Ax Profile to Help Maximize

David Martin

David Martin

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I have hit on this in another topic but I want to give this it's own topic.
Here are 2 ax profiles, the red one is a Council and the other a Hults from the 50's.
The Council is a good splitter and limbing axe. The Hults is not because of it's fuller cheeks.
The Hults will not penetrate as well and begin cutting / separating wood fibers. DM
HultsvsC.jpg
 
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Just this metal being removed and no other change, has increased performance of the Hults by 50%. (percents being somewhat of a estimate). But still, if I can tell a big difference occurred in the before and after in splitting and limb work with this ax then a lot happened.
So, perhaps some of you axe men have an older ax that performs somewhat sluggish, you might try what I did and see if it improves it's
performance. DM
 
Usually on pieces that heavily worn that's when I like to use the contact wheel on my belt grinder to work the cheeks back. A forward-and-backward pulsing motion on the wheel blends in a nice smooth convex. Cosmetically the scratch pattern tends to vary a lot, but in terms of getting the desired results it works wonders.
 
Ok, thanks. I didn't want to take it to my belt grinder because I like the heat treat on this ax and didn't want to compromise it.
I can still take a file to it and remove more material, thinning it further. I'm merely showing where I'm at in this project and explaining
the improvements I'm realizing. Which may encourage others to tackle it. DM
 
flexo, I'll get you one.
Today we are taking a hit from Mister Winter and I brought in another load of the wood I split using the improved Hults. DM
HultsvsC4.jpg
 
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Ha, thanks. That represents over 500 file strokes per side and 40 mins. working it on a coarse SiC stone. So, I'm thinking about leaving it
at this juncture. There was more metal in that area than I thought. I think it will prove to be worth the effort I put in it when I start using it. DM
 
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David Martin said:
I did some more filing near the bevel and here's where I'm now at. DM
View attachment 1068260
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That's where you should be. Looks great!

The step before was what you want for maximum durability. This grind is for maximum cutting. Myself, I'll take maximum cutting and deal with the sharpening when it's needed.

How's the old saying go? "If I had four hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first two hours sharpening the axe." Many versions of that quote attributed to many people but the idea is the same. Sharpening is less work than swinging. Might as well minimize the swinging.
penny.gif
penny.gif
 
FLINT77 said:
Does the Council axe have a convex / high centerline shape? I didn't realize that Council axes were still convex.

I have a "newer" (probably 90s +/- ??) Barco "kelly perfect" jersey that has flat sides - not convex, like the old ones.
Click to expand...

Some do, some don't. Depends on the model.
 
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