My first axe restoration

[vaj1111]

I bought this rusty axe at a flea market for $10 and decided it looked like it still had some life left in it. I don't have a full sized axe anyway and always wanted to try and restore one. Here are some pix.

When I first got it home

The haft after a little sanding and boiled linseed oil

After bath in vinegar to loosen up some of the rust

Some steel brushing and sanding with wet/dry sandpaper

Had to rehang it too. just got a new wedge and pounded it in. It now fits good

Sharpened it up a bit with a file and took this final pic. It still needs some work and more sharpening but its usable as is.

It was a fun project

 

[Frank-New Zealand]

Nice job and a fine looking axe.

In my opinion she would look much nicer if photographed from a different angle. To me, an axe just never looks right standing head-up on it's haft like that. Not a criticism, just an opinion.

regards...Frank

 

[halfaxe]

Super! That cleaned up great.

 

[Operator1975]

Turned out well. Nothing quite like hitting those old handles with some linseed. Does wonders. Well done.

 

[bradlox]

Nice ! Great work , another beauty saved from neglect .
Happy chopping .

 

[forester226]

Nice job, now have some chopping fun!

 

[WarnerB]

Looks good

 

[SR69]

Nice job.

One thing I learned from my own work is that I prefer a more natural finish.
I took down one of my axes heads all the way down to bear metal.
I prefered the natural patina it had before sans the rust.

On the rest of my restorations (have 6 to do), I'm just going to really clean them up well,
remove the rust and only take the edge down to bare metal (coming back maybe 1/2").
After all, I intend on using them; No need for them to be pristine. They just need to be
clean and lubed and sealed.

 

[jds1]

Very nice job!

Jeff