india Axe for Comparison
kronckew,
I have two of these axes (not as nice as yours) and I wonder if they weren’t made for the native population rather than for the bring back market. The pierced and inlaid heads appear to require a good bit more time and effort than is typically lavished on tourist items. I realize that they wouldn’t stand up to field use but they would be entirely adequate as “Sunday go to meetin’” versions meant to serve as a side arm as well as a necessary symbolic accoutrement for a fully enfranchised male member of the culture.
In any event, I have an axe head stamped “INDIA” (see attached) which is identical in size (without the haft eye) and profile to the type in question but the head of my axe is not pierced and has a haft eye instead of the relatively flimsy screw-on eye that found on most of the pierced versions. As can be seen by the dimensions below, the head is far thicker than any of the pierced versions and the eye is sized to accommodate a hefty haft. It is certainly made for heavy use.
Dimensions:
Length of bit (from top to bottom), about 5” (12.7cm)
Size of head (excluding the haft eye), about 4.75” (12.065cm)
Overall size of head (including haft eye), about 6.75” (15.24cm)
Head thickness (just before haft eye), about 7/16” (1.111cm) with distal taper (at start of edge grind) to about 1/8” (3.175mm)
Haft eye, about 1-7/8” long by 1.25” wide (4.76cm x 3.175cm)
Sincerely,
RobT
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