A few finds - 1850s or so

[user 794]

I went for a detect yesterday. No coins were found but I thought these pics might be of interest.

The bell is from the foundry of James Blackwell. If the axe head is familiar to anyone I'd like to know how it was used.

 

[Manpa]

Does your axe head have a normal eye for the handle or just the square peg?

 

[Manpa]

I think with the square eye on the side it may be and old blacksmiths tool / wedge. They often had tongs that would slot into the hole and then they would strike the back face of the tool.

 

[user 5263]

It may have used as a log splitter with the back of it having hammering damage with a handle through the middle. It would start the split to enable wedges to be hammered into the log. Typical use may have been for splitting fence posts. Just a wild thought.

 

[MegsyB007]

That's a lovely little brooch, and great cricket buckle in good shape! Great finds! Would like to see them cleaned up. :Y:

 

[Sandta]

Looks like your onto a site with great potential
Keep at it

 

[Guest]

Very special finds,well done detectist,must be a coin or two somewhere there?,good luck

 

[user 794]

Does your axe head have a normal eye for the handle or just the square peg?

It is solid. It would seem to fit into something or was fixed through the square hole. At first I thought the site was for a smithy/farrier as there was a big hearth/chimney area but apart from horse buckles and plates and 1 stirrup there was no other signs that I found.

 

[silver]

I'd say it's an Adze

like a sideways axe for squaring up your logs and timbers as you rough them out (old days)

lots of shapes and types for different jobs I'd suppose

That's my thoughts on it anyway

nice bit of hunting :Y:

 

[user 794]

Silver - quite possibly. I looked at images for them too. I just wonder if the square hole is too small for heavy work so I'm thinking about leather-making. The blade is 4 inches long.

 

[silver]

Yeah, maybe a tool for scraping the fatty layer off the inside of the hide Detectist....
when it comes to leather it could be something hard to imagine too, they woulda done everything they could with that stuff back then and stretched and shaped it in everyway possible.

 

[golddiggerart]

Still waiting for my Cricket Buckle find..

 

[Goldpick]

Nice find with the cricket buckle, I wonder what the missing part looked like?