Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Swedish Army Pick - Mattock, WW2 vintage, Made by Gränsfors Bruk, Pickaxe

Today we'll be taking a look at a very seldom seen and seldom found, hand tool from the Swedish Army, and the latest addition to my ever growing collection of vintage military hand tools.  It is a Swedish Army Pick-Mattock.


This pick dates to the WW2 era, and most likely was actually made during the war years.  It is in new and unissued condition.  I received the pick with the head separate from the handle, ready for it to be set and attached.


The wood handle is bare, dry,  and rough finished.  It is very well marked with the Swedish Army 3-Crowns stamping on the lower portion of the handle. The 3-Crown stamp was first used in 1942, so this pick is not older than that.  You can read about the 3-Crown stamp in this blog posting:

http://sharky-fourbees.blogspot.com/2010/08/swedish-three-crowns.html


The metal pick head is hand forged and shows small defects and irregularities found in the old forged tools.  It is stamped with the 3-Crown stamp and it also has a partial manufacturer's stamp.  This manufacturer's stamp is from the famous Gränsfors Bruk company of Sweden!

http://www.gransforsbruk.com/en/home/the-history-of-the-company/



Here is a photo of the Gränsfors Bruk stamp on my new made, Mini-Hatchet, to compare with the partial stamp on the pick.


While researching and verifying the Gränsfors Bruk manufacturer's stamping on this pick, I had the opportunity to compare the stamping on a WW2 issued Swedish Army axe, made by Gränsfors Bruk, to my partial stamping.  They matched.  I also discovered that nearly all of the axes that were made for the Swedish Army were marked as made by either Hults Bruks or Gränsfors Bruk.  It seems that these were the two companies that were supplying the Swedish military with field tools.

NOTE: You can check out a more recent blog posting about two of my new-made Gränsfors Bruk hatchets at this link:
http://sharky-fourbees.blogspot.com/2016/05/gransfors-bruk-wildlife-hatchet-and.html 

I consider myself extremely lucky to have found one of these old picks in such amazing condition, not to mention one from the Gränsfors Bruk's company!  Now let's take a look at the album for a closer look at some details.

































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