US Military Axe?

[USGI]

Yeah, I wish my dad was still around to ask about the axe and the duct tape. There is nothing and no damage to the wood under the duct tape.

My dad had an identical axe. I'll take a look in his shed to see if it's still there. Duct tape was probably put on to protect the wood. Looks like it did the job! - Bob

Dad's axe was still in the shed - not quite identical, but at least similar. Will attach a blurry "flip" phone picture. Has a 72 on one side and a large oval marking on the other. The oval marking reads "GAMBLES ARTISAN SUPER QUALITY". I was puzzled at first by the 72, thinking it meant the year - and couldn't be the axe I remembered from the 50's. When I cleaned up the other side a bit and saw GAMBLES, I knew it had to be, because that store closed in our town probably late 40's or very early 50's. the 72 must stand for something else, possibly year/month ('47 Feb) or month/year (Jul '52)

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