Square_peg
Gold Member
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2012
- Messages
- 13,797
A month or so ago I picked up a nice 5 pound Plumb rafting axe. I had very high hopes for it. It was pretty clean and only lightly used. It had a thin layer of rust on it.
What I liked most about this axe was the waffle pattern hardened poll. This axe was designed for hammering.
The other day I gave away my favorite splitting axe to a good friend. I needed a replacement and figured this big 5-pounder was the ticket.
First thing I had to do was drill out the remnants of the old handle. It's a Plumb and had Plumb's infamous Perma-bond epoxy in the eye. I decided not to mess around so I just swiss-cheesed it on the drill press.
After drilling it full of holes I put it in the vise and the remaining handle popped right out. I cleaned out the residual epoxy with a rattail file.
I cleaned the head up with wire wheel. Someone did a fine job of shaping the bevel on the edge of this axe. It has a classic banana grind.
I had a nice 36" hickory straight axe handle on hand which was perfect for this axe. With its hardened poll this axe can handle some heavy hammering. The straight handle allows easy use with of either end of this axe head.
I was in a rush so I gave the handle a quik-n-dirty slimming/octagoning with a 36 grit disc on the angle grinder. Took less than 10 minutes to reshape the haft. I left it a little thicker than I would for a chopping or felling axe.
The haft is .9" thick in the grip area.
Hanging this one was fast and easy. The Tennessee Hickory handle slid in over halfway just as it came from the factory.
A little light rasp work soon had the head fully seated. I gave the kerf and the wedge a coat of generic Swel-Lock before assembly.
I touched up the edge before wedging. I did a little file work, then honed, buffed it and gave it a few final strokes on a fine hard Arkansas stone. This method gives me frighteningly sharp results.
I tested it out on a 15" Doug fir round. The big 5-pounder effortlessly split it on the first stroke. Every subsequent stroke produced a piece of firewood. It's a dandy splitter and the hardened poll can drive a wedge if needed.
I think I'm really gonna like this axe.
What I liked most about this axe was the waffle pattern hardened poll. This axe was designed for hammering.
The other day I gave away my favorite splitting axe to a good friend. I needed a replacement and figured this big 5-pounder was the ticket.
First thing I had to do was drill out the remnants of the old handle. It's a Plumb and had Plumb's infamous Perma-bond epoxy in the eye. I decided not to mess around so I just swiss-cheesed it on the drill press.
After drilling it full of holes I put it in the vise and the remaining handle popped right out. I cleaned out the residual epoxy with a rattail file.
I cleaned the head up with wire wheel. Someone did a fine job of shaping the bevel on the edge of this axe. It has a classic banana grind.
I had a nice 36" hickory straight axe handle on hand which was perfect for this axe. With its hardened poll this axe can handle some heavy hammering. The straight handle allows easy use with of either end of this axe head.
I was in a rush so I gave the handle a quik-n-dirty slimming/octagoning with a 36 grit disc on the angle grinder. Took less than 10 minutes to reshape the haft. I left it a little thicker than I would for a chopping or felling axe.
The haft is .9" thick in the grip area.
Hanging this one was fast and easy. The Tennessee Hickory handle slid in over halfway just as it came from the factory.
A little light rasp work soon had the head fully seated. I gave the kerf and the wedge a coat of generic Swel-Lock before assembly.
I touched up the edge before wedging. I did a little file work, then honed, buffed it and gave it a few final strokes on a fine hard Arkansas stone. This method gives me frighteningly sharp results.
I tested it out on a 15" Doug fir round. The big 5-pounder effortlessly split it on the first stroke. Every subsequent stroke produced a piece of firewood. It's a dandy splitter and the hardened poll can drive a wedge if needed.
I think I'm really gonna like this axe.
