First attemp at restoring a hatchet and have some questions

Joined
Oct 13, 2015
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25
First and foremost,

Thank you all for the valuable information I have already read in this forum.

Now on with the show. I was given 2 hatchets from an old relative. One is a great looking Dunlap with the sticker still on the handle and a nice stamp on the head. It will be put up for my son to pass on to his children some day.

The other is a nice looking hatchet, but has a good bit of rust and the head has some light blue paint. I believe the handle is original and still tight.
The only marking I can find so far is:
MADE IN
SWEDEN.

My questions are,

1. Who is the manufacturer and possible date?
2. How can I clean the head up without removing the handle?
3. Can I remove the rust without removing the remaining paint? And is the paint that big a deal for a collectable?
4. The handle is extremely dry and I have bought BLO. I figured I would sand it a little and then soak it down real good to see what it looks like.

If the handle is not important then that eliminates #2. I have vinegar, washing soda and all kinds of sandpaper and steel wool. I could do electrolysis or just a long soak.
My intention was to make this into a boys axe my hanging it on a 26" handle I've ordered from House Handle but I do not want to destroy an original handle if it is in-fact original.

I'll try to take photos and try to post them. Being new to the forum it might take me a while to figure that part out.

Thanks in advance, I think I'm hooked!!
Clint
 
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Dunlap was Sears 2nd line of tools after their premium Craftsman line. Mostly sold in the 1940s and 1950s - maybe 1960s. The clipped fawns foot makes me think it's a later model.

Can't be certain about the Sweden axe. Many of those were imported with a Stro-Bro label and made by Gransfors Bruk. But other swedish makers used a similar blue color. In any case they are both quality axes.
 
Can I do the electrolysis with vinegar on the axe head without removing the handle? Is that a dumb question??
 
I don't think that it is an original handle on the swedish one. It looks too short for the head, and the mushrooming on the top of the axe around the eye is a dead give away of someone rehandling it improperly by just beating it down on the handle.
It will make a nice boys axe. I would just knock the rust off with a brass cup brush in a drill and sharpen it up with a file.
 
Thanks Guys,

I already have an electrolysis bath cleaning a Belknap Bluegrass file I got over the weekend for $1. I think I'll knock the handle off and give her a bath. I have a new handle on the way!

Thanks again,
Clint
 
Do not soak the Dunlap hatchet in anything to remove rust, it pretty much only has a patina on it which should never be taken off.
Just spray it with wd40 and use a brass wire wheel In a drill to take of any light rust there may be.
As far as the handle goes, if you intend to use the hatchet you may want to scrape or chemically strip the varnish off.
 
Do not soak the Dunlap hatchet in anything to remove rust, it pretty much only has a patina on it which should never be taken off.
Just spray it with wd40 and use a brass wire wheel In a drill to take of any light rust there may be.
As far as the handle goes, if you intend to use the hatchet you may want to scrape or chemically strip the varnish off.

Is a varnished handle really a slip issue if you're wearing gloves which many people do these days...especially those anti-slip mechanics gloves so common these days? Seems a varnish might actually be stickier in that case....just a thought.
 
Is a varnished handle really a slip issue if you're wearing gloves which many people do these days...especially those anti-slip mechanics gloves so common these days? Seems a varnish might actually be stickier in that case....just a thought.

It's usually a preference thing. I don't like the feel of lacquer or varnish. I have a big mattock handle I did with a varnish, but I don't care for the feel very much. However, you can always add thin coats of BLO on top of the lacquer. It won't soak into the wood, but it will still provide a better feel.
 
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