Help me figure out this hatchet!!!

pcgs69

This was found in South Jersey in an area that revealed coins dating from the 1830s to today. The front is more rounded, and the back is flatter. It measures 17 inches long and is all metal. Can someone help me out?? I hope these pics post... if not I'll try again.

millennium

Looks like metal slag....

dcamp78

Are there any letters or makers marks on it?

pcgs69

I'll take a look in the morning with a glass, when I'm awake! Almost midnight here. I'll let you know.

laserart

laserart

I'm still trying to figure out where the cutting edge is. ??

pcgs69

The blade area is the curved section to your left that ends in the point. The handle (with two fingers indentations) goes from inch 7 to inch 12 on the ruler. There are also those two little bumps in the center as sort of an added bonus!

pcgs69

And to answer Big Dave's question from yesterday, there are no maker's marks or lettering on it at all. This is a photo of the other side (notice it's flatter)

DesertRat

is the "blade" thinner than the handle? Is there any taper to the blade?


Is it made of iron, steel, bronze????

It has the look of a dagger but it is very difficult to tell. If it is a dagger it looks to have been very crudely made. Almost as if someone made a sand mold and poured molten metal in and never finished the project.

Here is a link to some bronze age weapons and you can see that even a thousand years ago the blades were made by craftsmen and were not so crude as your find.

Where did you find it at?

pcgs69

The blade is a little thinner than the handle. If you look at the above pic with the ruler, about the 1 1/2 inch mark, you can see a line which marks the overall blade becoming about 1/8 inch thinner than the handle. The edges of all three "blades" have been tapered further to create sharpness. The thickest part of this piece is in the center, from the upper "handle" to just above the lowest "blade" (the one facing the opposite of the other two). (A Thanks to laserart for putting this pic in the forum.)

I'd say it's iron as there is rust on it. Would that still mean it could be steel?

It was found in southern NJ at a lake that was drained for the winter. This is the only thing like it I found. The other things consisted of early to mid 19th century coins, as well as newer coins, and some jewelry and fishing pieces.

DesertRat

That last picture makes it evident that it is a man-made item and most likely a dagger of some sort although very crudely made.

The flats and edges are too orderly to be a random piece of slag or spilled molten metal. You might try taking it to a college history professor of museum curator and have them take a look at it.

pcgs69

Do you think it just could have been made by some "Joe Schmo" 100 years ago for kicks and just discarded?

DesertRat

<< <i>Do you think it just could have been made by some "Joe Schmo" 100 years ago for kicks and just discarded? >>



Quite possibly.