Saturday past, I drove down to Niagara region to collect my latest two vintage treasures...
Niagara-on-the-Lake was the destination for this nice 4" Record No. 100 vise (or "vice", as the British would write):
At $25, it is not a screaming deal, but a good solid value on a nice old vise. A quick cleaning results in what you see, but I'm not sure what the difference is between a No. 3 and a No. 100 is as they are both 4" mechanic vises. headscratch (100mm = 4" more or less...)
It will join its big brother (bought for another $25 last year):
The real prize was found in St. Catharines. kijiji yielded this
awesome old Hults Bruk 3-1/2 lb. double-bit axe with a 36" handle:
It was not in bad condition, but I spent about an hour or so in the back yard last evening with a couple of sanders removing all the rust & dirt (patina) and cleaning up the handle. I didn't sharpen it per se, but I did lap it on a belt sander and it is surprisingly sharp as it is. I will eventually hone it to a razor, but for now it will hang on my wall, look cool and be at hand should I be attacked by a horde of vikings, zombies or other. An excellent buy at $30!
Hults Bruk is one of the 3 big makers of hand-forged axes in Sweden, along with Gränsfors Bruks & Wetterlings. Here are some examples of their work:
and a label from a vintage axe:
I don't know how to embed a video, but there's one on youtube showing the smiths at work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svl9WvYPII0
