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This page details specific Ash Vs Evil Dead props, which are recreations of props from either The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II or Army Of Darkness. It does not cover wider material unrelated to the original trilogy.


Some of the information below is fact, and everything else is carefully researched guesswork. Some of you reading this may know a lot about related subjects, so if you have any additional information, corrections or want to know more about an item, please get in touch via the email address at the bottom of the page. Scroll down the page or use the links below to continue.


The Evil Dead & Evil Dead II Cabin Clock
The Evil Dead Cellar Projector
The Evil Dead & Evil Dead II Reel To Reel Tape Recorder
Evil Dead II Table Lamp
Ash Vs Evil Dead Modified 'Hand' Chainsaw
Ash Vs Evil Dead Necklace


The Evil Dead & Evil Dead II Cabin Clock

This is the wooden pendulum clock hung in the cabin, seen in The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, Army Of Darkness, the 2013 Evil Dead remake, and Ash Vs Evil Dead. It's an Ansonia Regulator clock named the 'Ledger No.1', an 8-day timepiece around 37" tall, 17½" wide and 5" deep, with an 13" diameter clock-face and 4½" pendulum. It was first listed in the 1911 copy of the Ansonia catalogue, although this is shown with a different paper clock-face, so the one shown in The Evil Dead trilogy would not been the original. Sam mentions in the 1999 Elite Entertainment DVD commentary track for The Evil Dead, that it was bought from an old clock store specifically for use on the production, and was modified by the store owner to allow the hands to rewind, stop, and fast-forward in real time at the flick of a switch.


The cabin's wooden pendulum clock, in Ash Vs Evil Dead (Season 2, Episode 9 - Home Again)

This was one of the few props which survived The Evil Dead intact. Once shooting was completed, Sam took this back and hung it in their Fearndale offices, where it remained until 1986 when he brought it with him to Wadesboro for use on Evil Dead II, and every production up to Ash Vs Evil Dead. It's pointed out in the season one extra Inside The World - Ash Vs Evil Dead, that it was Rob Tapert who brought the clock to the production. This same clock features in Thou Shalt Not Kill... Except, along with the shotgun. It can be seen in the background of Stryker's cabin in various place through the film.

Clock, side
The clock, shown in Season 1's Inside The World - Ash Vs Evil Dead
Clock, front

Finding an original clock for sale would would be virtually impossible, and even then the price may run into thousands of dollars as it's a genuine antique. Ansonia made a large range of such clocks, the similar but far more widely available 'Regulator A' model usually fetches from $300 to $1,000 on eBay depending on the condition, and there are usually a couple listed at any one time. The 'Ledger No.1' is far far rarer. Only two are known to have come up for sale publicly in recent years, and both fetched a high price.



The Evil Dead Cellar Projector

The projector seen in the cellar, which explodes during the 'Blood Flood' sequence of The Evil Dead, and then in various episodes of Ash Vs Evil Dead, is a 'Model 48' 16mm silent film projector which was manufactured through late 1940s & early 1950s by the Revere Camera Company in Illinois, USA. As the name suggests, this is a picture only projector with no audio playback facility.


The tape player & projector on the cellar table, in Ash Vs Evil Dead (Season 2, Episode 9 - Home Again)

If complete, this projector should come in a case, with instructions, and one 16mm film take-up reel. This projector comes in two similar colours, the far more widespread bronze/tan colour, and slightly rarer darker grey colour. It was the darker grey colour which was used in the film even though it looks black in the dark cellar. While these can be picked up fairly cheaply on eBay, when packed it will weigh around 9kg/20lb, so expect to pay more for shipping than you do for the projector, especially if you live outside the USA.

16mm Projector (S3, E3)
16mm Projector (S2, E10)
Close-up, Ash Vs Evil Dead (S2, E10 - Second Coming)

Should you need to get one, this projector takes type 'DDW', 'DDB', or 'DDY' 750W, 120V incandescent bulbs. The three are all identical in size & shape, but DDW has an average life expectancy of 10 Hours, DDB of 25 Hours, and DDY is 200 Hours, so expect to pay accordingly. These aren't made new any more, but they're widely available on eBay second hand. Bear in mind that having been produced in the USA, this projector is made to work on the American current of 115v, so if you live in a country which uses 240v, plugging it in will fry the electronics inside within a few seconds. In order to use it you'd need a pretty heavy duty power transformer rated for 1000w/1kw or higher output (which will roughly be in the region of £70/$120 new). 115v bathroom shaver sockets don't output anywhere near this much current, and might well fry or trip-out trying.



