New one on us – Keen Kutter BSA hatchet
Hopefully someone can fill in the history on this piece but neither Destry nor I have seen this brand of Boy Scout hatchet. Its from E. C. Simmons Keen Kutter out of St. Louis, MO and has a clear, but worn, etched First Class Badge (as was standard). Destry says this company generally made work tools or hand implements, which includes hatchets, but again for skilled trades and workers. Very cool in a different sort of way.
on March 27th, 2016 at 7:16 pm
I’m kind of late with this info, but here’s the axe advertised in the March 1917 edition of Boys’ Life:
https://books.google.com/books?id=8K-KX5PC2ooC&lpg=PA40&dq=boys%20life%20Keen%20Kutter&pg=PA40#v=onepage&q=boy%20scouts%20axe&f=false
As far as I can tell, official Keen Kutter BSA axes ceased to exist by the early 1920s (although this axe stayed in production without the BSA logo).
on March 28th, 2016 at 12:20 pm
Thanks. Interesting result from Google books project.
on December 14th, 2017 at 2:48 pm
Keen Kutter manufactured this hatchet from 1917-1925