Many years before getting into blacksmithing I did a handle reproduction for this authentic axe head dug out of the ground.  My customer wanted the handle and axe head to look like it had been found in a dry cave or and old barn.  The color of the photos is really off on the handle because of the lighting used, but the star here isn't my handle.  Take a look at this axe head.  You can really see that the axe body was made from wrought iron and the bit was made of high carbon steel.  The maker's mark is really not distinguishable other than to say it's there.  I'm guessing this is a French trade style axe, but there may be others with more knowledge about this.  I thought the pictures were really cool to just look at from a forging standpoint.

 

Here's what I did to furnish it with a reproduction handle

 

 

The pictures Are really cool and inspirational. Thanks for sharing them!

Das - It was a fun project because he wanted the handle to look like it had been really used.  That took some thinking about where scratches and dents would be.  I had to really work it over and compare it to my old antique handles on tools to make sure I got the "crud" right that should be around the head if it were that old.  The customer was thrilled with it and he put it over him mantle.  It was found while metal detecting on an old Indian village site on private land.  It's funny, I look at that axe a whole lot differently now that I'm forging than when I'd done the project years ago as someone with no forging experience.  

I agree that the more you learn forging the more deeply you understand things and notice more than you did before. There are still old tools in my shop that I'll dig out and inspect with more understanding then I did before when I first got them and tossed them on a shelf or in a drawer. 

You did a fine job bringing that old axe back to life.

Looks good!

Wow that’s a great axe head. Extremely rare. Good find.