shape it however you like, but its not a grea idea to leave it next to the stove. It will dry out the haft and shrink it, loosening the head. Nice axes though, very nice
Axe restoration thread
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Thanks for the advice. I guess I need to start looking around for some vintage steel, I have always had a thing for old, quality tools.
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Shave it thin to your liking .
If you do manage to break it , rehang and start again .
Old school handles were thin .
If you do manage to break it , rehang and start again .
Old school handles were thin .
INCOMING! I'll wait for the postmen to do their work before saying more.
Not a full size axe but a good find at the flea market today. EC Simmons Hatchet in decent shape but a crack in the handle possibly from seating a loose head. Man it sure does feel good at the palm swell. Rehandle or use it till she breaks?
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Can you get some wood glue into those cracks? I’d do that then after it’s fully dried, smooth out the blunted areas and sand down the whole works and give it some BLO.Not a full size axe but a good find at the flea market today. EC Simmons Hatchet in decent shape but a crack in the handle possibly from seating a loose head. Man it sure does feel good at the palm swell. Rehandle or use it till she breaks?
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Really neat head on that one.
Plowmaster
ArboristSite Member
Great idea
I think you'd have a hard time breaking the handle down by the palm swell unless you plan on throwing it. Use it or if it bothers you try to glue it.
Thanks for the suggestions guys! I sanded it to freshen it up a bit and applied BLO. If the handle ever breaks it will be a project my son and I can tackle together. I got it for him so he will leave my GB alone, [emoji57]
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So while we are waiting on Neil's postman...
I restored my old new best friend's 8 lb sledge this week. Seemed like the right thing to do since it was the worst mushroomed head I've ever seen and some shrapnel must have broken off when he was using it while I was at his house picking up firewood. Scary. Also, I over struck it on the wedge and compromised the handle. So there was that.
He had picked it up years ago for $5 at a man sale, then proceeded to break the original handle shortly thereafter. He had dutifully gone to the hardware, spent 3x the cost of the sledge on a new handle, and hung it himself. Now clearly no sane man spends much time here with us, but when I say hang, I mean he pounded the handle through the hole. The end.
It originally looked something like this one only worse. (Somehow I was in such a rush to work on it that I didn't get any before pics.)
I cut most off the mushrooming off, filed it back to somewhat flat with the octagon base, then used a flapper wheel on the 4" grinder to remove the bulk of the rust, and finished it with the wire wheel. I also used the file to radius and bevel the faces and took out most of the marks with a foam sanding block. There are still visible cracks but I didn't want to make the 8 lb head into a 6 lb head without asking him first. At least it is less likely to send shards flying now. I found a serviceable hickory handle at the local hardware - not perfect, but not bad either considering they only had the one. At least it had no varnish to remove. Used a chisel to fit the handle to the head which seemed ok after 4 or 5 attempts. I replaced the wedge with one I made from black walnut to add a little color and painted the head red. I used a punch for the final drive of the steel wedge, but wish now that I had used a flat piece of steel the same size as the wedge so the marks were not visible. I'm not sure where you guys get this "wipe the excess" off after applying boiled linseed oil. I've put 3 coats of paint thinner/BLO mixed 2:1 on so far and it has really been soaked up completely each time almost immediately. I'm sure it will be saturated eventually.
It's a far cry from the hunk of rusty steel doorstop it once was so I think he will be happy.
Oh, by the way, thanks California for adding cost to nearly everything I buy now. The prop 65 warning is not really meaningful if it's on EVERY SINGLE PRODUCT, including a natural wood handle.
I restored my old new best friend's 8 lb sledge this week. Seemed like the right thing to do since it was the worst mushroomed head I've ever seen and some shrapnel must have broken off when he was using it while I was at his house picking up firewood. Scary. Also, I over struck it on the wedge and compromised the handle. So there was that.
He had picked it up years ago for $5 at a man sale, then proceeded to break the original handle shortly thereafter. He had dutifully gone to the hardware, spent 3x the cost of the sledge on a new handle, and hung it himself. Now clearly no sane man spends much time here with us, but when I say hang, I mean he pounded the handle through the hole. The end.
It originally looked something like this one only worse. (Somehow I was in such a rush to work on it that I didn't get any before pics.)
