Axe head sharpening with limited space

Malpaso

Malpaso

Joined
Jan 17, 2000
Messages
129
I've just gotten into rehabbing old axes. I have limited space indoors during the cold weather, and my reloading bench is seeing double duty as a sharpening station. This is what I'm stuck with, and am looking for recommendations to make this better. It works ok, but the position of the clamp limits the travel of the file so it take a lot more time and effort. I only have files and a puck, no belt sander/grinder.

I've looked all over the net for plans/pictures of clamping jigs, but no luck. Any suggestions?

OZHShSM.jpg
 
Malpaso said:
I've just gotten into rehabbing old axes. I have limited space indoors during the cold weather, and my reloading bench is seeing double duty as a sharpening station. This is what I'm stuck with, and am looking for recommendations to make this better. It works ok, but the position of the clamp limits the travel of the file so it take a lot more time and effort. I only have files and a puck, no belt sander/grinder.

I've looked all over the net for plans/pictures of clamping jigs, but no luck. Any suggestions?

OZHShSM.jpg
Click to expand...
well, what you have right now with the exception of a vice is pretty much how it's done. might consider and angle grinder
 
All of those will work. I don't sharpen until I have the haft on the axe. Just for safety. Then I'll take it to the front or back porch and stand facing into the sun and stand the ax on the end of it's handle, with the bit toward the sun. I then take a stone to it and work it in a scrubbing motion, back and forth with the coarse stone. Transfer hands and work the other side. Once you get the burr worked up and removed then go to a finer stone and repeat the process. I was taking the ax to the stone and Square Peg recommended I take the stone to the axe. I thought about this and have kept working at it until I've gotten better results.
This is a very convenient method, just takes sometime to learn. You can do the same thing with your puck. DM
 
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You should be able to do just fine with your present setup , just keep the dust , filings and other swarf away from your reloading equipment.
 
What about a strip of steel with a thick- ish pad on it , a hinge on one end and latch on the other?

It could slip through then clamp down and with the pads would hold tight to various wall thicknesses.
I'm just not doing enough heads to need any kind of setup for it, but this is what I'd make when / if I can start acquiring more.
 
I have been loving the Blade Grinder attachment, for the Ken onion Work Sharp! It works great, mimicking professional belts and delivering a convex grind with a nice shoulder behind the edge. It is super compact just clamp the little thing to your bench when you need it. And there are stropping belts for it.

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Yankee Josh said:
Or screws. I just use a piece of wood like shown above. Or my vice. Frankly that works best for me. Do you have a vice?
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I have a vice, but that's a recovery project as well, so it's in pieces to be sanded and painted.

How would that work? Would it mean sharpening vertically instead of horizontally?
 
Malpaso said:
I have a vice, but that's a recovery project as well, so it's in pieces to be sanded and painted.

How would that work? Would it mean sharpening vertically instead of horizontally?
Click to expand...
Nah just clamp it between a couple strips of wood in the vice laying sideways. I'm off to dinner with family but I'll take a pic of that to illustrate it in the next day or so. Unless somebody beats me to it! I, like D M, don't sharpen till after it's hung. I like to file first in the vice.
 
Malpaso said:
I have a vice, but that's a recovery project as well, so it's in pieces to be sanded and painted.

How would that work? Would it mean sharpening vertically instead of horizontally?
Click to expand...

Both ways can be done.
I would block the head in the vise using strips of wood for either verticle or horizontal vise sharpening. Protects the head and adds stability when sharpening and applying pressure with the file.
 
Malpaso said:
How would that work? Would it mean sharpening vertically instead of horizontally?
Click to expand...

It’s horizontal. You use the section that has the adjustable angle. (I like 17-19 degrees)
There a couple videos of guys doing axes with it on youtube but none are using it well in my opinion. They don’t even have the machine clamped down, one guy is in his kitchen abusing an axe, it’s a mess but here is a link below. It can be used with some finesse and patience this guy is grinding the crap out of that thing.
 
There is a learning curve in this method but it is worth it to master. Concentrate on the angle as you work, (I try to hit 22*-23*) (fold a square paper for a guage) I usually work up a burr with the coarse stone. (burrs worked up on an ax steel are not large) Then
move to the fine, removing the burr as I go. You can go finer but I usually stop at 600 grit. DM
 
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