The Evil Dead & Evil Dead II Reel To Reel Tape Recorder

The same tape recorder was used in The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, Army Of Darkness, and Ash Vs Evil Dead. It was a Panasonic Solid State RQ-706S reel to reel tape recorder. The original belonged to Bruce's dad, and was used to put sound to a number of the Super-8 short films the group made together. Once shooting had wrapped on The Evil Dead, Sam took this back to their Fearndale offices, where it remained until 1986 when he brought it with him to Wadesboro for Evil Dead II. It is unknown what happened to the tape recorder after this. It's pointed out in the season one extra Inside The World - Ash Vs Evil Dead, that their prop was bought by the production, and is an identical replacement, and not the original featured in the previous films.


The reel to reel tape player on the floor of the cabin, in Ash Vs Evil Dead (Season 1, Episode 8 - Ashes To Ashes)

Panasonic stopped making these a long time ago as the technology became obsolete, but you can pick them up second hand on eBay from time to time, selling in the region of $20 - $50 depending on the condition, and any accessories. The postage can be quite steep especially if you're shipping it overseas, as the player itself is quite heavy at 7.9kg. It's worth adding that finding a complete player isn't easy as most of the players listed are missing one or both of the black rubber reel retention knobs.

The player in S1's Inside The World - Ash Vs Evil Dead
The player in Ash Vs Evil Dead (S1, E8 - Ashes To Ashes)

The reel to reel tapes are bought either by size (if you wanted a blank one) or by what's on it (for a pre-recorded one). For the most part, plastic reels of this type come in two standard sizes (diameter); 5" and 7". The bigger the reel, the more tape you can fit on it (which means you can make a longer recording). The magnetic tape itself is 1/4" (6mm) wide. The Evil Dead features the recorder with one 5" and one 7" reel, both Scotch branded but different styles, and Evil Dead II & Ash Vs Evil Dead with just has two 7" reels, one clear unbranded and one smoked Radioshack reel.


Panasonic Tape Recorder Service Manual - Model RQ-706S (20 Pages, 8.26mb - 210mm x 297mm A4 at 160pi 100% compression JPEG)

Above you can download a scanned 20 page PDF version of an original Panasonic Tape Recorder Service Manual for the RQ-706S. The first 16 pages are sized to print out on A4 paper, while the last 4 are around twice that size and will need to be shrunk when printed by your PDF reader. Bear in mind that as it's a service manual, this doesn't give instructions for normal playback use, it's intended for disassembly & repair.



Evil Dead II Table Lamp

The table lamp shown on Professor Knowby's desk next to the Tape Player, Dagger & Book Of The Dead in Evil Dead II, & Ash Vs Evil Dead, is currently unidentified. What is known is that this type is known as a 'Bankers Lamp' it's style is Art-Deco, and it was probably made in the early part of the 20th century, and like the clock, is probably quite an expensive antique by now.


The green lamp on the professor's desk, in Ash Vs Evil Dead (Season 2, Episode 9 - Home Again)

It's unknown where this lamp came from, nor is it known what happened to it after production on Evil Dead II wrapped. It would appear from close comparison, that there are some slight differences to the Ash Vs Evil Dead lamp, so it's either a near-identical replacement, or an item created/modified by the production. The beaded fringe around the base-join, isn't in the original for example, the top metal strip is narrower, and the main frame is textured rather than plain. and there are subtle differences in the ornate filigree pattern. A similar but less ornate Bankers Lamp is used on the desk in one shot of the re-cap sequence of Army Of Darkness. If anyone can shed any light on this item, please get in touch via email.

