Hanging an axe - where to get the head?

pialia · Jan 12, 2013

Hi folks

I'd like to try my hand at rehanging an axe. I don't really have any experience with woodworking other than what I learned as a child in school, but I've always loved using my hands and I'm a quick learner. I know there are probably sufficient threads already explaining the actual process, tools needed etc etc.

What I'd like to know is what to look for when finding a good head. What I'd like the end product to be is an all purpose axe a tad under 25" in length, sort of like a big brother to my SFA. First of all, is there a common name for a head that fits this description? Can they be found online or do you have to get lucky at garage sales etc? I've been to a few sales/flee markets around town here in Sweden and asked the people who arrange them how often they come across tools like axes and old woodworking stuff, sadly they're pretty rare. Perhaps I don't live quite far enough north, I'm sure there are an abundance of axe heads further up where a lot of the forestry takes place.

I've browsed through the Swedish equivalents of like craigslist and ebay without any luck. Perhaps we've got some Swedes here in the AT&H forum that could help a gal out? I don't really know where to start!

Any and all help is appreciated!

Grease · Jan 12, 2013

You need a Boys Axe. Common size/weight is a 2-2.5 pound head with a 26-28 inch handle.

Square_peg · Jan 12, 2013

Sounds like you want what we call a boy's axe. Typically 2 to 2.5 lbs with a 24" to 28" haft. Look for one with a high centerline.

You want this:

not this.

The second axe will stick with every blow. It makes the work harder and loosens the handle. The first axe won't stick and will toss the chips out cleanly as you work.

Square_peg · Jan 12, 2013

pialia said:
What I'd like the end product to be is an all purpose axe a tad under 25" in length, sort of like a big brother to my SFA.

The 'all purpose' bit is why I propose an axe with a high centerline (sometimes called convex cheeks). A flat-cheeked axe is handy for carving, bushcrafting and any detailed work done atop the stump. An axe with a high centerline is better for chopping and splitting and still able to do stump work. For a truly 'all purpose' axe look for one who's centerline isn't quite so high as the first image I posted. Moderately convex cheeks are a nice compromise. A vintage American-style boy's axe usually fits the bill.

pialia · Jan 16, 2013

Update:

I managed to snag an old rusty thing for around ~$5 from a Swedish auction site. From what I can tell it's a Hult Bruks axe, correct? Would anyone care to venture a guess on date of manufacture? I'll try to include as many pics as possible to give you a decent idea of what I've got. I snagged this one more or less as a wildcard just to tide me over with something until I find exactly what I'm looking for, but I think I'll be able to have some fun with this one nonetheless. The weight is 1130g or almost exactly 2½ lbs, entire length 17cm and cutting edge 10 cm.

I'd love to get tips on how to tackle this project the best way. What I've done so far is to soak paper towels in vinegar and wrapping it plus stuffing the eye with some soaked paper for about 1 hour, then proceeding to buff most of the head with a rotating steel brush type thingy. I say most of the head because it's hard to hold the drill in one hand and the head in the other without quickly losing some skin, my vice is located outdoors in -18° C so I'm not too keen on going out in the garage and working on it.

There is still quite a bit of rust in the eye and in the small places that are hard to reach with the aforementioned method. I did do a small amount of filework on the edge just to see what I had to work with, it doesn't look too bad.

Anyway, since you all love pictures I figured I wouldn't hold back.

Here goes!

Thanks,

Pia

M3mphis · Jan 16, 2013

Very cool, Pia! It's awesome to see a lady posting an old axe on here! I don't know the age on that, but it ought to be good steel. I don't know of a time when HB wasn't making good steel.

If you decide to file back the edge to even out that chip in the heel, you might consider drawing out your desired profile with a permanent marker to get comfortable with the shape you want before you get to filing away. You could just sharpen it, and it would be fine too. What length of handle are you thinking for it?

Keep us updated on your progress!

pialia · Jan 16, 2013

M3mphis said:
Very cool, Pia! It's awesome to see a lady posting an old axe on here! I don't know the age on that, but it ought to be good steel. I don't know of a time when HB wasn't making good steel.

