M1910 Hand Axe

[New Romantic]

Does anybody have any good photos of the WWI era M1910 Intrenching Hand Axe? I'm looking for one to complete my WWI medical corpsman display and would like to see what I need to look out for.

 

Also what's the difference between WWI hand axes vs. WWII?

 

Thanks.

[artu44]

Hi Frankie. This is the only pic I have where there is a WWI medic. As far as I know the only difference between WWI and WWII is that WWI ones bear only a simple "US" markings on the head while WWII something like "US plumb 1944".

There is also people who thinks WWI handles woukld be unpainted but it's no proved.

[craig_pickrall]

I have found two WW1 Hand Axes which I sold on Ebay. I have been through my computer this morning looking for pics of them and evidently I did not keep them.

 

They were two different designs.

 

First the easy one. It is like the WW2 design with a cast head but does not have a maker name or date cast into the head. It is stamped U.S. and the work looked hand done. It had an unmarked handle. The ax was unpainted. This particular one was in very good condition having seen little use.

 

The other one is a bit more difficult to describe since I do not know the proper terms for the method of manufacture. The head was not cast. It was made from a single piece of steel and then rolled over into the proper shape. The steel was them formed or ground into the final shape. It was fairly crude and had seen much use so was in well used condition. The only markings were again the hand stamped U.S. I am pretty sure the handle was a replacement and it was fairly rough but it had the straight design common to military hatchets. The bid winner wrote back to me after receipt of the hatchet telling me the proper name for that design. I think from what he said it was a fairly rare design. i know he was happy to get it.

 

Both of these were sold about 5 years ago. Memory is a bit hazy but I think design one went for about $45 and design two was about $65.

 

A good place to look for these is in used tool displays at antique / junk stores. That is where I found both of mine. Design one was about $10 and design two was about $15. These hatchets are not easy to find. A friend of mine that started collecting in 1965 and had a very impressive WW1 collection never managed to find one of these hatchets and he did some really serious looking (all pre internet / ebay days). I found mine shortly after he sold his collection.

[New Romantic]

Thanks for the info guys. Craig, I'll check out some antique shops in Petersburg, I remember one had a room full of old tools.

 

Could someone post a good photo of the handle?

[artu44]

This is a small pic of a medic at work. You can see the hatchet handle.

[gunbarrel]

Does anybody have any good photos of the WWI era M1910 Intrenching Hand Axe? I'm looking for one to complete my WWI medical corpsman display and would like to see what I need to look out for.

 

Also what's the difference between WWI hand axes vs. WWII?

 

Thanks.

 

Here are a couple of pictures of my M1910 axe:

[gunbarrel]

Here is a picture of a WWII axe by Plumb that was being sold on eBay:

[solcarlus]

Bonjour.

 

Here is a hatchet WWI. it is not dated. The iron and the handle are labeled "U.S."

regards.

solcarlus