears, Roebuck 1902  → What a full record looks like: eleven real Sears axes from 1902 with pattern, weight, finish and price to the cent.
Axe head patterns  → 44 head shapes, drawn and labeled — what each pattern was for, and why the shape fit the work.
The not-quite axes  → Mattocks, adzes, mauls, pulaskis — the axe’s cousins, drawn and labeled, with the makers who forged them.

One field, tied together

These makers aren't islands — the same brand names travel between them, and this guide follows the threads on primary sources: