God Bless Granpa and his Axe - Possible restoration project?

T

Torgesson

Joined
Jan 2, 2014
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So I went out for a camping over nighter this past weekend and was really looking forward to trying out my new Becker BK9 processing some firewood. This was a new location and there was seriously nothing on the ground to work with. The knife performed flawlessly up to around 3-4 inch stuff, but I was also wanting to try out a long fire setup that really needed a few 5 foot logs in the 6-7" diameter. Much too big for even the King to handle.

I came away with the realization I really need to add an axe or saw to my gear on these trips. I was researching double bit felling axes when i remembered my brother had left his axe here on a visit a couple of years ago. I went out to look for it and see what it was when I came across my wife's Grandfather's old axe that I had completely forgotten was even out there. It is a Kelly Flint Edge #4 felling two bit axe. Exactly what I had been looking at on the bay. She is in pretty rough shape but I think worth restoring, although I really am not sure what too look for on an axe to tell if used up or not.

This is after a quick pass with a wire brush, unfortunately I just deleted the picture of the other side while uploading to PB and have already been working on more rust removal.

What do you axe experts think?

 
Your Kelly has lots of life left in her. To bad about the chip but it should file out smooth. The #4 stands for a 4 pound head. They are by far less common than a 3.5 pound Kelly D-bit which are marked with a 3 and a small 2. With some work using a steel brush she'll clean up nicely. I use a course twisted wire cup on a angle grinder to clean mine up. That will leave a nice even patina on the head.

Good luck with your family heirloom. Treated right she will go to your heirs.

Tom
 
Just like a derelict car this 'baby' is not immediately ready for the road. There are some big chips out of the blade(s) but that's no huge deal. If the head is not loose (this particular part is very important!) then proceed with file sharpening to get whatever is left to be 'pointy'. Put the old girl to use and then take it from there. "Double bits" don't do it for me (pointy ends that are in my face every time I swing) but this particular implement has major history for you. Buy a new 'something or other' and you're out of pocket $100-200 whereas tolerating a few rock chips out of grand-daddy's "favourite" is only going to direct you to become a historian.
Lots of folks here power-grind away at 'finds' until the blade is straight across and sharp. Do that with yours and whatever tempered chopping steel is left is going to be wasted or lost. Couple of knocks here and there on your blade is not going to make any appreciative difference in use (you don't do this for a living?) and if you're still swinging/sharpening it 30 years down the road likely as not the voids will be gone.
Thanks for this post and good luck on your journey.
 
Appreciate the comments. I am already enjoying working on it. I never got to meet her grandfather, he passed away before I met my wife. However several years ago, her grandmother asked me if I would like to have all of his old tools and clean out his work shed. He was a mechanic by trade so I inherited many old relics, that I used regularly. This old girl was in the lot and has just been sitting in the corner waiting to be noticed.

I am glad to hear the blade still has plenty of life left. I am not worried about the 'character marks' on it. I am just going to get all of the rust off and give it a natural vinegar patina and sharpen her up and nicely oiled. I think the handle is sound but is not the original as far as I can tell so may replace it if I come across a good one. It's good and tight but chewed a bit near the head. I stink at remembering to take process photos but will update here with pics when I am done with it in a couple of days.
 
I think you are going to end up with great restoration and a great, useable ax. Let us see the end product.
 
Bo T said:
I think you are going to end up with great restoration and a great, useable ax. Let us see the end product.
Click to expand...

I agree! :) I wouldn't worry about the chip on the toe. I would just smooth it out with a file. Its not going to effect the bit at all when your done sharpening them.

Tom

OH....Yes we will want pics when your done.
 
Well I have been slowed down in the restoration by a serious cold snap, garage is not heated, and have been soaking the head in a vinegar bath for past 48 hours. I am at a couple of crossroads now as to where to go with her. I want to keep the 'age and history' of the axe with the nice aged patina look the vinegar soak gave it but I would also like to get rid of the last bits of rust deposit in the pits. I am thinking a steel wire cup on an angle grinder and then a resoak in vinegar long enough to restore a working patina?

I also like the feel and shape of the haft and I have checked all of the local options and only found one likely candidate, a Trupor 36" with nice straight grain but as fat as a well fed cow, so would need a lot of reworking. I am researching how to remove and rework the existing handle but I am new to all of this and could use some advice. Can I just carve a new shoulder and drop the head down onto it with a new wedge? I am thinking this would take the risk of destroying the haft while trying to remove it out of the equation, or is removal and reworking way to go? Is the top of the haft even usable to refit? There is not much left of it and it is pretty chewed up as you can see. I could use some advice and suggestions.

By the way, I also found a no name chinese hatchet and an old True Temper R2S carpenters half hatchet ads well. I am going to play with them too but will save them for another thread.

Latest pics after vinegar bath and wire brush/light sanding and oiling.


 
It's a shame about both toes being damaged like that. But now that you've done a vinegar soak and can see how much hardened steel you have to work with, it might be a good idea to straighten up one of the bits.

DB%20axe%202.jpg
 
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Square_peg said:
And I would get the head off the handle before you pickle that handle any more.
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Yeah I showed my newbness there by soaking it with the handle still on it. I learned from it though. Now that it is swelled up, I am not sure how to get it off. Dry it out in the oven at low temps or try to remove wet by drilling out the wedge. More to learn ;)
 
Saw off the sides of the protruding handle while leaving the wedge intact. Then grasp the wedge with some Vise-Grips and pull it out. Then rasp down the eye of the handle until the head seats low on the shoulder. Hopefully that will leave you about 1/4" of fresh handle protruding above the head again. Let the handle dry completely before re-wedging it.
 
Square_peg said:
Saw off the sides of the protruding handle while leaving the wedge intact. Then grasp the wedge with some Vise-Grips and pull it out. Then rasp down the eye of the handle until the head seats low on the shoulder. Hopefully that will leave you about 1/4" of fresh handle protruding above the head again. Let the handle dry completely before re-wedging it.
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+1

If the handle is in good shape keep it. Once the wedge is out you can probably tap the handle out. This will give you the opportunity to clean up the top and bottom of the head also.
 
No oven, if you don't want to keep the handle cut if off very close to the axe head and used a bolt or a fitting piece of wood to drive the remaining handle piece up out the top of the head where the eye is larger. You can set it on boards to make it easier an drill holes if you want. What I will say is there are a few handles I wish I would have kept when I first started on axes, and that looks like one I might have thought that about. If its cracked then don't worry about it but I'd it's other pretty nice, I'd wait for it to dry out (which probably won't take that long) and then remove the wedge and pull the handle out and keep or reuse it. That takes time but old handles can be very nice.
 
Square_peg said:
It's a shame about both toes being damaged like that. But now that you've done a vinegar soak and can see how much hardened steel you have to work with, it might be a good idea to straighten up one of the bits.
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While I agree about straightening the bit out, I'd say the amount you propose removing is a bit overkill. Having a small amount of a rounded edge on the toe isn't going to hurt things too much - he's not going to notice the 1/8" of cutting surface lost and if he happens to damage the toe with an overswing in the time he owns the axe, he's going to feel awfully silly having previously filed off 3/4th" of perfectly good steel. I think he could probably get away with the line I drew in red and then just file it straighter as he uses it..

Square_peg said:
Saw off the sides of the protruding handle while leaving the wedge intact. Then grasp the wedge with some Vise-Grips and pull it out. Then rasp down the eye of the handle until the head seats low on the shoulder. Hopefully that will leave you about 1/4" of fresh handle protruding above the head again. Let the handle dry completely before re-wedging it.
Click to expand...

Here's a link to what SP is talking about and how to go about it in case visuals help. If the handle is good and to your liking without being overly damaged, no sense in scrapping it. Especially considering how high on the shoulder it is - you have plenty of room to move the head down and re-seat:
DBaxe2_zpsd54e2a3f.jpg
 
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Yes, I had come across that thread using the search function and in fact have already removed material down to the wedge but I have to wait for it dry out and harden up as it is still too wet to pull. I did some light sanding on the handle to check for any cracks and I am going to try to keep it and rehang it after cleaning it up as recommended.
 
Well, I am back. I didn't abandon the project but cold temps and taking it slow so as not to screw it up has drawn the whole thing out. Here is an update and a question. I had to remove the old handle as it seemed rotted in the eye. Turns out it was not as bad as it looked but I still better about it holding up with a new one. I did reuse the handle on a carpenter's half hatchet to tomahawk conversion project though.

It took a while to find an acceptable handle but I finally found one, sanded off the lacquer and hung it today. I have not set the wedge yet because I am not real sure about the end gaps and whether I need to add spacer/wedges/something in there along with the main wedge? I have never hung an axe before so please point out anything that I need to correct.



 
I guess you didn't have to rasp, file or sand at all to get the head to drop down over that particular handle! Myself would have gone right back to the store looking for a handle that was a tighter fit. I'm leery of suggesting that you go overboard with thick wedges in two directions (in line and across) in trying to tighten it all up. On the plus side it looks to me like you've learned to read wood grain well though.
 
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