Anyone polish their axe?

W

Whiskey_Jim

Joined
Feb 21, 2017
Messages
362
I bought some sand paper since I don't have any heads to hang at the moment.
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I find at least a certain degree of polish useful on the working regions of the bit, but not for cosmetic reasons since it'll quickly haze up with micro-scratches. Mirror polishing is a lot of work so I don't like to squander time on a flawless polish when I know it'll be wearing right off the second it's put to work. However, the smooth surface aids in penetration and release alike, so getting it nice and smooth to the touch helps in performance!
 
I don't and probably don't own the equipment to do it. I do own a couple that a bought polished though. Sure doesn't hurt anything.
 
I polish the bit for the reasons stated by 42 and Moonw. It helps alot with release.
 
I did this American Ax Company axe just to outline the bevels. I used a buffing wheel on a grinder with compound. It's actually shinier than the picture shows.

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Moonw said:
Polishing adds rust resistance, fwiw.
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In theory I suppose, due to minimizing the surface area. I suspect that the effect is negligible in practical application however - because I've seen lots of polished steel surfaces rust readily under humid conditions (mostly rifles, which benefited not just from polishing but from bluing as well).

To return to the OP's question, I've buffed a few edges, usually with scotchbrite disks on a grinder. It did seem to help a little but the effect was temporary as the surface inevitably gets scratched up in use. For a working ax it's not worth the bother even with a powered buffing setup.
 
Not an axe but a tiny 9oz slip handle hatchet, bottom in first pic, no other reason than being flash.
Bottom pic a hawk & ball peen hammer I forged from a VW drive shaft (hammer has splines, sorry for crappy phone pic).
Polished to look good, not sure there is any point polishing a user as it'll get scratched up first use.

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serotina said:
In theory I suppose, due to minimizing the surface area. I suspect that the effect is negligible in practical application however - because I've seen lots of polished steel surfaces rust readily under humid conditions (mostly rifles, which benefited not just from polishing but from bluing as well).
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Well, my experience showed increased rust resistance, so much in fact that I've complettely skipped oiling 5160 blades treated this way. I'm a believer :). Some steel just WANTS to rust, no matter what :), though.
 
yeah, leaving polishing compound on is just as good as a patina IME but i havent done an entire head, just the bevels on my kellys
 
Wow these look awesome, i need to get my grand dad to polish up my estwing sportsman haha
 
Moonw said:
Well, my experience showed increased rust resistance, so much in fact that I've complettely skipped oiling 5160 blades treated this way. I'm a believer :). Some steel just WANTS to rust, no matter what :), though.
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5160 is well known to have a bit more corrosion resistance than straight carbon steel. While by no means stainless, that little bit of chromium helps with the rust.

I've not seen the effect with straight carbon steel, and I'd be pretty skeptical of the effect even with alloys like 5160. I could see a person believing in it if they have axes made of both and started polishing about the time they added the 5160 blades to the mix.

Now I have heard of electropolishing stainless to improve corrosion resistance. I suspect it owes its effect to depleting the surface in iron and thus concentrating the chromium slightly. Perhaps something similar is going on with your 5160, though I'd be hard pressed to imagine a mechanical polish changing the surface chemistry much.
 
Polishing carbon steel does slow it's tendency to rust, how much is debatable with so many variables but it does make a difference.

I always assumed it was because polishing gets rid of pits & lowers the surface area.

Easy to try a couple of test bits of steel to see for yourself.
 
The reason why polished carbon steel will rust up is mostly because it's bare un-passivated steel and so is in its most vulnerable state, albeit much less vulnerable than the same bare steel with a coarser surface. Induce a patina on the polish or blue it and you'll get a protective oxidized layer with the benefits of the polish. Any sort of coating will wear in use, but at a slow rate on actively used regions that keep it clean, and the unworn regions will be kept protected.
 
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