Gee Wally, did Eddie swipe my post from yesterday?
This heavy cleaver has a shield logo reading "Briddell of CRISFIELD" and Made in "U.S.A." stamped on the blade. It has been in the family ~100 years and was brought out for use when butchering livestock. I once split 100 fryers with it for a church fundraising barbeque, and it made quick work of that chore!
We had a much smaller version hanging next to this one, but I don't know what happened to it.
Since posting this photo the first time yesterday, I googled Briddell and got some information. Charles D. Briddell was a blacksmith/knifemaker near Crisfield, Maryland who served the watermen and boatmen on Chesapeake Bay in the late 1800s. ~1910, he bought a building in downtown Crisfield and opened a cutlery factory employing a good number of locals. Production was at the highest levels during WWII when he received a special award from the US Navy for excellence. After the War, his son sold the factory to Carvel Hall Cutlery.
Heavy cleavers aren't very forgiving when you're tired - one mis-aimed whack and it's off to the ER!
xtm