The lamp, front, in Ash Vs Evil Dead (S2, E9 - Home Again)
Lamp, side, Ash Vs Evil Dead (S2, E9 - Home Again)


Ash Vs Evil Dead Modified 'Hand' Chainsaw

As a quick introduction, I, the webmaster of this site, also runs EvilDeadChainsaws.com. In February 2015, I was contacted out of the blue by the then-unknown production. I supplied them four non working and two working medieval style chainsaws, all assembled but without any painting or ageing, plus a rough stunt saw as well, which took two months to make.


The 'hand' chainsaw on Ash's Trailer's wall, in Ash Vs Evil Dead (Season 1, Episode 1 - El Jefe)

You won't see them on screen, however. It was only once the order was completed that rights issues with Army Of Darkness became apparent, which left the production with a problem as they couldn't use my chainsaws exactly as they were without having copyright issues, as they're identical to the Army Of Darkness screen-used chainsaws. Further to this, as Bruce Campbell's stuntman's hands were quite big, as are Bruce's for that matter, this meant they needed to re-orientate the inside of my saws to make it an exact custom fit for Bruce & the stuntman's hands. My chainsaws tend to be a one-size-fits-all, and aren't a custom fit for every customer, plus there is only so much internal space. The third issue was power. The motors I used were meant for cosplayers. You touch the chainsaw to your trousers and it would bite into the fabric and stall rather than cutting though anything (which is what I designed it to do). That's not to say I would want to have that spinning chainsaw pushed into my face, there is still some power there, it would cause some damage, but it was never going to cut though a plank of wood. A loaf of bread would probably be the limit.

This combined with the copyright issues meant they basically had to completely dis-assemble my chainsaws and virtually start from scratch re-orientating the interior and changing the outer look to negate any copyright issues. I know they used modified parts from my original chainsaws to make their first prototype chainsaw, but once they got this all sorted, they basically re-moulded everything and made their own chainsaws from then on. I'm told there are no original parts from my chainsaws used on their own screen-used chainsaws, literally everything was re-made by the production which is a shame, and of course I'm disappointed, but number of factors just came together to make an unfortunate situation. At least it was all sorted and they got what they needed to get done in the end.



You can watch a video of one of the two working chainsaws I made for the production above, and extensive progress & completed chainsaw photos in this Dropbox folder. For my own interest, I exchanged a few emails with one of the propmakers/chainsaw makers on Ash Vs Evil Dead for Seasons 2-3 in 2018. This is the information he gave, on how exactly their working chainsaw worked (my emails in red, his replies in blue);


"...Now that the show is finished, I thought I'd get in touch to see what happened, and how you got on. I know from emails at the time, that the chainsaws I sent had a number of issues, including the internal space not being big enough, and the motor not being powerful enough for what you needed among other things, so as I recall, you (I'll say you for the moment) dismantled them, modified and re-moulded parts and kinda had to start from scratch. Always felt a bit guilty about that. I wasn't able to modify what I was making much, since I couldn't get any feedback on what I was making and I already had all my moulds & processes in place, I just had to make the chainsaws I normally make and hope they were okay and it took all of the seven weeks I was given to make them. Not the way I would have done it if I'd been working from scratch, but I didn't have the time. My chainsaws were mainly meant as display pieces to be looked at closely by collectors. Knowing what I know even now only a few years later there are a fair few changes I would make.

I guess it worked out as remaking them yourself means you can churn out spare parts from your own moulds as they're needed and make something fit your requirements perfectly. I was also told that basically you remade everything, so nothing of my original chainsaws exist on the screen used versions. I'm not asking as a vanity thing, I was just interested to know what happened, and if I totally screwed you over.

One further thing, I guess if you dismantled my chainsaws, you know I mounted the motor through the centre handle with an external battery pack, with a real chainsaw sprocket and chain. From the photos in the eBay auctions, it looks as though you've used a pancake motor more or less fixed externally where the sprocket would be, with a modified cast rubber chain, which would leave the inside pretty much empty? Also, looks like you've cast the smoke unit as a hollow plastic box, rather than hollowing out a block of wood as I have, which would also give you more space for the smoke unit..."


