First Axe Resto...good find?

[Alocksly]

I use BLO on most of my handles and I generally like the result. My only gripe (admittedly not much of one) is that the BLO handles tend to hold on to dirt and are harder to wipe clean than a varnished handle. This isn't a huge deal for me but occasionally I'll lament that I can't see the nice grain of the handle I chose under the dirt and sap stains.

 

[SC T100]

Yeah, the BLO treatment definitely lets the dirt in a bit, but I don't mind...it means the axe is getting used and I really like the feel when I use it. In fact, I used to take down a section of a multi-stem maple recently. And holy cow is this thing a chopper! It threw serious chunks of wood, and my technique wasn't great...it's been a while. I then split some old oak (2-2.5 foot long logs!) my parents had and it splits very well too...even through the extra long logs. It swings great on the 36" handle and feels very balanced. It's by far the best axe I've ever used. Got home, sanded a bit of damage to the handle I made under the head from some mis-hits, cleaned the handle up with a rag and some fine steel wool, and wiped it down with a thin coat of BLO. It barely dulled at all after felling and sectioning the maple, splitting the oak, and going through some sandy dirt both on the logs and a time or two after going through the logs, and even a few hits to a gnarled old stump. It's a fantastic axe and feels great.

 

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Forgot to post when it was completed, but I made up a nice leather sheath for the slicer. I also gave it another coat or two of BLO, though I am not sure it's really taking any more.

 

[SC T100]

I also noticed the head is a tad cocked over on the handle. Sort of like how a dog will kick its head over slightly. It's barely noticeable, and I've used it recently and didn't notice it until I was messing with it in the garage the other day. Ah well...still cuts and splits the best of any axe I've ever used!

 

[300Six]

Wow! Lots of comments and advice on this one. Budget automobile racers have always said "Run what ya brung" and that's what I suggest in this case. Axes have no real use anymore (except maybe in emergency kits of school buses and when a chainsaw breaks down and the like). But you've bought into this hand-tool genre so get out there and enjoy it! Going to bed dead-tired after purposely swinging an axe for an afternoon is something that can not be reproduced by a video game or anything else. Whatever dedication you have towards improving on ergonomics,shape and sharpness is entirely your own. The 20 guys I worked with (swinging axes all day long) 43 years ago could have cared less about axes except that they had one that was unbroken at the begin of the day, appeared to be busy for another 8 hours, and were paid every Friday.
Anything and everything else (does my axe have a desirable lineage and stamp and a perfectly aligned handle?) is mere window dressing and was unknown at the time. Myself (the enthusiastic idiot) got tired of sharpening an issue-axe every morning and requested special permission to have my own and be able to keep it under my bunk. Permission was granted only when I showed them 'my' axe would drop a tree in half the time anybody else's would. These were not toy trees. Some of the Red Maples and White Pines were 2 feet across and one particular Cottonwood was a 3 footer. I was 17 years old at the time and had 10X more energy than I do now.

 

[Square_peg]

....Axes have no real use anymore (except maybe in emergency kits of school buses and when a chainsaw breaks down and the like).

How absurd.

The axe is still the preferred tool for the backyard wood pile. Not everyone splits enough wood to make a hydraulic splitter pencil out.

But aside from that it's still an important tool among natural resource workers. For a small blow down or storm fall I can have it cleared with an axe before my partner can get his chainsaw chaps on and dig the saw out of the tool box. Then there are the wilderness areas where they won't allow combustion engines, not that you'd want to pack one up there (along with it's associated fuel and bar oil). And most public land managing agencies won't allow volunteers to run a chain saw for insurance reasons. So the axe and the crosscut have to take up the slack.

No real use? Maybe not for you but there's plenty of work still out there for the axe.

 

[G-pig]

How absurd.

The axe is still the preferred tool for the backyard wood pile. Not everyone splits enough wood to make a hydraulic splitter pencil out.

But aside from that it's still an important tool among natural resource workers. For a small blow down or storm fall I can have it cleared with an axe before my partner can get his chainsaw chaps on and dig the saw out of the tool box. Then there are the wilderness areas where they won't allow combustion engines, not that you'd want to pack one up there (along with it's associated fuel and bar oil). And most public land managing agencies won't allow volunteers to run a chain saw for insurance reasons. So the axe and the crosscut have to take up the slack.

No real use? Maybe not for you but there's plenty of work still out there for the axe.

Not to mention some people want to enjoy life these days still, and things like scythes, axes, crosscut saws, etc facilitate that to such a greater degree.

Axes still have every bit of applicability that they did in the past-- maybe more in context, since it's easier to get an efficient stove and things like insulation. If you espouse "time saving" measures, like chain saws, hydraulic splitters, string trimmers, or outboard motors on canoes, more power to ya. Some among us aspire to enjoy life and meet some needs along the way, without resorting to saving "dead time" (or as little as possible, at least).

 

[Square_peg]

.....efficient stove and things like insulation.

Now those are real time savers. You can burn 1/2 or even 1/3 the wood if the energy is utilized smartly. You can split your wood in half the time if you only need half the wood.

 

[SC T100]

Ha! Yes, good points. I'm not really concerned with the slight offset, especially since it took down a nice sized branch of a multi-stem red maple very, very easily not too long ago. It's what I would call a hobby tool. I prefer to use axes and machetes to anything gas powered, and I simply enjoy refurbing and using the hand tools. I used axes quite a lot when I was younger, and I still do when I get the chance now. That's why I'm on the search for more. In fact, I picked up two more handles that had nice grain the other day from the local lumber supplier. $6.50 each and I was very happy. Now it's time to find a few more heads! I'm heading up to the Asheville, NC area soon, and I'm hoping to run across some flea market/junk sale/antique shops that I can rummage through.