If you decide to file back the edge to even out that chip in the heel, you might consider drawing out your desired profile with a permanent marker to get comfortable with the shape you want before you get to filing away. You could just sharpen it, and it would be fine too. What length of handle are you thinking for it?

Keep us updated on your progress!

I don't think I'll file back the steel, probably just round off the chip slightly. I'd probably lose about half an inch trying to get it even.

I'm thinking of something along the lines of 25-27" handle, but I'm still trying to get in touch with a supplier of decent handle material in Sweden. I don't want to buy a finished handle, that would completely defeat the purpose of the shave horse I'm building this weekend!

Still not sure what kind of finish I want on the blade, I might just buff it some more and sort out some of the pitting and leave it at that, but I'm mighty tempted to give it a good hand rubbed polish with some sandpaper. It would certainly go quicker if I had a belt sander, but that would also require me to stand outside in the very chilly garage temperature

M3mphis · Jan 16, 2013

With that pitting, it may be a good candidate for a forced patina. That would kind of embrace its already rustic appearance. Maybe a "blue an bleach" etch. Here's one I did:

The nice thing about an aggressive etch (like bleach) is that it removes the need for tons of sanding. I hate sanding, personally.

CB-R · Jan 16, 2013

That's a rad head. Too bad about the chip. You could taper the bit from the heel to the toe to get rid of it. I'm looking forward to seeing your shave horse as I think you and I are modeling ours from the same design. Have fun with that project.

Memphis: Sorry if this has been covered before, but I'm curious as to your blue and bleach ratio. Or is it bleach and then blue? I've blued and I've done vinegar soaks, but have never worked bleach into the process. Can you give me a quick run down of what you do? That head above looks fantastic.

Sorry for the high jack, hopefully the O.P. is interested as well.

pialia · Jan 17, 2013

CB-R said:
That's a rad head. Too bad about the chip. You could taper the bit from the heel to the toe to get rid of it. I'm looking forward to seeing your shave horse as I think you and I are modeling ours from the same design. Have fun with that project.

Memphis: Sorry if this has been covered before, but I'm curious as to your blue and bleach ratio. Or is it bleach and then blue? I've blued and I've done vinegar soaks, but have never worked bleach into the process. Can you give me a quick run down of what you do? That head above looks fantastic.

Sorry for the high jack, hopefully the O.P. is interested as well.

I most certainly am! That finish looks pretty awesome. I don't really have any experience with forced patinas other than covering my Mora in mustard while on a day hike

Edit: By the way, is there any reason why I can't re-use the same vinegar as I'm soaking with right now? I figured I'd pour it into some old bottle and keep it for future rust removal projects. Also, do you guys know of a steel brush version of one of these:

I think it would work pretty great to tidy up inside the eye, what do you guys normally use?

DarkWolf777 · Jan 17, 2013

Nice score, Pia. I have always used a round file to clean the eye, but that may not be the best (awaiting a stern talking to by more seasoned veterans) but it does work. It is cool to see a member of the finer half of the populus posting a rehab on a vintage axe.

pialia · Jan 17, 2013

I just got done working a tad on the axe, roughly sanded it some more with 120 grit all over the head and attacked the bevel with a diamond file. I'm trying to flatten out the shoulders a bit and get a slightly steeper apex, but damn there's a lot of steel that needs to be removed. I would kill for a belt/disc grinder

Right now it feels like the bevel is way too obtuse/roundish to get a keen edge on, the thing'll probably split decently enough but I love a bit of bite on my axes. The first thing I usually do with my Gränsfors axes is hone them to my standard of sharpness, I hope I'll be able to achieve similar results on this one eventually!

Pics to come

Square_peg · Jan 17, 2013

M3mphis said:
If you decide to file back the edge to even out that chip in the heel, you might consider drawing out your desired profile with a permanent marker to get comfortable with the shape you want before you get to filing away.

I was thinking the same thing. That bit is plenty long now. It would benefit from fixing the geometry. I'd strike a shallow arc off the tip of the toe such that the heel became slightly shorter than the toe. Then sharpen it up and you'll have a great axe. You'll need a vise for this work so put on your cold weather gear and get out there in the shop.

pialia · Jan 17, 2013

Square_peg said:
I was thinking the same thing. That bit is plenty long now. It would benefit from fixing the geometry. I'd strike a shallow arc off the tip of the toe such that the heel became slightly shorter than the toe. Then sharpen it up and you'll have a great axe. You'll need a vise for this work so put on your cold weather gear and get out there in the shop.

