It followed me home (Part 2)

jblyttle · Mar 15, 2015

Joe L. Bachs said:
Justin any chance thats a coil of lead next to the ammo box?

No, that is a large length of VERY thing strong leather. It's about 10' long (guessing) about 3" wide and a 1/4" thick. Super nice stuff, and still pliable. I think that it is some kind of old machinery belt. When just adding stuff to my purchase pile it was essentially free.

jblyttle · Mar 15, 2015

Curt Hal said:
i'd be happy to take the axe in front of the one with the red bit off your hands. Got a price?

I want to be careful how to answer this without a Gold account, but don't want to ignore your question. You can message me if you like.

garry3 · Mar 15, 2015

jblyttle said:
I may actually have a real problem. This was today. Headed to a blacksmith cleanout tomorrow. Storage locker in my future I think.

In this picture. Handle up and pointed to the left. The head is partially blocked by the hatchet handle. Looks like it might be a punch? Has a size or makers mark under the poll.

jblyttle · Mar 15, 2015

garry3 said:
In this picture. Handle up and pointed to the left. The head is partially blocked by the hatchet handle. Looks like it might be a punch? Has a size or makers mark under the poll.

Ah, that is a Bell Systems hammer.

Curt Hal · Mar 16, 2015

jblyttle said:
No, that is a large length of VERY thing strong leather. It's about 10' long (guessing) about 3" wide and a 1/4" thick. Super nice stuff, and still pliable. I think that it is some kind of old machinery belt. When just adding stuff to my purchase pile it was essentially free.

Oh, sorry to put you in a bad position. I don't know how this all works. My bad.

jblyttle · Mar 16, 2015

Curt Hal said:
Oh, sorry to put you in a bad position. I don't know how this all works. My bad.

Not a problem! I just want to be careful not to abuse this forum or use it like my store. People can always message me, but this forum is not my store front. People here have bought some things but this is first and foremost a community for me. I am careful to sell elsewhere. It's all good!

SC T100 · Mar 17, 2015

My father picked up an axe for me that had been hanging on the side of a shed for a while (i.e. a few decades apparently). Sweet!

It looks like one of those paper label True Tempers maybe, and it has a high centerline so it's probably good quality. Unfortunately it will retain its wall hanger status based on the below photos, but I'm sure I'll clean it up at least a little bit.

cityofthesouth · Mar 17, 2015

Looks like it was never used. Musta had the handle get soaked and then freeze? There are folks on here who could fix that and it looks like it'd be worth it.

SC T100 · Mar 17, 2015

cityofthesouth said:
Looks like it was never used. Musta had the handle get soaked and then freeze? There are folks on here who could fix that and it looks like it'd be worth it.

You know, that's a possibility, and the bit does seem to be in just about perfect shape. I assumed hammer/sledge use as the poll has some mushrooming, as well as a decent chip out of it you can see in the last pic. I assumed someone used the poll hard, and maybe this head's HT ran a little hard and busted it. But you could certainly be correct for sure. Our climate isn't that cold, but we do get some cold, freezing weather a few times a year.

aikonen · Mar 17, 2015

It has finally arrived!! The good old Gränsfors Bruk Carpenters Axe, in very good condition too. Will remove the wedge and put the head in vinegar over night, also scrape the handle. More pictures coming tomorrow... Boy, do I feel like a child on christmas...

Edit: LOL, couldn't contain myself. Scraped the handle clean with a piece of glass, then coated it with BLO. I believe this is made of birch, what do you think?

cityofthesouth · Mar 17, 2015

SC T100 said:
You know, that's a possibility, and the bit does seem to be in just about perfect shape. I assumed hammer/sledge use as the poll has some mushrooming, as well as a decent chip out of it you can see in the last pic. I assumed someone used the poll hard, and maybe this head's HT ran a little hard and busted it. But you could certainly be correct for sure. Our climate isn't that cold, but we do get some cold, freezing weather a few times a year.

Ah, I actually missed the chip even though it's so obvious in the pic. It just always sucks to see an axe with so much life but was somehow ruined. I know there are a couple people who weld them up but I can never remember the screen names.

SC T100 · Mar 17, 2015

cityofthesouth said:
Ah, I actually missed the chip even though it's so obvious in the pic. It just always sucks to see an axe with so much life but was somehow ruined. I know there are a couple people who weld them up but I can never remember the screen names.

Agreed...seems like the first thing they did was use thing incorrectly and busted it. It looks like it was never even sharpened.

Axe Master '94 · Mar 17, 2015

I've done a little bit with welding cracks, and that seems like about the most deserving candidate I've seen! It's definitely worth a shot- I can give some pointers or could do it for you if you sent it over my way. The best way I know of is to radiac the crack down 3/4 of the way (or maybe even a little more) through the steel, weld it up, and grind it flush.

Curt Hal · Mar 17, 2015

aikonen said:
It has finally arrived!! The good old Gränsfors Bruk Carpenters Axe, in very good condition too. Will remove the wedge and put the head in vinegar over night, also scrape the handle. More pictures coming tomorrow... Boy, do I feel like a child on christmas...

Edit: LOL, couldn't contain myself. Scraped the handle clean with a piece of glass, then coated it with BLO. I believe this is made of birch, what do you think?

That is a beast! What a great looking axe. Can't wait to see it finished.

Square_peg · Mar 17, 2015

garry3 said:
Here is a older vintage handle I came across. It doesn't have a kerf cut in it. Nice and slim, with curves.

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Oh, baby! I'm in love!

Square_peg · Mar 17, 2015

jblyttle said:

Track anvils are light but they're sure better than nothing. Match up a small one like that with a 30"-36" piece stood on it's end. For major hammering use the vertical one. For details use the small one. I used vertical RR track before I got my anvil.

aikonen · Mar 18, 2015

Curt Hal said:
That is a beast! What a great looking axe. Can't wait to see it finished.

Thanks! It turned out OK, wish I could remove the paint without scratching the head.. You can see pictures in "rehang thread"

cityofthesouth · Mar 18, 2015

aikonen said:
Thanks! It turned out OK, wish I could remove the paint without scratching the head.. You can see pictures in "rehang thread"

Might be harder if you have already rehung it (I see now in the other thread that you have), but there are lots of chemicals that'll strip paint. I've even used oven cleaner if you have some time on your hands to wait and let it soak - so uh you know, don't ever put oven cleaner on say, a car.

aikonen · Mar 18, 2015

cityofthesouth said:
Might be harder if you have already rehung it (I see now in the other thread that you have), but there are lots of chemicals that'll strip paint. I've even used oven cleaner if you have some time on your hands to wait and let it soak - so uh you know, don't ever put oven cleaner on say, a car.

Yes, indeed it will. Should have thought of that before.. Oh well, you live and learn. I will figure something out.

garry3 · Mar 18, 2015

SC T100 said:
My father picked up an axe for me that had been hanging on the side of a shed for a while (i.e. a few decades apparently). Sweet!

It looks like one of those paper label True Tempers maybe, and it has a high centerline so it's probably good quality. Unfortunately it will retain its wall hanger status based on the below photos, but I'm sure I'll clean it up at least a little bit.

Those really are not that hard to repair. It takes a little effort so if you have plenty of axes it might not be worth it to you.