SCHOOL OF MINES AND METALLURGY
DIVISION OF METALLURGY
March 20, 1939
Mr. H.R.Holand,
Cedar hill, Ephraim, Wisconsin.
Dear Mr. Holand:
I am interested in your letter of March 14th and of course do not wish to stick my neck out on the Larson axe but for my part I would not bet even a nickel that it is older than 100 years.
Mr. Overn's axe was made of puddled or wrought iron throughout and it is possible that it may be very old, but the Larson axe appears to hve too high grade a steel insert welded into the blade for metallurgists to believe it was done six hundred years ago. Putting it another way, ancient tool steels were mostly made from cemented or carburized puddled iron which contained holses where the iron silicates were reduced. These would have been welded shut by hammering but would still result in many foreign particles in the high carbon blade. Also, the fellow who made the Larson axe welded in the high carbon insert but then simply air cooled the axe blade from above instead of quenching it for hardness. An axe maker is not likely to make a mistake by air cooling an axe blade when he intends to harden and temper it.
I have simply pointed out several points for your consideration and hope that you can read between the lines.
Sincerely,
R.L. Dowdell,
Professor of Metallography
[MHS: Holand papers]
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