It followed me home (Part 2)

Not as much axe luck for the last little while, but I'm back to business today. This all totalled $114 at the local twice yearly flea market. There is a nice Plumb 4lb axe, a Flint Edge Connie, a Union Tool boy's axe head, several nice hatchets and other quality tools. The Norland head was $5. But, the one item that I am thrilled with above all others is the Tapio Wirkkala puukko. I paid $20 for it and that was an absolute steal.




 
That Puukko's a real beauty JB :thumbup:

Here are some choppy things I’ve picked up in the past few weeks
The Kent pattern in the middle is 4lbs
Penknife for scale


 
Well, nice to see you're back at it JB. Awesome knife for sure!

Here is my flea market score today. A Demon by Kelly Axe & Tool Works. I haven't seen a lot of them mentioned so I'm thinking they're not too common. I really like the D R Barton 3" slick. After I picked it up I knew I would be leaving with it.


 
Laars said:
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I have never seen a Demon (I found a Red Devil once...), and I have had many hundreds in my hands during the past 12 months. Nice find! Also, that is a steal for a 3" slick, especially with a nice handle. It's worth 4-5 times that much. Good day!
 
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Agent_H said:
I like a good poll clean-up but I'm wondering if anyone can share tips or methods they use, using only hand tools?

The middle portion of the poll face is mashed enough to show a dip in the center.



This sound about right?:

1. Heavy tape it with a couple of small pieces of cardboard (6 pack box) from the cheeks up to the top edge the maker's marks,

2.Vice it and flatten/shape it using my machinist files.

Several times I've read posts here where members peened mushrooming back with hammers. Is that for slightly turned over edges or would that be an option here - to get some steel back in place before filing it off?

I think it will make a very usable axe. I'm sure it is right now but the mushrooming has to go - for aesthetic reasons I guess.
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Steve Tall said:
I think that Square_Peg has talked about heating up the poll with a propane torch, then hammering down the mushrooming to re-shape the poll, but I haven't tried it yet.

The poll on one of the axes that "followed me home" was mushroomed so badly that I first used a hacksaw to remove the curled steel. I also did some major filing inside the eye to help remove the deformation that resulted from hammering so much with the poll.
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I've had some success pushing steel back into the poll at low heat. Remember, this isn't a hardened poll axe. The weight is back there for balance. The more of it you keep the better balance you maintain. Also keep in mind that this steel mushroomed while it was cold. A good deal of it will go back at low heat. Heat it to as hot as you can stand to touch with a propane torch. Then hammer it moderately at the anvil or on whatever strong heavy object you can improvise into an anvil.

It will be weakened. Don't strike steel with a mushroomed poll. It could throw a fragment in your eye.

This is a good way to preserve stamps before filing a mushroomed poll. It irks me to see a good stamp lost to the file.
 
Went to the OGCA meeting this weekend and not only found a couple of hard to find magazines for my 4506 at a good price, I found the repro tin sign, for 5 bucks I figured it will look good on the wall of my office.

IMG_1133a.jpg
 
I followed some advice to hammer the mushrooming back some on this one from Steve, Remzy, and Square_peg – thank you by the way. I didn’t have to heat it up but hammering this one did seem to “push” it back into shape some - made a difference especially in the dip in the poll.
Before:
ikFU1Hw.png


After:
7P2pyZY.jpg



PYYwpz3.jpg



PzWAArN.jpg


I also think that knocking it back into shape some kept me from having to remove as much material overall. My scale is nothing fancy but it shows only losing 1/4oz afterwards. Managed to keep the maker's marks and it's smooth to the touch. Square enough now to stand on its own at least.

Pre-weight 5lbs & 7/8oz:
NYsGP98.jpg



Post-weight 5lbs & 5/8oz
diRqd8E.jpg



I have quite a few handles here but they are primarily 32” and several straight 36”. I was thinking straight handle but was digging around in the back of my project pile and gave the brush axes I have a closer look. Decided to use one of the nicer ones. I’ve been using mainly a boy’s axe and a 3.5 Michigan on a 28” handle. This Lakeside is bigger than most of the axes I’ve kept and thought it wanted a longer handle.

Here is the donor. True Temper Kelly Works with a really nice, un-kerfed tongue. Normally I wouldn’t cannibalize a perfectly good tool but I kept coming back to the handle.
N4PawD2.jpg
 
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Agent_H said:
I followed some advice to hammer the mushrooming back some on this one from Steve, Remzy, and Square_peg – thank you by the way. I didn’t have to heat it up but hammering this one did seem to “push” it back into shape some - made a difference especially in the dip in the poll.

After:
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Nice work. Glad you were able to save the stamp.
 
This followed me home from the store. It's a Council Tool Briar Hook...lighter than a full-blown brush hook and much more compact. It's for when I encounter...yep...briars! Oh and at the store I bought it from, it was $29 before tax...right next to a China-made True Temper for $37. What?? The choice was easy.



I got it home, and started to work on it a bit a little each night. The handle is nice, with a good wax coating, thought I have given it a coat of BLO already, and will likely give a few more.

The next step is giving it a proper sharpening. This has taken some work so far, as the factory bevels were pretty steel. I've got it pretty sharp now, but it still needs more work...particularly in giving it a nice convex edge and bring the shoulders way down on the bevels.

Now, this is my first tool with both edges sharpened and it requires some attention to say the least. So can anyone tell me...

Is the "back" side supposed to be left more obtuse for chopping larger targets, and the inside sweep thinner and sharper for brush?

I ask because it seems the outside edge would push vegetation away while the inside sweep obviously grabs and slices.

Anyway, here's where it sits currently. And making a sheath for this will be interesting for sure. Oh, and the steel is definitely more "machete-hard" as opposed to "axe-bit-hard" which I would expect, but it still takes some effort to file it...seems like good steel for the purpose.



 
These followed me home today for $45. It's funny what you get used to, as that number keeps bugging me a high, but my rational mind knows that is a stupid thought and certainly this was a bargain.

A nice unmarked claw hatchet, a Plumb house axe, an upside down TT Kelly Works World's Finest Connie and a near perfect full sized Norlund. I was charged $5/each for the first 3 and $30 for the Norlund. Bargains all.

 
jblyttle said:
These followed me home today for $45. It's funny what you get used to, as that number keeps bugging me a high, but my rational mind knows that is a stupid thought and certainly this was a bargain.

A nice unmarked claw hatchet, a Plumb house axe, an upside down TT Kelly Works World's Finest Connie and a near perfect full sized Norlund. I was charged $5/each for the first 3 and $30 for the Norlund. Bargains all.

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Just out of curiosity, does the broken handle on the claw hatchet at the bottom have horizontal grain orientation?
 
Twindog said:
Just out of curiosity, does the broken handle on the claw hatchet at the bottom have horizontal grain orientation?
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I can't quite tell, what do you think?


Seriously though, someone took a really nice old handle and put it on the wrong tool. The kerf is visible way below the head, I'm betting that the metal wedge split the handle.

Now, where can I find some nice knotty pine for the replacement?

 
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jblyttle said:
I can't quite tell, what do you think?


Seriously though, someone took a really nice old handle and put it on the wrong tool. The kerf is visible way below the head, I'm betting that the metal wedge split the handle.

Now, where can I find some nice knotty pine for the replacement?

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Nope, that's vertical grain orientation. I don't see any grain runout, either. I think you're probably right about the metal wedge.
 
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