About a week ago I was contacted by a gentleman in required to me making him a handle for an axe. I told him there was this gentleman at the local flea market that had every kind of handle you can imagine and would put it in for him and be a lot cheaper than me making a handle. He went to the flea market and couldn't locate the "Handle Man" so he called me back. I told him to bring it by and I would look at it and see what I could do to help him out.

The axe was laying on the bench when I took the pictures of the chest that also got brought by the shop. After looking at the axe, I decided to find out a little more about it. This axe had belonged to his great grandfather and he just wants to put the handle in it to hang on the wall.

So as I am know to do I started digging to find out about the axe.

William Kelly was born in Pittsburgh, August 21, 1811. At Western University of Pennsylvania he studied metallurgy and became involved in making engines. It is said he made a water wheel capable of providing some type of propulsion and later a rotary steam engine. Early in the 1840's he entered into a dry goods business with his brother John and his brother-n-law, McShane. The name of the company became McShane and Kelly.

Between 1845 and 1846 William and his brother John relocated to Eddyville, Kentucky. While there William met and married Mildred Gracy and they started a family. William and John purchased the Eddyville Iron Works which included the Suwanee Furnace and Union Forge and renamed it Kelly & Co. They were producing kettles for processing sugar.

Before long the two brothers discovered an insufficient local supply of charcoal readily available, which in turn increased the cost of purifying the pig iron. William started experimenting  in refining iron and developing more efficient foundry and forging methods. William Kelly is credited with being the first to use the process of sending blast of air through molten iron and received a patent for "Kelly's Air Boiling Process" in 1857.

William started to concentrate his efforts on axe manufacturing with his son, William C. Kelly. In the 1870's the business had been located to Louisville, Kentucky. William (senior) passed away February 11, 1888 and the following year he was awarded or maybe his son two patents. In 1885 W.C.Kelly was issued a patent for an "AX" Pattern and it mentioned the word "Perfect" and the axe became know as the Perfect Axe.

In 1896 the company built a factory in Alexandria, Indiana and all operations were located to that city. The even relocated many of their experienced work force to Alexandria. The reason for moving was a report of an abundant supply of natural gas, but after moving the whole operation there, the report turned out to be erroneous.

They remained there until 1904 when they again relocated to Charleston, West Virginia, again with the promise of a better supply of natural gas. Once again they moved many of their more experienced workers to the new location.

American Axe and Tool Co. considered Kelly Axe Mfg Co./Kelly Axe & Tool Co. to small by their standards when they began to organize a conglomerate. Kelly wasn't even invited to join what became know as the "Axe Trust". However over the next three decades, Kelly Axe Mfg. Co. grew to be one of the major axe manufactures in the world. They provided quite considerable competition to A.A.&T.Co.

The grew to the point that in 1921, Kelly Axe & Tool Co. purchased all of the holding and equipment along with all the rights to all the brands and labels owned by, yes you guessed it, the American Axe and Tool Co.

Well as it always goes, when you get bigger, they bigger companies look at you. In 1930 the Kelly Axe and Tool Co was purchased by the American Fork and Hoe Co. The name was changed to Kelly Axe & Tool Works and continued production but at a reduced rate. American Fork and Hoe Co. eventually changed the name to True Temper Corp.

In 1987, True Temper sold the Kelly division along with the many brand names to Barco Industries of Reading, Pennsylvania

The Axe that was brought to me has stamped into it,TRUE TEMPER

FLINT EDGE

KELLY WORKS.

The shape of the axe head is called a Michigan style.

So sometimes a pick comes to you. Well except that I am not going to keep this axe, but put the handle in it and clean up the rust on the axe head for him.

It should make a nice family piece to hang above the mantle.

Well, I will keep on looking and picking. You just never know what you might run across.

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John Moody
Site Administratorhttp://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com
“Don’t make something unless it is both necessary and useful; but if it is both necessary and useful, don’t hesitate to make it beautiful.†Shaker Saying

Interesting history of this ax John.  It struck a chord with me because Alexandria Indiana is about 20 miles from here.  You're spot on about the natural gas situation.  My home town is dead square in the middle of the Trenton Gas Field but Alexandria is just a few miles west of the edge of the Trenton Field.  Where we live there were several glass houses using the free gas.  Unfortunately, about 80% of the gas was wasted and the fields dried up about 1900 and the factories closed.

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Ron Dudelston
Site Administrator

Above and Beyond WoodWorks

I was wondering how far Alexandria was from you and if you knew anything of the industries there. Things I found indicated he built some homes and places for the employees to go in the area where he moved them.

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John Moody
Site Administratorhttp://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com
“Don’t make something unless it is both necessary and useful; but if it is both necessary and useful, don’t hesitate to make it beautiful.†Shaker Saying