Dutch - Oregon Trail

Kevin Houtzager said:
Slight update:

First of:

Half of the country had no internet connection whatsoever for about 30 hours. I had a lot of work to do, so now days behind. Ah well, at least I came around to working on the axe:

Axe is hung already, haft is cleaned up, but it still need to get the finishing touches on the head (mostly shaping and polishing). Probably have picks tomorrow. Got a nice two-tone wedge (hickory hardwood handle with red fir wedge). I trimmed it down all the way, and with a special reason for it: Since I live in a place where it rains most of the time I cant have the handle sticking out of the head, because the wood is less dense and it easily absorbs water. By getting it flush it'll stay stabilised. It still needs a lot of polishing though!
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To the contrary. Leaving it proud will 'lock it in place', especially if/when the non-compressed wood swells up. Soak the end of that sucker in a hubcap full of oil to stabilize.
 
Kevin, that came out looking great! I'm happy to see it set up and ready to use instead of sitting here languishing lol.

There is no space from what that I can see around the tongue at the top of the eye with your wedge-job. Did you use a secondary wedge of sorts to fill any gaps? Or did you use beeswax/filler/secret sauce? Did you find yourself closing or opening the hang/bit presentation intentionally to line it up with the longer handle?

The grain on the wedge runs pretty contrary to your handle grain - nice. What tools did you use on the profile/bit/edge? It's hard to tell from the picture but it looks like you maybe left it a bit thicker at the toe where there was more wear coming to you?

It's wet here as well. Sump pump wet. I like leaving some handle proud on most of what I hang but that is preference. I see reasons to do it and reasons not to.

That poll turned out cleaner than I pictured myself getting it as well. What do you think of its construction there?

Old-school looking pattern on an octagonalized handle, sharp- :thumbsup:
 
Kevin Houtzager said:
And it's in good company!

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So it seems! That is a nice and eclectic set of axes. Nice handle work on all of them too. :thumbsup:

That mean looking one on the left with the thinned down handle is interesting.
 
That is quite a collection! I don't think I have anything anything around here that is as old as some of that - axes or not lol.

You had asked if I've used that hatchet yet. Briefly twice, once on some of the cherry wood here and then again to show my brother when we were visiting at the coast this last weekend. Even without and offset in the eye or the handle it really does seem light in hand and cuts quite well for its size. What do you think the handle is made from?

Is your Kemi marked 1123 or 12.3? Are the marks raised or punched into it? I am curious as that numbering system revised at one point.

The measurements on the goose wing axe:

Goose winger by Agent Hierarchy, on Flickr

Goose winger by Agent Hierarchy, on Flickr

As far as evening out the grind, should I draw a nice line across the back of the blade and work it back to a mild arc then flip it over and recreate the edge or work from the front only?

I meant to post more of a response earlier but had to take care of something else that will need to be rehung -
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Sheared the light switches off - plenty of edge(s) left on that one lol.
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Lol. I was asleep when that thing came down (delayed reaction from the last look maybe). It was almost 6" across and about 5" tall. Took me three loads of glass in boxes to safely get it downstairs. Deaf cat didn't move - "There's something wrong with his medulla oblongata".

I have never used a grinder on an edge but that sounds like what you are talking about in regards to taking the metal off? I think I have seen enough warnings, trials, mishaps to not ruin it. I might set that up today or at least take a look at marking an appropriate sweep for the edge.

Kevin, will you humor me and show me what you mean with the paper triangle folding to achieve a 22,5 angle?
 
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Kevin Houtzager said:
Info to go with photo:
Utmost Left: Danish Great Axe (Danish), 1000 A.D., 8 pounds, Found it neer the bridge of Denmark Sweden on the Danish side. Handmade Hickory handle from a stave representing the one on the Bayeaux Tapestry.
Left: Bilnäss 1123 (Finnish), 1890-1910 A.D., 3pounds, Got it from somebody I know in Finland. Original Birch handle.
Centre Left: Skeggox/Bearded Axe (Scandinavian), 800 A.D. 1,5 pounds , Got it out of the ground near on old viking settlement near Wijk bij Duurstede (Dorestad). Handmade ash handle.
Centre High: Awart Carpenters Axe (French), 1960 A.D. , 2 pounds (disturbingly heavy for its small size), It's my grandpa's axe. Havent found the maker yet. Old N.O.S. Oak handle.
Centre Low: Mueller Hammerwerk Goosewing Hewing Axe (Austria), 1850 A.D., 6 pounds, Got it from somebody I know in Slowakia. Handmade handle from Red Meranti.
Centre Right: Elwell Connecticut (English), 1943 A.D., 6 pounds, Got it in Germany: Had a English head, German metal wedges (3rd reich codes) and an American handle. Hickory handle.
Right: Spanish Toledo axe (Spain), 1750 A.D., 1 pound, Got it from some nice woman in Holland. Searched for one for years. Havent found the maker yet. Handmade slipfit handle of Yew .
Utmost Right: Kent Pattern (English/American), 1800-1840 A.D. 3 pounds, Got it from Agent_H Agent_H . Customized octagonal handle from an old Chopper 1 handle (a.k.a. a club).
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I think some of your dates are wild and fanciful guesses. The Kent pattern was made exactly like that into the early 20th century. There is no reason to believe it's any older than that. And your Great Danish Axe looks like many French axes that were made at least into the late 19th century. As Sagan once said, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
 
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