March means Saint Patrick's Day whittlins!

I've been whittlin' up some decorations and door prizes for this year's Saint Patrick's Day celebration.

While many Americans treat March 17th as "Irish-American Mardi Gras," with green plastic beads, dyed green beer, and giant foam shamrocks, my family has always looked at it as "Irish-American Thanksgiving." In addition to great food, drinks, and music, we hold a trivia contest with prizes for our guests.

So far I've made a horse, some fridge magnets, and a handful of leprechauns. Prizes for the kids and grown-up kids alike!

One for The Sharpened Axe

Attention: Mike Oscar Hotel @TheSharpenedAxe: I found a large antiques mall today. One section was devoted entirely to old hand tools. It was terrific! I picked up my first hand auger, but I'm sure I'll return to buy an axe, a plane, a saw, an adze, maybe a drawknife or two...

Anyway, here are some (cellphone) pics of axes. First the Plumb axe "Autograf" model.







Next is a Tommy claw axe, the one with the claw.



And finally an odd one, listed as a "bearded bench axe." It has a chisel grind and shows a ton of wear. I would love to know more about it and it's intended use. It was buried in a pile of large broadaxes with their beautifully bent handles (see the first pic at the top of this post.)






For those who don't know, The Sharpened Axe is one of my favorite blogs. Topics include but are not limited to axemanship,axe restoration, and general handy/outdoorsy topics. Give it a read!