Axe restoration thread

[rarefish383]

My BIL has 4 or 5 of them (99's). I looked at getting one but the price wasnt't justified for the little I would use it.
My dad's cousin owns the .25-35 Winchester that my great grandpa originally owned. He did not want to sell it when I asked him about 10 years ago. He only has step children so I hope they really appreciate that gun or that he gives it to one of his blood nephews someday.

I putzed around at a private Savage GTG, waiting for the last minute to make an offer on an 1899B. The B has a 26" Octagon barrel and a crescent butt plate, in 25-35. He was asking $1300. When I walked over he said he had just traded it to another guy. I settled for another B that he had in 303, they were both high condition and both made in 1908. Those 25-35's are too hard to find to pass one up when you get the chance, Joe.

 

[svk]

I putzed around at a private Savage GTG, waiting for the last minute to make an offer on an 1899B. The B has a 26" Octagon barrel and a crescent butt plate, in 25-35. He was asking $1300. When I walked over he said he had just traded it to another guy. I settled for another B that he had in 303, they were both high condition and both made in 1908. Those 25-35's are too hard to find to pass one up when you get the chance, Joe.

I do not know the basis for doing so but cousin said the original octahon barrel had long ago been replaced or turned down to round. So not completely original but still cool.

 

[rarefish383]

The 1899A was a 26 inch round barrel, and there was an 1899A short rifle with a 22 inch barrel and a steel shotgun butt plate, Joe

 

[rarefish383]

If the barrel was turned it would not have any writing on it, and it would not fit the forearm. Next time you see it copy how the barrel address is written, how may lines, Company spelled out or shorten to Co. The 25-35 was added in 1903 and discontinued in 1915. The serial on mine is in the 75,000 range, 1908, Joe

 

[svk]

So it's a little off topic but here's the results of ammonia versus vinegar so far after 24 hours in the solutions. Looks like I'll be sticking with vinegar for my axe heads.

I thought the ammonia was going to clean up the chrome plated areas better but not much happening. As of last night when the second two pics were taken the vinegar had busted about half of the crud while ammonia did nothing. Which is interesting as ammonia brightens semi-precious/precious metals like crazy.

The subjects. The slightly rustier one on top went into the vinegar bath.


Ammonia


Vinegar

 

[Trx250r180]

Great thread ,now i want more axe's .

 

[svk]

A good amount of rust is now gone.

 

[Multifaceted]

Pretty cool, I've always used vinegar for heavy rust removal before the ol' wire cup brush. The only downside is often it also removes a patina, but short of using electrolysis that seems to work pretty well. Ha ha, I was worried about posting a brush hook and crosscut saw in this thread, yet here I am commenting on padlocks, ha ha..

 

[svk]

Yeah sorry for going off topic a bit. I guess I wanted to try the test on something smaller than an axe head.

 

[Blstr88]

Great thread! Ive been sort of collecting various axes recently as well, I didnt realize there was so much knowledge. I'll have to look closer at mine and see if I have anything worth having!

Where do you guys source your handles? I need to order a few for some of the axe heads I've collected.

 

[rarefish383]

Welcome aboard, I hand pick through the stuff at the local Ace and TSC. I've always wanted to try "HouseHandles", I've heard good and some not so good, but they have a lot of handles, Joe.

 

[Multifaceted]

I am a fan of Beaver-tooth Handle Co. It's literally a one person show, so it'll be a two week turnaround, but it's well worth it. Like any other handles, they still come a little thick, so you'll need to whittle them down to get that good "snap" on a swing, but otherwise they're dandy. You can get choice grade with proper grain orientation, or #2 grade with slash grain and a mix of heartwood and sapwood. You can also select either plain sanded or waxed. Often anything you'll buy at the local Ace is either warped, has less than access grain orientation and come with a useless laquer finish, which is annoying to remove.

 

[svk]

Welcome aboard @Blstr88 !

I have purchased many of my handles from Menards after sorting through their whole stock to find a couple of good ones. The handles from there have been better proportioned and I haven't seen the need to do any shaping (of course I am not at the point where I feel I am good enough to do that anyhow). This last House Handle that I purchased from the local hardware store is a bit more blocky and the fit and finish is not nearly as good as whatever brand is carried by Menards.

As far as value of the heads, there is a Facebook page called "Axe and Woodworking Appreciation" where the guys can tell you every minute detail about your heads and their monetary value. I would say around here most of us are more concerned with how well the axe works versus how much its worth. But feel free to ask any questions you have and we will do our best to answer them!

 

[Blstr88]

Thanks guys! And thanks for the links, I'll look through those websites for what I need.

I looked quickly at a few of the axe heads I have this morning, the two bigger axe heads didnt have any readily apparent markings but they need to be cleaned up, maybe theres something hiding underneath. The hatchet I have clearly said COLLINS across the back of the cheek. I'll start cleaning up those other two this weekend and see if they're marked.

Its exciting to see so many examples of beautifully restored axes because its so easy to find old beat up axes at flea markets, pawn shops, yard sales, etc up here (northern NH)...so it seems like a real fun/interesting hobby to get into for very little monetary investment. Look forward to following along, learning, and restoring some myself.

 

[Bobby Kirbos]

I rescued this guy from the rust monster. I've had it for 12 years as a rusty weight. It was left in the shed of our old house when we bought it. The handle that was on it was beat to crap at the axe head.

48 hours in white vinegar
Cleaned with water and a brass wire brush.
Light coat of motor oil.
New 24" handle from Beaver Tooth.

 

[lead farmer]

I rescued this guy from the rust monster. I've had it for 12 years as a rusty weight. It was left in the shed of our old house whe we bought it. The handle that was on it was beat to crap at the axe head.

48 hours in white vinegar
Cleaned with water and a brass wire brush.
Light coat of motor oil.
New 24" handle from Beaver Tooth.
View attachment 605617
View attachment 605618
View attachment 605619

For some reason these pics won't show for me [emoji15]

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[lead farmer]

I rescued this guy from the rust monster. I've had it for 12 years as a rusty weight. It was left in the shed of our old house when we bought it. The handle that was on it was beat to crap at the axe head.

48 hours in white vinegar
Cleaned with water and a brass wire brush.
Light coat of motor oil.
New 24" handle from Beaver Tooth.
View attachment 605617
View attachment 605618
View attachment 605619

Sweeeeeeet buddy, now get a little BL oil on her. Looks good. I like your pic in signature as well[emoji106]

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[Blstr88]

Thought Id share a few of the axes Ive picked up recently. Most of them dont appear to have any obvious markings but a few do. I figured the unmarked ones will be good to get me started until I figure out what Im doing and start on the nicer marked ones.

Anybody have any idea what this marking is?

 

[svk]

Nice looking pieces. That maul very likely is a Collins as well.

Is the Sweden axe blue or green?

 

[Blstr88]

Nice looking pieces. That maul very likely is a Collins as well.

Is the Sweden axe blue or green?

Thanks. The Sweden is green - does that help ID it?