You wouldn't believe what a huge collector market there is out there for hatchets and axes. The "good stuff" brings a pretty penny on The Bay. I got hooked when I attended a sale and found TWO Norlands. An axe as well as a double bit hatchet! If I remember correctly, the hatchet brought close to $250 and the axe brought $125-$150 (can't remember persactly). Since then, I've probably sold a half-bazillion various axes and hatchets. Their value hasn't been discovered by most of the estate sale people and I usually pick them up for $3-$5 each. It seems about 90% of the good axes I find are Kelly Works/True Temper or Collins and they bring good $$$. Older Plumbs are good to find and even some of the old Craftsman's have enough room for a decent profit. Anyway, the last sale I was at had a hatchet and three axes in the shed. Due to Florida's humidity, they were so covered with surface rust, I could see no maker's marks, but I gambled on none of them being Chinese and walked away with them for $3 each. I cleaned the hatchet up first and found it to be a Craftsman. Nothing super special, but I immediately flipped it for $40. The other three are a "boy's axe/camp axe" but I've yet to clean it up. Another is a large double bit, but again, I haven't cleaned it. I grabbed the 4th axe over the weekend and got it cleaned up and looking really nice. Turns out it's a dang Sager Chemical Axe! This is only the third Chemical Axe I've come across, but I always do well with them. This one may be a bit on the rare side. It's marked "Sager Chemical Axe" but there's no date. Another rarity is that it has a Baltimore Jersey Pattern head that's in really good shape except from some minor pitting from sitting out in the shed and rusting. The cutting edge appears to have never been re-sharpened and it really looks like the axe has hardly been used. The poll has a few very minor strike marks, but zero mushrooming. Now to the haft, it appears original, but it's a straight, 36" handle, which seems odd on a single bit Chemical. I found an old Chemical Axe catalog but it only mentions the curved single bit handle and the straight double bit handle. Again. I'd bet my left nut on this particular axe having it's original haft. I'm assuming it was produced in a different year than the catalog I found, so I still have some research to do. Any'o youse dufes into the quality, vintage stuff?

P.S. I don't have pics yet. Maybe tomorrow.