60/573

C. Dear & Son (Manufacturer)

This axe handle was made by C. Dear & Son of Winterslow, Wiltshire, circa 1945–6. The handle is made of a dark brown wood, which may be ash, and has been cleft by hand to follow the natural grain of the wood, giving the handle a strength and toughness not achieved through machine cutting. It is a long, straight handle with a slight curve at the end. It is part of a large collection of traditional craft products acquired from the British Council in 1960.

1 axe handle: wood [ash]; good condition

MERL miscellaneous note, B. L. 22 March 1961 – ‘The British Council collection. // This collection of material which is covered by the accession numbers 60/430 to 60/791 contains examples of craft products made in the British Isles. The major part of the collection was prepared immediately after the Second World War for a travelling exhibition which was sent to Australia and New Zealand. // The collection was purchased for a nominal sum by the Museum in two portions, the one in the summer of 1960 and the other in February 1961. // For further details see the individual catalogue cards and the catalogue prepared for the temporary exhibition of the collection.’, MERL 'Catalogue index' card, ‘General card’, Ash Handles [hand-written draft] – ‘The strongest and most reliable tool handles are those made from cleft ash, and although nowadays the great bulk are made in other ways, the cleaving and shaping of them was once a common craft throughout Britain. It is still carried on at Monmouth, Hereford and Cardiff, being associated with local supplies of material and a local demand, particularly from coalmines. // The method followed is to cross-cut selected ash poles to the length desire, and then to cleave them with an axe or froe upon a chopping block. The handle maker next fixes the rough cleft on a bench, which carries two iron spikes to hold the wood at the ends. One of these iron spikes carries a screw thread which engages in a fixed block, whilst the other is adjustable within a series of holes. Handles of varying lengths can thus be held very firmly or turned very easily to a fresh angle of working. So held, the cleft is cunningly shaved to the curve and cross-section required, by the use of various draw knives and spoke shaves, some straight, others with a curved cutting edge. The shapes formed vary for the different tools, being fixed by long tradition to ensure good balance and easy handling. On many axe helves a broad and end called a ‘fawn foot’ is shaped to give the axeman’s hand a firmer grip. // Cleft handles are preferred in the mines on account of their great strength and reliability, for their grain is unbroken, and they withstand the roughest wear when used for picks, axes or sledge-hammers at the coal face. // In a simpler method of cleaving, a stout ash stem is selected and cleft into two sections, each of which is then barked and trimmed up with a spoke shave: for axe helves a curved stem may be chosen. Helves must be allowed to season before the tool head is fitted: otherwise shrinkage will loosen it. // See Edlin, H. L. ‘Woodland Crafts in Britain’ Batsford, 1949.’, MERL 'Catalogue index' card – ‘This axe handle came from C. Dear & Son, Winterslow, Nr. Salisbury, Wiltshire. // The handle is shaped from dark brown wood which may be ash. // Length of handle: 36 7/8 in. // Width at head: 2 3/4 in. // See general card on ash handle making.’, British Council ‘Exhibition of Rural Handicrafts from Great Britain’ Exhibition Catalogue, 1946, ‘Introductory Note’ – ‘This exhibition contains only examples of handicrafts that are still being practised in the British Countryside. It is confined to the work of our traditional craftsmen and women who, with very few exceptions, would not think of themselves as artists or designers but whose work, nevertheless, so greatly enriches the daily life of those who live with and use their products. The work of these craftsmen, too, provides the basis from which many artist-craftsmen gain technical knowledge and inspiration. // Included with these rural crafts are eight screens showing handicraft processes which can be undertaken by schools or adults who wish to practise a craft at home. In this way we hope these examples of Britain’s country crafts may be related to a practical aspect of present day life in the Dominions and meet the increasing need to find satisfying ways of using the leisure which machinery now makes available to us. // Along with her traditional rural crafts Great Britain seeks to employ all the resources of modern agricultural science and engineering. We have therefore included with this exhibition some photographs showing examples of recent developments in agricultural machinery.’, British Council ‘Exhibition of Rural Handicrafts from Great Britain’ Exhibition Catalogue, 1946, ‘Screen J. Hand-Cleft Tool Handles’, p.16 – ‘Hand-cleft wood follows the natural grain and gives a strength and toughness that machine cutting cannot imitate. Hence the choice of wood prepared in this way for axe and pick handles, oak cartwheel spokes, ladder rungs, roofing shingles or willow cricket bats. Ash is the wood chiefly used. This craft is frequently handed down from father to son, many of the examples shown being made by a man with six generations of handle makers behind him.’, British Council ‘Exhibition of Rural Handicrafts from Great Britain’ Exhibition Catalogue, 1946, p.16 – 'J.9. Axe Handle. C. Dear & Son, Wiltshire.', British Council Ref. No. NZ J9.

Winterslow

1945 - 1946

Handle, Axe