Today's post will touch on a bit of classic outdoors gear that is rich with with history................ The Marble's Pocket Axes. I have a vintage Number 6 head and a newer manufactured Number 5 complete folding hatchet.
The Marble's Arms & Manufacturing Company of Gladstone, Michigan , USA, started business in 1892 and began producing iron gun sights. In 1893, they started marketing the Marbles Pocket Axes and later patented them in 1898. They continue manufacturing the iron gun sights in the USA, but have moved the production of their knives and axes-hatchets off shore to China.
The pocket axe that I have is one of the later manufactured hatchets that was manufactured in China, a Number 5 model. It's a great little hatchet for very light chopping, but too light to do any real wood splitting kindling splitting. It would be perfect to throw in a backpack as an ultralight occasional chopper. I would definitely move up to one of the larger headed pocket axes if you want a more useful tool. One of the very cool features on these little pocket axes is the unique and integrated, folding metal, blade cover.
UPDATE 8/3/16: I refinished the metal and wood on the No.5, using a Cold Bluing Paste and Danish Oil. You can take a look at the finished results in my recent posting. You can see the posting here:
http://sharky-fourbees.blogspot.com/2016/08/marbles-no-5-pocket-axe-re-finished-and.html
I also have a vintage Marbles Number 6 head that does not have a handle. As you can see from the pictures, the Marble's heads have a very unique slot for the handle to fit into, and as far as I know, replacement handles are not available........ I guess I'll be doing a little whittling to make a new one :)
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| Comparison of old and New |
8 comments:
Can you shave with these ?
No, but I bet you could sure chop a finger off with one if you're not careful!
Where canbI buy the new no 5? Been looking everywhere.
For those of you who are looking for the Marbles Pocket Axes, I would start checking eBay. They seem to pop up there fairly often these days. I'm not sure if the axes with the folding blade cover are still being made after the company moved production to China.
Wranglestar on YouTube replaced the handle on a no# 5 marbles. Good site.
I have a #6....what it's worth
I've been asked a number of times about what these little hatchets are worth. The answer is, "It all depends"......... It depends on age, condition, and buyer demand. There are the "Pre-China", US made hatchets, and the newer, "Made in China" hatchets. There is a big price difference between the two, as can be expected! The best bet is to start watching eBay and see what they are selling for on that market (although the sales prices can range all over the place,even on eBay!). Hope that helps.
I have a nice marbles number 5 previously owned by my dad who was a logger, Timber Cruiser, and later Oregon State forestry inspector. This pocket axe was probably purchased in the 1930s
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