Hoping for some help

A

Axehead0083

Joined
Nov 1, 2020
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5
Hello I’ve recently gotten in to axe’s even tho I’ve used chainsaws And worked around wood since I was 10yrs old I’ve recently have wanted a hobby and further wanted to dive into finding and restoring old axes and my first find was my papa’s old axe head he has passed and for some reason out of the blue it’s seemed to be a calling to do this hobby I have plenty of patience and a complete and stocked garage with a milling machine, welders, grinder, sanders and everything at my hands to use now that I’ve explained and have huge respect in using, restoring, and the general workmanship of an axe I’ve ran into a issue maybe someone can shed some light I’m wanting to grind the mushroom effect off the back of the axe and start restoring it but upon a little sanding today I’ve found out that just under the roll starting we’re it mushrooms it’s says KEEN KUTTER the problem is when I restore the damaged part it’ll more than likely eat the name off.... soo the ultimate question if soo how do I go about re-stamping or re-writing the name if ground off.... any help please would be appreciated
 
Axehead,nice going,i think you'll really enjoy playing with old axes,and will bring your experience and tools into it and it'll be great.
I'll chime in here quickly while the adults aren't looking:)
I'll speak as someone who doesn't care about stamped marks on axes,i just love axes for what they are,if they're made well,well...
I'd carefully trim only the thinnest edges of the mushroom,leaving only what you'd judge as forgeable back into the poll.
If you can chuck the blade into something that'll act as a heat-sink,and secure it all in a vise.that'd be ideal.
Then you can heat it with a torch(if you have O&A,great,but any propane torch will be useful).
Then with a couple sledges one opposing the other i'd see how much steel can go back to remain a part of that poll.
If it starts mushrooming again,trim it some more.
But again,i speak as someone not valuing the maker's mark per se,others here will give you a more reasonable advice,i'm sure.
 
Welcome to the forum. Some of my grandpas old forgotten about axe heads are what got me into tinkering with this hobby. It is addictive. I will give you my advice as far as what I would do to your papa’s axe. You or others may or may not agree and that is ok. But being as it sounds to be a sentimental piece I would just clean the head up with penetrating oil and a wire wheel. We don’t know how bad the mushrooming is without pics. But I personally would leave the mushrooming on it as it tells the story of your papa out there getting wood in for the winter. A lot of the old timers just got it done. They didn’t care if they had to pound a steel wedge with their axe as long as they got their wood in. I would put an edge on it and keep it as close to as found condition as I could. It will be a good memory of him for you and I wouldn’t want to erase that from the head. If you want to restore an axe I would look for a nice one at a flea market or antique shop. They can be found pretty cheap and if you screw it up then no worries. If you decide to restore it though Jake is pointing you into the right direction with forging it back in instead of grinding it down. That will probably be your best chance at saving the stamp. Just my two cents. Have fun and keep us updated and take some pics for us.
 
Wow it’s nice to see a alive forum that people are willing to chime in and help just wanted to say thank you (Jake pogg) for your answer now I will know what to do on the next one I run into with this issue I would after that info like to keep it as close as possible to what it looks like soo I may roll the edge back just a little to see the marks but other than that I’ll probably reprofile the edge because it’s chipped and make it sharp again and leave it the way it is and thank you (npace) for bringing up the point that I shouldn’t restore it but leave it as is but still functional I really appreciate and will put both of your opinions into the work on this axe now thanks again and I’ll Figure out how to post a pic Of it now then one when I get it finished
 
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Failed pic attempt the link has my axe head photo
 
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Wow,that axe is in pretty decent shape,good for you!

It Does look well-used,but by a competent user(that chipping on edge could've been an accident,some unauthorized person getting a hold of it,or a small kid;but even that don't look too bad).
The toe/heel ratio was retained Very well by a practiced hand,definitely a tool belonging to a man who knew how to use it.

The mushrooming does not appear all that severe either(at least in that photo).Definitely possible to remove it without affecting the stamp.

Nice!!!The best of luck on this project!
 
jake pogg said:
Wow,that axe is in pretty decent shape,good for you!

It Does look well-used,but by a competent user(that chipping on edge could've been an accident,some unauthorized person getting a hold of it,or a small kid;but even that don't look too bad).
The toe/heel ratio was retained Very well by a practiced hand,definitely a tool belonging to a man who knew how to use it.

The mushrooming does not appear all that severe either(at least in that photo).Definitely possible to remove it without affecting the stamp.

Nice!!!The best of luck on this project!
Click to expand...


Thank you soo much Jake those words explains my papa to a T.. I got the pleasure of spending a lot of great time with my nanny and papa sadly both are no longer with us but they both were hard workers on the family farm had 3 fields canned to feed 5 children over many of years never owned a chainsaw plowed and worked the garden by hand and used horses for the plow. the pack houses and smoke houses for the meat was all built by papa by hand I have very fond memories of raising pigs and doing all the work to get them to the processing stage, scold baths, then sausage, liver mush ect you walk in the house and you can’t buy these memories you will still smell the wood stove, Winston cigarettes and the dog they used to have just grateful to have enjoyed such a good nostalgic childhood there and soo glad I found this Axe to keep the extra memories alive I’ll definitely keep y’all posted
 
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