Homesteader's Axe

C

crown & hammer

Joined
Feb 3, 2015
Messages
72
Connecticut Axe that would be at home in some 1st growth forest. Original hickory helve. I did not have to clean up too much. Most rusting was in poll area. The wedges are 2 wrought spikes.
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Maybe I should cut the helve off, drown the axe in vinegar, cut off or beat down the mushroom, wire wheel the hell out of it so it shines like a hubcap, cut down the blade to a nice clean edge, put a nice pretty fawn's foot on it, and call it a day:thumbup:
 
Sounds good to me! Vinegar will give you an idea of how much hardened bit you have to work with as well. Be carefull with cutting it though, sometimes it can take the temper out of the cut area.
 
crown & hammer said:
Maybe I should cut the helve off, drown the axe in vinegar, cut off or beat down the mushroom, wire wheel the hell out of it so it shines like a hubcap, cut down the blade to a nice clean edge, put a nice pretty fawn's foot on it, and call it a day:thumbup:
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I wouldn't so much as touch it, she's a looker just as she is!
 
crown & hammer said:
Maybe I should cut the helve off, drown the axe in vinegar, cut off or beat down the mushroom, wire wheel the hell out of it so it shines like a hubcap, cut down the blade to a nice clean edge, put a nice pretty fawn's foot on it, and call it a day:thumbup:
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Noooo!!! Reading this I catch a bit of sarcasm...at least I hope. Nice old work horse there, hang it up and be happy with the stories it has all over it.
 
crown & hammer said:
The axe is just fine and will out live us by hundreds of years;)
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"Poor beat up axe"

With this one he wasn't pulling your leg! Myself would have left it for dead. Former owners probably took good care of it right up until the last one. Horribly mushroomed poll and the forward portion of the eye is badly misshapen via abusive pounding. But, if this really is destined to become 'your baby' and it cleans up (wire brush and vinegar) showing there to be no metal fatigue or stress cracks then maybe you want to try to find a hobbyist blacksmith to help straighten the cheeks out in advance of your selecting a new handle.
It would be nice, for you, if a maker's stamp appeared during the resurrection to help date and ID the head for you.
All the best with this! Any axe is better than no axe.
 
300Six said:
"Poor beat up axe"

With this one he wasn't pulling your leg! Myself would have left it for dead. Former owners probably took good care of it right up until the last one. Horribly mushroomed poll and the forward portion of the eye is badly misshapen via abusive pounding. But, if this really is destined to become 'your baby' and it cleans up (wire brush and vinegar) showing there to be no metal fatigue or stress cracks then maybe you want to try to find a hobbyist blacksmith to help straighten the cheeks out in advance of your selecting a new handle.
It would be nice, for you, if a maker's stamp appeared during the resurrection to help date and ID the head for you.
All the best with this! Any axe is better than no axe.
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I respect your opinion ususally:) -- but do you know how much painted furniture was ruined back in the day with the idea of cleaning it up? Pine blanket chests with a glossy coat of varnish (i.e. paint stripped) can hardly be given away. "Beat up" furniture with original paint: hundred$ and up to the stratosphere. -- Apples and oranges, maybe, but these old tools decades from now won't be worth much looking like they came from home depot. To each his own I guess.
 
That axe is destroyed because the eye is destroyed. You can possibly fix it, but I don't see it happening without adding steel. It's got nothing to do with how the axe looks.
 
I would consider that axe "decorator grade". It oozes character but is no longer useful as a tool. Don't touch it, and hang it up someplace fitting.
 
crown & hammer said:
Maybe I should cut the helve off, drown the axe in vinegar, cut off or beat down the mushroom, wire wheel the hell out of it so it shines like a hubcap, cut down the blade to a nice clean edge, put a nice pretty fawn's foot on it, and call it a day:thumbup:
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Or you could just drive some rusty old fence staples into that old haft to firm things up and then hang it out the side door of a moving car with the edge against the pavement and have it re- profiled in a jiffy. Then you will have time to kick back and have a cold one before you call it a day.:thumbup:
 
I guess I say, to each his own. That thing will still probably do damage to wood and be happy doing it. However, the valuable patina on furniture isn't typically the result of misuse. I understand that a tool is a tool and so it gets its character from use, but if an old table has broken legs, it's hard to say it has attractive character. My whole knowledge of antique things comes from watching 5 whole episodes of Antique Road show, but it seems a common theme is, broken takes away value, "patina" adds value. Also, the damage that can be done to an axe, while possibly adding character, does also hinder its usefulness. The heal and toe and their respective geometry had a purpose, for instance. This axe got all that valuable character from being uncared for, mistreated, misused, and abused. I'm saying, the antique kitchen table probably didn't get its value from being beat on as a work bench and half its legs broken. So I guess I don't fully understand the temptation to preserve the resulting damage from abuse for any other reason than, you want to. Which in my mind is a perfectly good reason. Without more evidence, there isn't much reason to believe that it's old, or even hand made, but certainly no intrinsic reason not to return it to functionality. And finally, I think it's perfectly reasonable to be concerned that the abuse that metal has seen has compromised its integrity. Abuse isn't patina to me, but as far as I am concerned you can use it and enjoy it in any condition for any reason that suits you and you don't have to explain it to any of us.
 
You pretty much nailed it Citys of the South. There is a difference between old, or abused and neglected. Nothing about that axe says old or hand made. Just abuse and neglect.
 
cityofthesouth said:
I guess I say, to each his own. That thing will still probably do damage to wood and be happy doing it. However, the valuable patina on furniture isn't typically the result of misuse. I understand that a tool is a tool and so it gets its character from use, but if an old table has broken legs, it's hard to say it has attractive character. My whole knowledge of antique things comes from watching 5 whole episodes of Antique Road show, but it seems a common theme is, broken takes away value, "patina" adds value. Also, the damage that can be done to an axe, while possibly adding character, does also hinder its usefulness. The heal and toe and their respective geometry had a purpose, for instance. This axe got all that valuable character from being uncared for, mistreated, misused, and abused. I'm saying, the antique kitchen table probably didn't get its value from being beat on as a work bench and half its legs broken. So I guess I don't fully understand the temptation to preserve the resulting damage from abuse for any other reason than, you want to. Which in my mind is a perfectly good reason. Without more evidence, there isn't much reason to believe that it's old, or even hand made, but certainly no intrinsic reason not to return it to functionality. And finally, I think it's perfectly reasonable to be concerned that the abuse that metal has seen has compromised its integrity. Abuse isn't patina to me, but as far as I am concerned you can use it and enjoy it in any condition for any reason that suits you and you don't have to explain it to any of us.
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I appreciate your thoughts but I fail to see where it is I said it is worth more because of the mushroomed poll or the bulging cheeks. I wish it did not have this damage. My only point is you either enjoy it as it is or you don't enjoy it. Trying to fix it will make it into something that it is not --- and it will lessen its value. Someone who wants it for utility will not be satisfied and those that appreciate it for "decorator" value won't find it appealing anymore. If you want a "user", get another axe.

I referred to a (functioning intact) blanket chest with and without it's original paint. What a table with a broken leg has to do with this is beyond me.

This utility argument is beyond me ---- how many "useful" axes does anyone here really need??? You can get a good vintage axe for peanuts and be done with it.
 
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