If you could only have one axe...

[rjdankert]

. . . But the file never lies. . .

The old file myth again . . :yawn:

Bob

 

[300Six]

The old file myth again . . :yawn:

Bob

I doubt it's a myth. To say that if you've never used files before that's one thing, but if Square_Peg says he couldn't get one of his to 'bite', such as he's used to, then I'll believe him. I have seen badly mushroomed hammer and sledge heads before. Initially you figure these were poorly hardened but when someone says they were used every single day for 50 years over an anvil at a blacksmith shop it becomes a little bit easier to appreciate (all things considered) how well that tool actually held up via having been hardened.

Intently beat the poll of an ordinary axe on steel splitting wedges, rebar or spikes for a weekend's worth of effort and you will able to throw that axe away because it's become a lump of junk.

 

[rjdankert]

. . . To say that if you've never used files before that's one thing. . .

I don't understand what is being said here. Since I've been explicitly addressed, please explain.

. . . but if Square_Peg says he couldn't get one of his to 'bite', such as he's used to, then I'll believe him. . . .

I have no reason to disagree with that statement.

. . . I have seen badly mushroomed hammer and sledge heads before. Initially you figure these were poorly hardened but when someone says they were used every single day for 50 years over an anvil at a blacksmith shop it becomes a little bit easier to appreciate (all things considered) how well that tool actually held up via having been hardened.

Intently beat the poll of an ordinary axe on steel splitting wedges, rebar or spikes for a weekend's worth of effort and you will able to throw that axe away because it's become a lump of junk.

Metal hardness can be described in many ways. There are also many ways to test and compare.

I don't think that a swipe with a file on a sledge hammer head will predict how it will hold up after 50 years of daily use when only the surface is tested. And that test is going to vary among individuals and files. Including the arbitrary assessment of what each individual considers "hard".

Bob

 

[300Six]

I don't understand what is being said here. Since I've been explicitly addressed, please explain.

Bob

This was no slight on you. I'm not a metallurgist nor do I have access to specific testing equipment for evaluating the hardness or durability of various types of steel. A sharp file is a good layman's technique for determining whether an axe blade, poll or hammer face is going to hold up or not. But you, or I or anybody else, need to have used files many times before on various types of steel in order to be able to render some sort of judgement on an unknown piece. At face value I would have presumed the poll of the axe that Square_Peg featured was not specifically hardened, as evident from the mushrooming. However when you're told by someone, with lots of experience, that a file doesn't readily bite, and that the poll has also chipped, this then suggests that the implement has seen a lot of pounding.
Below is a 5 lb construction axe that I found in the scrap bin of a highway heavy equipment contractor. That poll is plenty hard but it too has mushroomed from heavy pounding.

 

[JackJ]

Taper-fit eye style, 1300g head, moderately thin bit that transitions smoothly into the eye, about a 4-1/2" edge with only a moderate curve, and enough of a poll to hammer with without concern. With a taper fit handle I could swap out the handles on the one head depending on the tasks at hand.

Is there such a beast currently available? The Italian taper fit heads don't seem to have any poll at all, except for the diminutive Carpenter's Hawk and the Maul.