Don't do it

garry3 said:
I would buy that.
And you can also judiciously use a wire brush, steel wool and probably other things and not remove all the patina from the surface, as you probably did on your hammer. The point I was trying to make though is that the blue or black colored surface that is left after taking a wire wheel on an angle grinder to a rusty axe head is not patina.
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If this dark color that the surface of the steel has taken on isn't patina then what is it ? After all that is exactly what patina is, it's the change in color to the surface of a piece of steel.
The wire wheel doesn't create this color, it simply removes the rust that was covering it up.

What would you call this if not patina ?
 
Hickory n steel said:
If this dark color that the surface of the steel has taken on isn't patina then what is it ? After all that is exactly what patina is, it's the change in color to the surface of a piece of steel.
The wire wheel doesn't create this color, it simply removes the rust that was covering it up.

What would you call this if not patina ?
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Brushed steel.
 
It is what shows of a tool's life through real use and environmental wear.
Everything needs a word until a better one comes along.
 
It's rust bluing. By some definitions that is a patina.

"On metal, patina is a coating of various chemical compounds such as oxides, carbonates, sulfides, or sulfates formed on the surface during exposure to atmospheric elements (oxygen, rain, acid rain, carbon dioxide, sulfur-bearing compounds), a common example of which is rust which forms on iron or steel when exposed to oxygen. Patina also refers to accumulated changes in surface texture and colour that result from normal use of an object such as a coin or a piece of furniture over time.[2]"

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patina
 
halfaxe said:
I don't have a link but look up electrolysis rust removal. Simple to do with a battery charger and a few items. It does a good job.
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I've just tried that last year on my KLR's gas tank. I noticed after I bought it that the tank wasn't in the best shape on the inside and I came across that process. It was like magic, haha. I mean I had to do it several times until I got all the rust out, but it worked.
 
I like patinas but I don't mind grinding an axe down to get rid of the nasty pitting. I do both ways. Honestly I don't much care for a wire cup finish or vinegar soaked finish. Old tools aren't magical or sacred, they're tools. I've seen so many restorations that leave nasty mushrooming and general deformation for old times' sake.
 
Hickory n steel said:
Don't Search YouTube for axe or hammer " resto " content !
It will make you cry.

I don't have as many axes or hammers as I'd like, and don't get to hang heads very often because if this I guess you could say I like to live vicariously through others and their " resto's ". The problem with YouTube is that probably 75% or more of the resto content is very cringe worthy.
The moment I see just a head and some vinegar or sanding device I turn off the video, if there's an original handle I may give it a minute in case the sanding is just for the wood.
Just as bad is when I hang in there while they do a proper job cleaning up the head , then they completely drop the ball when it comes to re-handling it.
Whether they decide to make their own handle and don't even attempt a proper traditional shape, or go with a proper shape but leave the sides flat. They may even make their handle from a 2x4.
Maybe they do make a proper handle or use a nice production handle with good grain, but when it comes time to hang it everything goes down hill.
They may hammer the head onto the haft, only put it on as far as it will go then fill the rest with epoxy, do minimal shaping then hammer the head on till its flush and just use only a steel step wedge. you name it, everything they do makes me cringe.

Maybe I'm just way too critical, but it's hard not to be when you see this stuff being posted on YouTube for others to copy.
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You are not being too critical. It's all bs. I watch videos where they are doing comparisons between axes that even a buffoon could tell are not intended for the same tasks and use. And it is hysterical when they declare an ax that is clearly not suitable for the chosen tasks/label the winner.
Videos where they test axes that fall into a specific type then they do tests that are not even close to the actual tasks one would tackle with given type.
Videos where clearly the person has never worked an 8 hour day doing any sort of manual labor. Yet decide to pretend they can come to a conclusion in 8min with a tool that was designed to be used over the course of a day.
Online videos seem to be made by the stereo typical types of people that you do not want to hire when filling a crew. You either get young bull in a China shop. Who Chuck's everything around like a mad buffoon and is a liability on the job site for the entirety of ten minutes before the bellowing and sucking for wind like a beached whale begins. Or you get the sloth. The pretending to take the time and do everything correctly faker who is too slow and obviously faking the funk. Trying to pass themselves off as experienced, but it is painfully obvious they are just trying to emulate the smooth methodical easy looking movements of those more experienced without actually having a clue.
I end up in tears laughing at these fools. I literally have probably added so many viewings repeat watching just for the laughing it is not funny.
And the facial expressions! Ha! Lol, nothing like some guy sucking wind trying to look cool. Or the forced tough guy looks at the camera. Nothing like a guy who couldn't muscle his way out of his little sisters headlock giving an intimate object the crazy eye! Lol.
Just as funny as the videos, perhaps even funnier are the enabling comments. "Wow Ricky you are awesome! You sure do know a lot about axes!"
Even though Ricky was doing almost everything wrong one could possibly do.
"Experienced" users who get blisters two minutes in;)
Who have the aim of a blind pirate.
Who use the wrong ax for the task and take four times longer than the task should have taken yet declare themselves experienced and the tool fine for the job?
What a joke.

It used to bug me. Poor safety example. Uninformed narrative. Inexperienced users trying to pass themselves off as experienced.

Now....I LOVE IT! I watch a couple a day with my friends. Seriously funny entertainment.
I stop short at people actually being injured. I take no joy in that.

But you are correct on the resto videos. I can not watch those. It is like watching history be destroyed.
 
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