Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Axhandle hound

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep. Starblind should be commended for his superb job improving the article. alphaChimp ^laudare 00:05, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Axhandle hound

Utter lack of citations, no evidence for existence of creature given. The drawing is from 'a friend', and the statement that it is thought to survive on "axe handles that had been left unattended" is biologically infeasible. In addition, the author lists it as a "Fearsome Critter", which is not a recognized category of creatures. Interested2 14:59, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

• Speedy delete, tagged, patent nonsense OK, I see the context now from looking at the link to Fearsome Critters. I agree with Andrew that it's still a delete unless/until sourced. Keep per Andrew, below (nice work!) NawlinWiki 17:00, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
• Strong Keep, (formerly Neutral, see research below). I believe this to be a creature from american folklore, probably lumberjack folklore. I'm pretty sure I've read something similar before, but I wouldn't know where to start looking for it now. Probably should be deleted unless referenced. It's not a speedy candidate though. Andrew Lenahan - Starblind 17:02, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
  • The more I think about it, I suspect this might be from Cox's Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods, which has a lot of this sort of thing in it. I'm going to have a look and see what I can find. Andrew Lenahan - Starblind 17:16, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
    • Hmm. Very little luck. It's not in Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods, it's not in Mysterious Creatures, and it's not in the index (volume 24) of Man, Myth, and Magic either. The only thing on Google is a government site stating that there's a place called Ax-Handle Hound campsite in Minnesota. That's all the research I can do without a trip to the library. I still think this is lumberjack folklore, although apparently fairly obscure. Hopefully someone will put in a reference before the AfD is up.  :( Andrew Lenahan - Starblind 17:43, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
      • Hurray! Getting warmer... I tried googling some alternate spellings, and found enough under "Axehandle Hound" to have someplace to start. I did find a blog post (I know, I know, keep reading) with a stock description, and also states from where it was sourced: "Carol Rose's book" (by which I assume they mean Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth and the T-L The Enchanted World: Magical Beasts volume (wouldn't you know it, I have three volumes of that series but not that one!). I'll try to check these books and see what I come up with. Andrew Lenahan - Starblind 17:56, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
        • HELL YEAH! I found it, I found it, I found it! In The Book of Imaginary Beings by Jorge Luis Borges. For proof, go to Amazon's search-inside thingy, type "axehandle" in the little box, and there you go! Yesss! Andrew Lenahan - Starblind 18:03, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
• Comment after my research (above) showed this topic to be verifiable, I gave the article a pretty-much-complete rewrite and considerable expansion. Please note that the article is very different now from when it was originally nominated. Andrew Lenahan - Starblind 19:49, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
  • After your revisions, I revise my opinion to a tenative Keep. Interested2 20:49, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

• Darn good rewrite! This is the type of thing we should see more of in the Afds. Well done! Williamborg (Bill) 22:37, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

• Keep per everybody above. Molerat 20:58, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
• Keep — We have some amazing pop cultural material on Wikipedia (every rock band that ever got a passing mention in Rolling Stone and every Anime known to mankind). We must be able to find some room for historic pop cultural material too; especially when it is sourced. Williamborg (Bill) 22:35, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
• Keep per above. It's always nice when we find out things aren't nonsense. Vickser 22:41, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
• Strong keep, most excellent rewrite. --Coredesat talk. ^_^ 00:47, 30 July 2006 (UTC)
• Strong keep fantastic re-write (and I like the pic included.) Viridae^Talk 13:22, 30 July 2006 (UTC)
• Strong keep Good expansion on folklore topic - worthy inclusion PChoate- - 17:54, 30 July 2006 (UTC)
• Keep. Looks much better after the rewrite. Interesting little article. Kafziel 16:43, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.