"...By the end of it, we had 20+ chainsaws that all served different purposes. Ones with real blades, rubber and foam ones, super lightweight ones, ones with motors, ones that shoot blood/smoke and so on.

We never stopped developing them. The most high tech ones we developed were made of carbon fiber and used the guts of a Makita circular saw to run the blade. With some tooling, the motor became the internal handle, and there was room for a low-profile power tool battery inside so it was cordless. We did a lot of R&D to figure out the best, longest-lasting rubber to cast the spinning chains, which were 3-4 times as thick as an actual chainsaw chain. And we used timing belts and aluminum tooled sprockets and other parts to make it all run. Bruce was always wanting them lighter and lighter and more convenient and after 3 seasons we had made some pretty awesome chainsaws. When the executive producer is the main actor, and is quite a diva about it, there was no limit on the time and effort we were made to put into the saws! Which actually pushed us to make some really cool props.

As per your other inquiries, I remember the other propmakers telling me they had ordered some from the UK, and yeah, they ended up using some of them in the first season I think, but I'm not sure. They had started doing the retooling then and by the second season, we had pretty much developed out own methods to suit the needs of Bruce, and what works for shooting a show vs what might be good enough for cosplay.

I was the only person that was a true fan of the series, so I ended up bringing in some details and nuance that the other prop makers were not aware of. For example, the loose pull start--they thought that was a mistake! I informed them that it was always that way and needed to remain. I'm pretty sure the continuity on that through the series is not good! I made one of these chainsaws over a decade ago before I was working as a professional, so I was already quite intimate with it--going through the movies a frame at a time to nail the details! I've since made several of them using the actual Homelite chainsaw bodies, it was just cheaper than investing in molds. Besides a bunch of the ones for the show, I made 4-5 additional ones for Starz to use at Comic Con or other promotions, like when Bruce was on the Conan O'Brien show, that was my saw. I made all those ones from scratch for Starz--some had different features upon request like metal vs rubber blades/chains..."


"...I saw some fairly different design chainsaw ideas since when the production started they knew they didn't (yet) have the rights to Army Of Darkness, so the chainsaw had to be different enough not to give them rights issues. The chainsaw seen on screen is basically the AOD chainsaw.

The working ones I made used a motor through the centre handle, the motor was powerful enough to spin the real chain fast, but not much more torque than that, so if you touched it to your trouser leg the chain would bite and motor stall. Exactly what you want for cosplay. It might injure someone's face, but then again just the guide bar and sharp chain static are a few kilos and that could do damage to someone alone if you whacked someone in the face with it. Fitting a Makita circular saw motor and you basically have a real electric chainsaw, with enough torque I would think, to cut through the wearers leg with a real blade?

Just thinking on the chain you made, so the guide bar must have been custom made & wider than a real one since it looks from the eBay photos that the timing belt would have to go in the channel and that's probably getting on for 10mm thick? So you used a timing belt, then glued cast rubber teeth onto that (?) then used a custom made aluminium sprocket to turn the timing belt via a Makita circular saw blade mounted inside, similarly to the way I made mine?. Did you take any process photos yourself you can show me?..."


"...You're basically spot on with your description of the rubber chain/bar mechanism. We only used it with a rubber chain, so no danger. We made a bar with a channel out of thin layers of carbon fiber sheeting and a milled lightweight 'girder' like structure in the middle to make it strong, but light. Any shots of a real chainsaw cutting was an actual chainsaw, so on-set safety precautions were always taken!

Before the show shot, I made a chainsaw for a commercial that was different because, you are correct, they didn't have the rights to it yet. Basically it had some modified details and the silver top. For some reason they used that one I made for Bruce's Conan O'Brien appearance 2 years ago at Comic Con. I like to think of it as his formal chainsaw, haha! Top..."


Below you can see detail photos of a working season 3 chainsaw bought by a US fan. In this model (shown here without its chain), the engine plate, sprocket & body side have been moulded as one red piece, and it's only the metal flywheel which actually spins. This would create more space inside, as well as making the whole assembly stronger, as long as this view wasn't shown on screen too closely. The bottom-right photo shows a view inside the chainsaw.

