Blacksmiths were amazingly skilled and ingenuous in making and fixing almost anything made of metal and were forge welding successfully everyday. So no disrespect intended but what I meant was if you combine the neat finish with a makers name then it probably means it was commercially made. Trip hammers greatly increased the production rate for commercial sales. Ten axes per man per day for Collins Axes in the 1820s and at the time Europe was well ahead of the US in industrial terms.
So especially in Europe - I think water driven trip hammers were earlier than Mark's suggested date and steam was coming into its own by the end of the 18th century. The Washington Navy Yard installed its first steam engine in the blacksmiths shop in 1808 driving hammers and grinding wheels.
Yes - I would hang on to it as it still seems an unusual shape and it may well have been made around 1800.
This is the closest match I could find in a book - "unknown origin or function but probably 18th century".
The line is not a crack but a scarf weld of a steel bit to the edge probably as a repair.
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