Leaving patina(rust on axe head) and no vinegar or sanding off axe head-NEED ADVICE!

[Ripshin Lumberjack]

What do you guys think of leaving a nice smooth patina(rust) coating on a nice vintage Plumb axe head that I just received from E Bay?

I have sharpened the head with my belt sander and it is extremely sharp. I have read that the patina protects the axe head from further rust. Any and all comments are welcome. I have restored over twenty one axes BUT never before left the patina and have used vinegar and judicious sanding and grinding.

Hope you guys respond quickly.

Ripshin Lumberjack

 

[Steve Tall]

You can get rid of the bad rust while keeping the good patina, by using a wire brush cup on an angle grinder, as described below by Square_peg:

...
Steel or brass cup brushes on angle grinders both remove rust from an axe very well. Steel is faster. Brass is a little more gentle on the patina. If you use steel then get a knotted wire wheel not a crimped wire wheel. Crimped wire wheels throw wires much more easily. And never bear down hard on a wire wheel. That's a recipe for making wires go flying everywhere - your face, your chest, your neck....... Take it slow and let the wheel do its job.

 

[smith357]

When I want to clean the rust without doing any damage to the original finish or hard earned patina I will soak the subject in Ed's Red Bore Cleaner then scrub by hand with a bronze brush. But then I do a lot of work on old firearms where loss of patina equals loss of value.

 

[Ripshin Lumberjack]

Thanks guys! You know, for some odd reason I really, really like this old Plumb, I suppose, because it has taken a very nice blade contour and is just SO VERY SHARP!

I will be very careful and use your info to do more work on this old Plumb axe. For years I had one axe and did just fine with it. However, I had forgotten the satisfaction of restoring these vintage tools(21 restorations) and selling them to people who enjoyed using them.

Ripshin Lumberjack