I hope I don't get labeled as a heretic over this thread but discovered something interesting and thought I would throw this out there and see how much flak I would take. I haven't seen anything like this on the forum before, so maybe its common knowledge, and I just don't know any better.
I have a small piece of property south of town out in the country that produces alot of what I call trash trees - mostly mulberries, and I will usually go out every year in the fall to cut them out. I have an Estwing axe that I picked up at one of the big box stores to do this task. I used to use an old Tru Temper double bit axe, but wanted something a little lighter with a steel or fiberglass handle that would be more maintenance free. It is pretty hard steel and really does not take to drawfiling which is how I used to sharpen the double bit.
I got to looking at the edge before I went out this last weekend along with the overall condition of the axe itself. I must not have oiled it last time I was out because it was suffering from alittle bit of rust as well as discoloration and the edge wasn't looking too great. Started with some steelwool to clean it up and then noticed the Dewalt pad sander on the work bench and thought "what the heck". I slapped a 220 grit on it and it cleaned it up nicely. I remember how much time it took to put a decent edge on it with a file last time (I usually touch it up with sandpaper after filing) and thought why not try using the pad sander to put an edge on it? 10 minutes later, I had a very nice convex edge. I just clamped it up in the bench vice and carefully hit it with the sander. The sander does not cut aggressively, so you don't have to worry about taking off too much metal. The foam pad under the hook and eye gives you a pretty nice convex edge. The only thing I would caution is to sand with the edge not against it as you will ruin alot of paper if you don't. I can't shave with it, but it seems to be a good way to put a quick working convex edge on an axe.
I have a small piece of property south of town out in the country that produces alot of what I call trash trees - mostly mulberries, and I will usually go out every year in the fall to cut them out. I have an Estwing axe that I picked up at one of the big box stores to do this task. I used to use an old Tru Temper double bit axe, but wanted something a little lighter with a steel or fiberglass handle that would be more maintenance free. It is pretty hard steel and really does not take to drawfiling which is how I used to sharpen the double bit.
I got to looking at the edge before I went out this last weekend along with the overall condition of the axe itself. I must not have oiled it last time I was out because it was suffering from alittle bit of rust as well as discoloration and the edge wasn't looking too great. Started with some steelwool to clean it up and then noticed the Dewalt pad sander on the work bench and thought "what the heck". I slapped a 220 grit on it and it cleaned it up nicely. I remember how much time it took to put a decent edge on it with a file last time (I usually touch it up with sandpaper after filing) and thought why not try using the pad sander to put an edge on it? 10 minutes later, I had a very nice convex edge. I just clamped it up in the bench vice and carefully hit it with the sander. The sander does not cut aggressively, so you don't have to worry about taking off too much metal. The foam pad under the hook and eye gives you a pretty nice convex edge. The only thing I would caution is to sand with the edge not against it as you will ruin alot of paper if you don't. I can't shave with it, but it seems to be a good way to put a quick working convex edge on an axe.
