Axe repair

S

stevewest

Joined
Nov 25, 2006
Messages
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I thought I would pose this question for all the experts. I purchased a Kelly Registered Connecticut pattern off of Ebay. Got it for a fairly good price, received it and it was pretty beat up hence the price. Previous owner somewhere along the line had sharpened it with what looks like a Dremel tool and left a bunch of worm tracks in the blade - as far as 1.5" off the edge of the blade. I filed them out and polished the cheeks down to 600 grit. It turned out nicely. In examining the blade, however, there is what looks like a semi circular crack - very faint - on the heel of the blade. Is this something that can be repaired by welding? I figured that welding would play havoc with the temper. I have not rehafted, but am afraid that the first round split will pop off a chunk of blade - it's about 1/2" in diameter I would post pics, but am somewhat hazy on the process.
 
Hey Steve, first off how deep is the crack? if it is not deeper than about 2 human hairs, then its fine and does not have any negative effect on the blade. That would be called a microcrack, somepeople freak over this but having lots of experience with metals and using them alot, trust me, your fine. However if it is somewhat deep, there are a few things you can do. First is you can sand down the steel (on both sides for geometry) until the crack is gone. You can attempt to polish it out, Or you can attempt braising it. I would not braze it mainly because it would look funny and do almost no good. The same goes for welding, remember, you are heating the metal to few thousand degrees, it will screw with the temper and will look dis-colored.

Thanks and please get back with me on what you decide to do!

-Best, Team Cajunstyle
 
I think the crack would be considered a microcrack - its about the diameter of a human hair or smaller.
 
The challenge begins with the repair. Yes, it can almost certainly be welded. However, any repair would require you to heat treat the axe all over again.
As a learning project, yea, I would do it. Yet remember failure waits around every corner, don't be surprised if it bites you when you least expect it.
Anneal, tig-weld, re-anneal, heat treat, temper, rehang, and cross your fingers. :) (No, I have never done this before. It's all theoretical.)

 
Don't need to pre-anneal. Just pre-heat the weld area. Weld with 7018. Re-heat-treat.
 
Thanks for all the information, guys. Not sure what course I'm going to take, if any. Axe has turned out very nice, I would hate to take a chunk out of the blade.
 
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