Darn it!

If you wouldn't mind, could you photoshop one of the pics to illustrate exactly what you mean? I didn't really want to remove any metal on the heel because the spine is curved already and it would make it look sort of like a weird halberd.

Here's a very exaggerated example of what I mean

I like the look of the GB axes quite a bit:

Very straight spine and a small downward curved heel(does this count as a beard?)

Square_peg · Jan 17, 2013

You might think this is extreme but this would make it a very nice axe.

You'd have to follow up this work with a bunch more work thinning the new bit. But by the time you finished you'd be an experienced axe filer. If you don't already have them then get a good 2nd cut file and a file card to clean it with.

pialia · Jan 17, 2013

Square_peg said:
You might think this is extreme but this would make it a very nice axe.

[img..]http://ph1landrews.com/yabb2.3/yabbfiles/Attachments123456/Modification.jpg[/img]

You'd have to follow up this work with a bunch more work thinning the new bit. But by the time you finished you'd be an experienced axe filer. If you don't already have them then get a good 2nd cut file and a file card to clean it with.

That does sounds very daunting, to say the least.

The diamond file I have is 120 grit IIRC. It feels like it pretty much like it takes forever to get any decent metal removal going with that thing. What is a 2nd cut file equivalent to? I was thinking of getting a type of drum attachment for my drill and just going to town on it.

Something like that. They go as low as 50 grit.

M3mphis · Jan 17, 2013

Square_peg said:
You might think this is extreme but this would make it a very nice axe.

You'd have to follow up this work with a bunch more work thinning the new bit. But by the time you finished you'd be an experienced axe filer. If you don't already have them then get a good 2nd cut file and a file card to clean it with.

If you are okay with a rounder bit, you could remove less steel. That's what I would do, but a nice straight bit can be very handy. If you already have GB's then you've got some with pretty straight bits already.

M3mphis · Jan 17, 2013

DarkWolf777 said:
Nice score, Pia. I have always used a round file to clean the eye, but that may not be the best (awaiting a stern talking to by more seasoned veterans) but it does work. It is cool to see a member of the finer half of the populus posting a rehab on a vintage axe.

I do that. A lot of guys do that, especially if there is a burr on the inside edges of the eye. To be honest, I don't get super crazy about removing the rust inside the eye. I just knock the bulk of it out and carry on.

M3mphis · Jan 17, 2013

Regarding the "blue and bleach" etch; you actually gun blue the head nice and dark, then soak it in bleach. It's really quite easy. I learned it from a WIP thread of Kentucky's found here:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/915734-Virtual-BBQ-Camp-Axe-Tomahawk-WIP

Here's more pics of that German head that I etched:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/931737-2-25lb-quot-Made-in-W-Germany-quot?highlight=blue+bleach

M3mphis · Jan 17, 2013

pialia said:
That does sounds very daunting, to say the least.

The diamond file I have is 120 grit IIRC. It feels like it pretty much like it takes forever to get any decent metal removal going with that thing. What is a 2nd cut file equivalent to? I was thinking of getting a type of drum attachment for my drill and just going to town on it.

Something like that. They go as low as 50 grit.

Pia, those little drill drum sanders have their place, but IMO they are not great for working on an axe bevel. I would MUCH rather do it all by hand with a good, sharp file (AND file card!) than to use those drill drums. They wear out super fast because they are so small, they don't remove steel very quickly, they are awkward, and they tend to leave weird shapes in the steel.

If you are using a 120 grit diamond hone to reprofile, that would take a lifetime. That's an exaggeration, of course, but that does sound miserable. It could also be that we are just losing something in translation. If you really want to get down to business with an aggressive file, get what we call a double cut mill file or double cut bastard file. You can really get some steel removal done with a sharp, aggressive file and a file card plus some elbow grease. Here is a website that breaks down file types, etc. It's a great reference, and it includes SWISS files which may be more useful to you:

http://paulbudzik.com/tools-techniques/Files/files.html