I cut most off the mushrooming off, filed it back to somewhat flat with the octagon base, then used a flapper wheel on the 4" grinder to remove the bulk of the rust, and finished it with the wire wheel. I also used the file to radius and bevel the faces and took out most of the marks with a foam sanding block. There are still visible cracks but I didn't want to make the 8 lb head into a 6 lb head without asking him first. At least it is less likely to send shards flying now. I found a serviceable hickory handle at the local hardware - not perfect, but not bad either considering they only had the one. At least it had no varnish to remove. Used a chisel to fit the handle to the head which seemed ok after 4 or 5 attempts. I replaced the wedge with one I made from black walnut to add a little color and painted the head red. I used a punch for the final drive of the steel wedge, but wish now that I had used a flat piece of steel the same size as the wedge so the marks were not visible. I'm not sure where you guys get this "wipe the excess" off after applying boiled linseed oil. I've put 3 coats of paint thinner/BLO mixed 2:1 on so far and it has really been soaked up completely each time almost immediately. I'm sure it will be saturated eventually.
It's a far cry from the hunk of rusty steel doorstop it once was so I think he will be happy.
Oh, by the way, thanks California for adding cost to nearly everything I buy now. The prop 65 warning is not really meaningful if it's on EVERY SINGLE PRODUCT, including a natural wood handle.
Nicely done. I had a friend with a Chinese made sledge that was mushroomed like that. I took it and threw it away and gave him a decent one.
Good work on that sledge! I'm amazed it mushroomed though, cheap steel I guess?
Honestly you did a beautiful job on that.
Beauty of a hatchet. Sure is a pretty design.Not a full size axe but a good find at the flea market today. EC Simmons Hatchet in decent shape but a crack in the handle possibly from seating a loose head. Man it sure does feel good at the palm swell. Rehandle or use it till she breaks?
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It's not that bad of a crack and its better that it's where it is.
I like the idea of drilling a hole and making a dowel to glue into it to keep it from splitting further.
You could even use a nice contrasting wood like Walnut or Chestnut for the dowel.
As for the head, I'd leave it just how it is. Just put an edge back on it with files and stones.
Make sure you post some more pics of the progress.
I have been looking for some leather sheaths to protect the edges of some of my axes and hatchets but I'm not having much luck.
Thought I had found some decent ones at a local Canadian Tire store for a decent price for two of my axes, but when I fit them they wouldn't work.
Have any of you made your own or know someone who has?
I'd like to learn how to make some custom ones for my axes, hatchets and maybe some knives I own.
I do have a Cousin that makes leather goods but she lives way out in Toronto so it's a fair hike there (4 hours).
Thanks.
Thought I had found some decent ones at a local Canadian Tire store for a decent price for two of my axes, but when I fit them they wouldn't work.
Have any of you made your own or know someone who has?
I'd like to learn how to make some custom ones for my axes, hatchets and maybe some knives I own.
I do have a Cousin that makes leather goods but she lives way out in Toronto so it's a fair hike there (4 hours).
Thanks.
Ben Scott in the 'tube is normally pretty good for axe stuf. this leather sheath make vid popped up last week. i've not watched it but i will recommend it anyway
While I wait on the postmen to ship stuff across the atlantic, I have made progress (at last! you cry) with my 4.5lb HB.
here it is on the 36 inch handle, seeing it I'm thinking i like it and may not shorten it after all...undecided...I'll give it a few swings before I decide
boy that handle is bad! still, this is the practice run at turning a pickaxe handle into a felling axe handle. I'll likely give the axe to my nephew to learn to help his dad split...and get it back in a few weeks once its broken so I can try again with the decent haft I have.
i
The fit isn't too bad so far. bit of work but got it almost straight to the haft eventually. I got slightly carried away with the freshly sharpened plane and the new shinto rasp, and took a bit too much material off the first inch or so in places, but the wedge should deal with the front
the back I knew would need an extra bit of packing wood
here it is on the 36 inch handle, seeing it I'm thinking i like it and may not shorten it after all...undecided...I'll give it a few swings before I decide
boy that handle is bad! still, this is the practice run at turning a pickaxe handle into a felling axe handle. I'll likely give the axe to my nephew to learn to help his dad split...and get it back in a few weeks once its broken so I can try again with the decent haft I have.
iThe fit isn't too bad so far. bit of work but got it almost straight to the haft eventually. I got slightly carried away with the freshly sharpened plane and the new shinto rasp, and took a bit too much material off the first inch or so in places, but the wedge should deal with the front
the back I knew would need an extra bit of packing wood
decent fit around most of both sides.
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