Jersey

The Jersey pattern, also noted as the "New Jersey Pattern" early in its development, is likely the most common "lugged" pattern, exhibiting protrusions on the lower face extending downward along the eye. These "ears" allow for an extended surface area with the haft, increasing connective friction and stabilizing the head. The lugs may be triangular or rounded in shape. The bit is significantly larger than the poll height, though not so much as in the Rockaway pattern. The distance from the poll to bit is not as expansive as in a Kentucky Pattern. The dimensions give the lateral profile a more "square" look than in most other lugged patterns which appear, laterally, more rectangular (Kentucky, Georgia, Turpentine.....). Early notes on the Jersey pattern, in the early to mid 1800s, note that the pattern was initially a smaller sized axe, averaging around 2 pounds. These early mentions, in news paper articles and early catalog entries, allude to a light, stable head for use with one hand, and in tight conditions, such as, as noted in once Kelly Axe Manufacturing Company advertisement, would be found in "the mines of eastern Pennsylvania".