First axe - $100 max budget

[DarthTaco123]

The most I've ever paid was $23.00 for a vintage 3.5lb Hudson Bay pattern. The lowest was five bucks, and that one has chopped the best. Antique malls often have amazing deals on amazing axes.

 

[Square_peg]

Are just about any vintage heads going to be good?

Yes. But in particular look for an axe with convex cheeks, also called a high centerline. Explained here:
http://axeconnected.blogspot.com/2011/05/notes-on-ax-head-geometry-part-2-of.html

Also look for an axe that is long in the toe. The toe is the upper point of the bit. The heel is the lower point of the bit. Worn out axes tend to have very rounded bits with the toes often shorter than the heel. This is do to repeated sharpenings after abuse (hitting the ground, etc.). Also look for excessive mushrooming of the poll or evidence that a lot of poll has been ground or filed off. Such an axe has probably been used to strike steel wedges - something it was not designed for. The poll of an axe typically isn't hardened for hammering on steel. Also look for deformed eyes, another sign of an axe that has been used to drive wedges.

Also, if I were to go that route, where's the best place to pick up a handle?

There is currently no place where you can pick up a truly first rate handle. But there are passable handles available from several sources and some of these can be made first rate with a little work with a rasp, spokeshave and sandpaper. House Handle probably has a better off-the-shelf handle than anybody else. Tennessee Hickory makes handles from wood which I like better than HH's wood but TH handles tend to be very fat and in need of some serious thinning. With work they can be a better handle than a HH handle, IMO. Link and/or Seymour handles are often found in local hardware stores. If you're selective there's a chance you might find a good handle there.

 

[00ChevyScott]

Went to Ace Hardware today just to see what they had. They had 3 boys axes, and all 3 were JUNK. Head alignment sucked, handles were already cracked, and there was no edge on any of them.

 

[Mach189]

Went to Ace Hardware today just to see what they had. They had 3 boys axes, and all 3 were JUNK. Head alignment sucked, handles were already cracked, and there was no edge on any of them.

my boys ax from my local Farm and Fleet didn't have an edge either, kinda nice if ya ask me. Was cool to have fresh metal to put a nice fresh edge on.

 

[00ChevyScott]

What's everyone's thoughts on a Council Tools FSS boys axe? Whats a fair price for one of those?

 

[M3mphis]

What's everyone's thoughts on a Council Tools FSS boys axe? Whats a fair price for one of those?

I don't have one, but all the feedback I've seen has been very favorable and from people who know their way around an axe. They aren't making that model any more, so snatch one up if you have the opportunity. That's an ideal axe for your stated purposes, IMO.

 

[00ChevyScott]

I don't have one, but all the feedback I've seen has been very favorable and from people who know their way around an axe. They aren't making that model any more, so snatch one up if you have the opportunity. That's an ideal axe for your stated purposes, IMO.

Do ya think $70 + shipping is too high? I'm not buying it as a collectors item so I don't want to pay a premium for it just because its discontinued.

 

[M3mphis]

Do ya think $70 + shipping is too high? I'm not buying it as a collectors item so I don't want to pay a premium for it just because its discontinued.

I wouldn't. I think they were more like $40 just a few months ago. You really can't beat a good vintage piece on price or performance. I'd be watching ebay.

ETA: Just to be clear. I "wouldn't" pay that price.

 

[Cajun Kamikaze]

A few months back when I jumped on my Axe and hatchet kick, I frequented a few antique shops and just so happen to score big. I was looking for a specific shape and found exactly what I was looking for (very fortunate on that one especially since it was my first look around)

I then went to www.househandle.com/‎ and they hooked me up with a nice 18" handle for 15$ + or minus a few. In all, probably 40$ in on this one.

 

[Square_peg]

Do ya think $70 + shipping is too high? I'm not buying it as a collectors item so I don't want to pay a premium for it just because its discontinued.

That's a good bit more than they were going for last year when Council was closing them out. They were going for mid-$40's until Council recognized their popularity. Then they bumped the price up to around $60. Now they make a Velvicut boys axe which they sell for $140. Given all this an axe is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. If it's a new FSS boys axe then that might not be a bad price, considering what it would cost you to get something comparable in steel quality. Be forewarned that some of those last FSS boys axes went out with sup-par handles. Numerous people complained and I supposed some people ended up re-hafting them.

This leads us back to my original suggestion. If you're going to end up re-hafting it anyway, why not just buy a select vintage boys axe and re-handle that? You'll be ahead in the long run.

 

[00ChevyScott]

I've browsed the bay for vintage heads and haven't found anything cheap enough or that wasn't beat to crap. I live in a big metro area, so old tools are hard to come by (they're not just laying around in pawn shops or stores).

 

[300Six]

I've browsed the bay for vintage heads and haven't found anything cheap enough or that wasn't beat to crap. I live in a big metro area, so old tools are hard to come by (they're not just laying around in pawn shops or stores).

