Cleaning up a Walters pulp axe

E

ERobillard

Joined
Jun 17, 2024
Messages
5
A while back I found a somewhat abused, rusted out axe covered in paint and gunk, most likely at a garage sale. I do wish now that I took more "before" photos, it was truly a mess. This past weekend I sanded the junk off the handle, oiled it, soaked the head in a rust remover and took to it with a wire brush and a light grind to smooth the chips in the blade, and gave it a light wipe of wax to help preserve the metal.

Photos on OneDrive:

This uncovered what appears to be a Walters Black Diamond pulp axe with its original yellow-dipped hickory handle. It appears that a previous owner changed the profile slightly at the top. I'll likely only smooth what is there though suggestions on fixing up the profile always welcome.

The head had black paint rather than yellow, and another black stripe at the cutting edge. Black Diamond has no diamond icon separating the words. The reverse has an "o" or perhaps"c" shaped imprint followed by other letters, H I T? More time with a wire brush may reveal more.

The handle is marked Hickory, though the word above it is hard to read and is likely missing letters - TONED is the best I can make it out.

After looking through the threads most of these are dated to the 50s, though with these markings I suspect it's older. Curious if anyone has further insights on the history, age or markings of this terrific tool.

Cheers,
-Eli.
 
Beyond the history of this Walters, I'm wondering about the practice of grinding down and polishing rusted axe heads. Are there any real reasons to remove the pits beyond cosmetics?

I don't mind when these old things show their age. I may Plasti-dip the handle end back to the original yellow. And though I'm sure I could get that mirror finish so popular in YT vids, I'd rather see a bit of the original finish in there along with the pits.

So what's the rationale? Functional? Cosmetic? Resale?
 
Nice axe. Looks like it's in good condition. Here's what I'd do (and have done)

check to see that the head is on tight and that the bit lights up with the handle. If the head seems all good. I'd leave it. If the head is loose or crooked or whatever, I'd pull the head off and rehang it straight and tight.

Then I'd just sharpen it up and you are good to go.

I would recommend against plastidiping the handle. Your hands need to be able to slide on the handle. I'd personally hate to use an axe with the end of the handle thicker and super sticky. If you want it yellow again, just paint it. I have a walters axe with an original handle and the yellow end is just painted.
 
a rusted axe enters the wood better, so it makes cutting easier. going further only changes the aesthetics! ah the yellow handle! big brands Garant, Ox head (can't write it down in german) rememberance
 
Thanks for all the comments so far. I've worked a little more on the edge and left the rest as it is. There are a few more photos at the link. Will see how it chops next day or two.

For those who have a Walters - do yours have the diamond between "Black Diamond" or no? Same side as the Walters imprint or other?

Wondering how to get a rough date on this when there don't seem to be catalogues or notes anywhere on the changes to the imprints over time. Figuring out the variations seems like a first step.

Cheers,
-Eli.
 
And a simple leather sheath is in place. Same link as the first post. Not sure how I'll finish it yet.

Had it out last week. It's a great chopper, a good splitter, nice weight, nice all rounder.
 
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