S3 chainsaw - spinning timing sprocket & carbon fibre blade
Season 3 working chainsaw - timing sprocket & carbon fibre blade

Ash Vs Evil Dead Season 3 working chainsaw - carbon fibre blade & blood tube
Inside - blood, smoke & power tubes

From the emails above, and doing some quick research myself, I figured it was most likely they used the HS301 10.8v Circular Saw, as it's the smallest. I guess when you have a large budget, you can afford to spend $140 on one of these, mess around with the idea, and move onto the next idea if it doesn't work. For hobby prop makers, this is less of an option! You can also buy the bare motor, for around $50.

Makita HS301 10.8v Cordless CXT Circular Saw
Makita HS301 10.8v, bare motor

I would add that my EvilDeadChainsaws.com working saws used a far less powerful motor, just enough to turn the real chainsaw chain, but the motor would stall if it met much resistance, such as touching the spinning chain to you clothing (Ideal for cosplay, but not ideal for Ash on-set trying to hack apart a foam latex demon!) With a proper motor like this, you'd be on your way to the power of a real chainsaw, which might well injure the wearer if it made contact with their leg.


One of the working Season 3 Ash Vs Evil Dead 'hand' chainsaws, sold by The Propstore in September 2019

You can download all the full size photos, saved of the screen-used chainsaws which were sold in 2018/19, via the ZIP file linked below. Some of these came from the eBay & Propstore sales themselves, and some from the buyers' Facebook pages when they posted their own photos (and one video). Should any further material be made available, it will be added here, and posted as a news update on the front page.





Ash Vs Evil Dead Necklace

This is a silver necklace with a small magnifying glass inset. Ash gives this to Linda in The Evil Dead, and again to the same character in Evil Dead II. Sam had conceived the climactic scenes of The Evil Dead to happen slightly differently; the dawn light would come in through a cabin window, shine through the magnifying glass burning the 'Book of the Dead'. Ash was to have seen this and realized that the Book needed to be destroyed on the fire.


The Evil Dead Crown Trifari original & Ash Vs Evil Dead 'stunt' version replica pendant comparison

The reproduction magnifying glass pendant necklace featured in Ash Vs Evil Dead (albeit a single episode; ten in season three), looks very similar to the original necklace in The Evil Dead, but there are some differences. As you can see from the below comparison, while the design is clearly duplicated, the reproduction is 40% larger than the original. Further, the reproduction is identical on both sides, whereas the original only has decoration on the front.

There were actually three slightly different necklaces used across The Evil Dead & Evil Dead II. The original was bought specifically for use in The Evil Dead around 1979 from a jewellery store in Grand Rapids, Michigan called Corey's Jewel Box (3286 Alpine Ave NW K, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 49544). It was a Crown Trifari Silver Magnifying Glass Pendant & Chain, something you'd only be able to find in the second hand market today.

The Evil Dead necklace
The Evil Dead magnifying glass pendant necklace

The Ash Vs Evil Dead reproduction is likely to be 3D print rather than cast from a mould. The quality of the top-right 'stunt' version is fairly rough, and it's missing much of the fine detail of the original. In the below-left screenshot, the necklace's imperfections make it look more like a 3D print, although the below-right necklace looks more realistic. There also appears to be a seam running along the centre where the two identical halves have been joined together.

'Hero' necklace, in Ash Vs Evil Dead (Season 3, Episode 10 - The Mettle of Man)
'Hero' necklace (S3, E10)

Once shooting on The Evil Dead was completed, it's unknown what happened to the re-shoots necklace. After Evil Dead II, that third necklace was passed on to Tom, who displays it in The Evil Dead's re-shoots box, alongside many other rare items; such as Bruce's fake arm from Within The Woods. From The Evil Dead; the 'Book of the Dead', and various latex appliances including masks, gloves, and fake parts such as Linda's fake leg, severed head & torso. From Evil Dead II; the 'Book of the Dead' along with assorted 'lost' pages, the 'Kandarian Dagger', and various stop motion animation puppets. There are also a number of photo boards with many previously unpublished photos, original animation storyboards, artwork, posters, and rare magazine & newspaper cuttings.
 
 
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