Sheffield made small hatchet, belt axe

[Rado]

Hello dear Forum,
Im not quite sure if I should put it here or rather in the contemporary thread. Because personally I doubt its older than 1920. But even the seller couldnt tell me for sure.
Its an old little hatchet with nice patina. Made by Robert Sorby in England.
Very classic, Dayton shape.
Tim Crosby posted recently a very interesting link to an article where two belt axes of very similar shape are shown (fig.43).
https://ehcnc.org/decorative-arts/historic-trades/blades-in-va-and-nc/
Unfortunately the author doesnt tell any exact year nor location but maybe some of you guys can tell from what year on (approximately) and in which locations (Ohio and...?) these Dayton axes showed up.
Maybe its not that farby to have it in my RW equipment collection as I thought it would be at first? What do you think?
Sure thing is that, like with Bowie blades, these Axes must have been around for a while before cutlers in Sheffield decided to copy the design and send it to the new continent.

The axe head is 118mm long, 67mm high at the edge and 47mm high at the base. And its 23mm wide. Weight is 16,7 ounces.

[Longknife]

Neat, I would haft it and put it to work! Maybe you could contact them and get some info on it?...LK

[Rado]

Yes, thats a good idea. I will write them.
But I hesitate to ruin the nice patina (or is it blueing?) by sharpening it.
I think instead I will use a contemporary little hatchet for period bushcrafting, which I got from egun.de (something like ebay but for weapons) for 20€.

Not that I cared to carry an axe when hitchhiking or doing other nonhistorical stuff in the past anyway. A saw is less weight, works more precisely and you can split logs with wooden wedges.
In the past hatchets were nothing but useless weight to me. But I hope to learn about its usefullness through more usage. We carried one hatchet per 10 people in my boyscout group, many years ago.
Sometimes you need one. But often enough to put an extra  1/2 pound of steel into your backpack when it takes only10 minutes to prepare an alternative (carve some wedges and find a stone)?

[Rado]

Just got a reply from Robert Sorby Ltd and they are telling me that they dont know either. Unfortunately lots of historic documentation has been lost and at the moment they dont have an expert working there. 
They said I could ask on the sheffieldmuseums.uk, maybe they know.

[T.C.Albert]

It’s definitely post import law hence the England stamp in particular. That was enacted About 1890 if I recall correctly? Likely much later, as you say The second quarter of the twentieth century or so best guess. The Museum of Early American Tools by Eric Sloane might be a a good place to begin a little research?
TCA

[Rado]

Indeed, thats a very good point.
 
Well, I guess I will rather look for authentic reproductions instead of hoping to find pieces from the period which at least could have been brought over to America by a new settler.

[Pukka Bundook]

FWIW,
A lot of old British edge tool manufacturers didn't start stamping England on theire blades until maybe the 1940's or so.

Before that Sheffield was known world wide, so nothing further was added.
I have a few old billhooks, and all the old ones merely have the name, (Nash,  Gilpin, etc)   We know at a glance if it is a newer piece by the "Made in England" stamp.

[Rado]

FWIW,
A lot of old British edge tool manufacturers didn't start stamping England on theire blades until maybe the 1940's or so.

Oouch! 
Ok...maybe its true that the best thing I can do with it now, is to use it.
1940´s...thats not even antique.

Does anybody know if Simeon England is taking any orders at the moment or maybe has some of his standard tomahawk heads in stock? I wrote him via his website but he didnt reply yet.
I would even understand it if hes only taking orders from ´approved´, progressive reenactors due to the amount of orders hes getting. And not from some collector in Europe who doesnt even have an on topic reenactor scene to participate in.

Or is there maybe someone else who is as dead serious about authenticity but within Simeons price range?