Soviet Lumber Industry Badge (?)

[Chuck In Oregon]

I like this early little badge a lot, but I don't have a clue as to what it really is. If you do, please share your knowledge.

Check out the details closely. There is a band saw on the right and a prominent axe (really an adze, I think, for shaping wood rather than, say, tree falling or trimming). There is also what looks like a lever with a round end just to the right of the adze head, signifying who knows what.

The guy on the badge is using what appears to be a heavy, old-style all-wood plane to shape a beam. He is wearing what I would call a shop apron over a long-sleeved shirt with rolled-up sleeves. He is also wearing something (goggles, dust mask, I can't really tell) that he has pushed up above his forehead.

The shavings coming off of the planed beam seem to make four stylized letters. Unfortunately, I can't make out what the letters are, so I don't have a clue what they might stand for. They look more like Latin letters than Cyrillic. Behind the adze, saw and letters is a large round saw blade, like the kind found in saw mills, and there is a two-man saw, probably for cutting boards rather than, again, for falling timber. You can see the round saw blade's teeth at the bottom and above, behind the letters, and the individual teeth on the two-man saw.

Just as an aside, you can still see men in the third world making lumber out of logs with two-man saws like the one on the lower left edge. One guy, obviously the junior partner, stands down in a trench and the log is placed lengthwise on top of the trench. The second guy, on top, helps to position the saw and start the cut and then they start two-man push-pull sawing down the log, with the sawdust, dirt and sweat falling all over the lower guy in the trench. Interestingly enough, they can cut some pretty decent lumber that way, certainly good enough to plane to size. But I digress.

The nut is cheap but kind of unusual and may not be original. The insignia at the top is common enough, as is the red enamel with the rays underneath. The metal seems to be plated bronze or brass. Now check out the big building. Each of the windows contains a separate spot of blue enamel. I was amazed when I realized that. With the smoking chimneys it must be a factory of some sort, maybe related to lumber production or something like that. And did you notice that the details of the head of the band saw are made with four squares of black enamel?

And what about the rectangular compartmentalized whatever-it-is on the left, as we look at the badge. What the heck is that? It looks to me like something in a building in large stacks and there appears to be black enamel between the stacks. My guess is ... a wood drying kiln. Your guess will be equally valid and likely more so.

OK, enough of my droning about one old badge, but this is one of the busiest and most interesting small badges I have ever seen. I can't imagine going to all that trouble just to make one small badge. It's just that this one has always intrigued me and I wanted to share it. Enjoy.

Chuck