One thing about going the route of seeking "previously enjoyed" is that you have to develop lots of patience. It is true that many axes you'll see or find are too pricey, beat to death, worn or rusted to the extreme, awkward designs, too heavy for your purpose, irreparably 'sharpened' etc etc. Keep looking! Are there any farm auctions, curio or antique shops outside of town that you can find an excuse to visit?

 

[00ChevyScott]

Well I went out in my dads garage to see if he had anything and found this guy hiding in the back wrapped in duct tape. I managed to tighten the head up on the handle. Its a bigger axe than I wanted, but seems to be decent. Looks like a collins 3 1/2 lb axe.

Is it worth fixing up or is it a cheap/junk axe?

 

[Mach189]

Any axe is better than none! Plus you can just get another one later. That's a nice looking piece!

 

[newsasquatch]

My sentiments exactly. Every rural home and property owner up until 40 years ago owned at least a few different axes. For 100 years the domestic axe industry in n. America was huge, very competitive, offered hundreds of different sizes and styles and produced first class implements. Hundreds of thousands of these beautiful tools are currently languishing in barns and sheds and with estate sales/flea markets and scrap dealers and can be scooped up for pennies on the dollar. And yet greenhorns with a sudden yearning or nostalgia for the old days all seem to want to rush out and spend a couple of hundred bucks on a brand new axe! It is inevitable that a handle is going to break, that you're going to have to learn to sharpen a blade, that you'll gravitate to another size or style so might as well start fresh and learn about all this stuff before hand rather than somewhere down the road. Treat yourself to a practical history lesson and a useful apprenticeship in maintaining hand tools; research and resurrect a 'golden oldie'.
I limb branches, cut snags and small trees for firewood, and build structures and campfires as often as I can 3 seasons of the year with an old 'pulp axe' (referred to as a 'boy's axe' in USA) that is stamped Walters Black Diamond. Knowing that it was locally-forged (directly across the river from where I live) and that the company's heyday was during the late 1940s-early 50s, re-named itself Walters before WWI, went out of business in 1973, that 'Black Diamond' was their finest grade, that at least 2-3 generations of folks before me used it with pride (frugal buyers rarely invest that extra few bucks in 'top of the line') all makes me feel that much more content when sitting in front of the fire along side a nice quiet lake.
You can probably guess that if I owned an Estwing or other metal-handled chopper that it would be in the trunk of my car with the booster cables and tow rope or else mounted next to the fire extinguisher in my truck. Good luck with your purchase!

Nicely stated! Alocksly and Square_peg as well!

I came on this forum with the same mind set, I ended buying a velvicut boys axe--which is an amazing tool and probably perfect for what you have in mind--but after buying a few really cool axes on the auction site, I now wish I would've used the money that I spent on that, to buy a few cool, older axes instead.

 

[erik the red]

I've got an 80's era Michigan pattern Collins 3 1/2 pounder on a 32" haft. I really like that setup and the steel is good quality. It splits nicely but wedges a bit from a deep bite from time to time. A pleasure to use.

 

[Square_peg]

Is it worth fixing up or is it a cheap/junk axe?

Yes, that's worth fixing up. Though it doesn't appear to need much fixing unless a cracked handle isn't showing up in the photo. That looks like a later model Collins from after they were bought out by the Mann Edge Tool Co. Those have a bit thinner cheeks than the older ones and not as good of steel as say, an old Collins Legitimus. But it's a good axe none the less, far better than the stuff in hardware stores today. Plus it has some family history and there's nothing better than that in an axe.

 

[Bridger]

Get some sharpening gear with the money instead and you'll be ready to get started.

 

[00ChevyScott]

Yes, that's worth fixing up. Though it doesn't appear to need much fixing unless a cracked handle isn't showing up in the photo. That looks like a later model Collins from after they were bought out by the Mann Edge Tool Co. Those have a bit thinner cheeks than the older ones and not as good of steel as say, an old Collins Legitimus. But it's a good axe none the less, far better than the stuff in hardware stores today. Plus it has some family history and there's nothing better than that in an axe.

I'd like to get all the duct tape residue off the wood, and the edge needs some serious work. I pulled out my vintage Miller Falls ball bearing grinder and ran it down both sides of the edge, then took a file to it. It's still far from perfect but it's getting there.

Any idea when this axe was produced? If I had to guess, it's got to be from the late 80s, early 90s?

 

[Alocksly]

I'd like to get all the duct tape residue off the wood, and the edge needs some serious work. I pulled out my vintage Miller Falls ball bearing grinder and ran it down both sides of the edge, then took a file to it. It's still far from perfect but it's getting there.

Any idea when this axe was produced? If I had to guess, it's got to be from the late 80s, early 90s?

I'm sure you already know this but be careful with the grinder. Many of the folks here won't use them period. I do but I go very slow. When I get close to the edge I'll do one pass on each side and then set it aside while I do something else or dunk it in cold water before my next pass. I keep the passes quick too, a fraction of a second too long and you risk cooking the edge and breaking the temper.