Broadax
Broadax, Church Family, Mount Lebanon, NY
Description
Smith-forged steel broad ax with flat poll, lugs at tops and bottoms of egg-shaped eye, and a strongly curved cutting edge beveled on both the inside and outside of the blade. A hickory offset handle is wedged into the eye.
Notes
Broad axes were used to transform large logs into square beams. A carpenter would make a series of overlapping swings against one side of a log to achieve a flat surface down the entire length. He then turned the log 90 degrees and cut another side. The use of the broad ax contributes to its distinctive shape: the handle is angled away from the blade and towards the carpenter so that his hands do not hit the log when cutting the wood, and the edge of the blade is beveled on only one side. Broad axes customarily have "chisel" blades (blades that are tapered only on one side), but this ax has a double-sided blade. The initials of the blacksmith "D.M." are stamped into the head of this broad ax. "D.M." probably refers to David Meacham, Sr. (1743-1826), a trustee in the Church Family, Mount Lebanon. His initials were used to mark property belonging to the Church Family (see #1950.1683.1). The appearance and manufacture process of broad axes changed little from the colonial era to the end of the 19th century, and this example is typical of this period.
The "DM" stamp on this broadax is different from others in this collection and, given the object that it is on, it seems highly unlikely to have been a mark of possession. It has been suggested that perhaps the Mount Lebanon, NY Shakers marketed axes since David Meacham's initials appear on many other objects marketed to the world by virtue of his position as trustee, but there is no evidence that broad axes were made for sale, so the nature of the mark is yet unexplained.
New York Mount Lebanon Church Family
