March 6, 20242 yr I actually dug this up 20 years ago while trenching around a barn foundation in southern Oregon. It's got a wonderful shape to it and I have often wondered what it was designed for. Perhaps someone here knows. As you can see, the Atha A -inside-a-horsehoe logo is stamped on the bottom on one side of the handle hole and 4 1/2 on the other. Weighing it on a digital scale, it comes up 4 pounds, 7.8 ounces, pretty darned close considering it might have lost a bit of mass over the century or more. what makes it unusual to me is the arch in the shape of the head, and the resulting angle of the two rounded faces. I am sure it was designed for some specific task, but have no idea what that was. It's just a handsome thing to look at, and I have never seen anything quite like it.
March 7, 20242 yr I have seen miners' picks with a similar curve. The idea is that they are easier to swing in the confined spaces in an underground mine. The idea may have been that a curved head is more ergonomic and follows the arc of a swing of the arm. Others may have more details. There are old Atha Tool catalogs on line that you could go through. Here is a link to the 1912 catalog: https://ia802309.us.archive.org/22/items/atha-tool-co-catalogue-1912/Atha Tool Co Catalogue 1912.PDF "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."
March 7, 20242 yr Author Thank you George. This one somewhat resembles the stonecutters/hand-drilling hammer on Page 76A.
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