Myth or Fact

M

mrkus

Joined
Jan 18, 2013
Messages
28
Hi all. Long time lurker, first timer poster.

So, myth or fact: good metal rings when struck.

Source of the question is that I purchased 2 rusty axe heads, a cruiser and a hewing axe. Cruiser is no name, but the hewing axe is a Warnock (you can find history of Warnock Co. on Yesteryear Tools) and it rings like a bell.

Thanks!
 
Welcome! Sadly, I don't have a good answer for you, but I'm sure others will soon.
 
Welcome Mr. K. It can tell you something about the steel but not everything such as if it has a crack in it the ring will be nonexistent. Better to use this as one part of evaluating an axe head. You can learn more by wire brushing it or soaking it in vinegar overnight and cleaning it up. Look it over, sharpen it up and use it. Then see how much the edge holds up and if it chopped the way you wanted it to. I tend to agree with your premise (If you had a premise) that better steel makes a better noise when tapped. It seems to be true with machetes, my guess is it relates to carbon content or taper.
 
Had a defunct knifesmith locally who once demonstrated how a knife "cry":
He dropped the bare blade from 2 feet up and the clanking noise (from his experience, of course) dictates just how well the HT of such blade done.
He said some steels just made "crying and screeching " a sensation.

Now i have to agree with willseeyoulater that you should use the tool in order to know such tool made for life.
 
I've read quite a bit about metallurgy. Nothing about sounds steel makes in those white-papers and books.

That being said, if it is cracked it shouldn't make a sound at all. Then again, several types of tomahawks and forged axes naturally have "cracks" in parts of them and they are perfectly safe to use.

The only good way to tell if there is good steel with a file, and that takes some experience due to knowing how to look for abuse in an old axe head. Good hard steel alone does not an excellent axe make.
 
SamuraiDave said:
I've read quite a bit about metallurgy. Nothing about sounds steel makes in those white-papers and books.

That being said, if it is cracked it shouldn't make a sound at all. Then again, several types of tomahawks and forged axes naturally have "cracks" in parts of them and they are perfectly safe to use.

The only good way to tell if there is good steel with a file, and that takes some experience due to knowing how to look for abuse in an old axe head. Good hard steel alone does not an excellent axe make.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the responses so far.
SamuraiDave, these were closer to my thoughts too. It was clear that the Warnock broad axe was a much harder steel than the no name cruiser when filing. Warnock was similar to my Zenith double bit which are both quality steel.

Cheers,
Marcus
 
There’s a carpenter story that you can judge the quality of a handsaw by its sound. Bend the blade into a mild S-curve and thump it. Listen to it ring. By varying the curve you can change the note. If you have a violin bow you can play the saw. (It helps if you have a jug band to accompany you.) Better sound, better saw.

When I was a kid my Mother bought herself a handsaw. I don’t know why, when she was married to a carpenter. There was no shortage of saws at home. I think she wanted a saw of her very own.

Dad and I used Disston, or occasionally Sandvik. I don’t know what brand this thing was. Maybe the maker was ashamed to have his name on it. Part way down the run there were two teeth in a row set to the right before the normal side to side set resumed. I stuck it into a sharpening rack and reset the teeth to proper alternation. Then I resharpened them. What fun it was, completely reprofiling half those teeth. By the time I was done it was still nothing I would allow in my tool box. But she could cut a board with her new saw. It made her happy.

While I was working on the thing, I gave it the old sound test. It rang like a bell.

I never again believed you could judge the quality of a saw by its music.
 
I'm pretty sure it's a myth. THe pitch of solid metal objects is dictated by shape and elasticity. Since most axes are steel and the elasticity cannot be altered by alloying or heat treatment, the pitch should only be a factor of shape. It may be true that certain ax shapes are good for certain tasks and they happen to vibrate nicely as well. It may also be true that in the old days there were cast axes of different metals and perhaps full of air/gas bubbles and a steel head might ring better than a bubbly cast iron or bronze bit.

Also if an ax had a nice ring until suddenly it didn't (after you loaned it to your relative perhaps)... well, I can see context where the myth could have some truth to it.

Bells ring nicely when struck but they make crappy axes.
 
wnease said:
I'm pretty sure it's a myth. THe pitch of solid metal objects is dictated by shape and elasticity. Since most axes are steel and the elasticity cannot be altered by alloying or heat treatment, the pitch should only be a factor of shape. It may be true that certain ax shapes are good for certain tasks and they happen to vibrate nicely as well. It may also be true that in the old days there were cast axes of different metals and perhaps full of air/gas bubbles and a steel head might ring better than a bubbly cast iron or bronze bit.

Also if an ax had a nice ring until suddenly it didn't (after you loaned it to your relative perhaps)... well, I can see context where the myth could have some truth to it.

Bells ring nicely when struck but they make crappy axes.
Click to expand...

I agree. I have no particular expertise on the subject other than pinging a lot of axes. The axes that really carry a note are broad axes, and that is simply because the bit is so long the vibrations last longer. However, you can tell if an axe is a POS cast steel knock off. They will make a dull "thud" kind of sound instead of the musical note of a real axe head. However, once an axe is hung the wood absorbs most of the pinging sound anyway.

Stick to the file test once you are certain that a head is a legitimate piece of carbon steel. I have a knock off cast steel broad axe, maybe I'll post a short video of some pinging axes and the thudding knock off.
 
M3mphis said:
I agree. I have no particular expertise on the subject other than pinging a lot of axes. The axes that really carry a note are broad axes, and that is simply because the bit is so long the vibrations last longer. However, you can tell if an axe is a POS cast steel knock off. They will make a dull "thud" kind of sound instead of the musical note of a real axe head. However, once an axe is hung the wood absorbs most of the pinging sound anyway.

Stick to the file test once you are certain that a head is a legitimate piece of carbon steel. I have a knock off cast steel broad axe, maybe I'll post a short video of some pinging axes and the thudding knock off.
Click to expand...

Yup. This.
 
wnease said:
I'm pretty sure it's a myth. THe pitch of solid metal objects is dictated by shape and elasticity. Since most axes are steel and the elasticity cannot be altered by alloying or heat treatment, the pitch should only be a factor of shape. It may be true that certain ax shapes are good for certain tasks and they happen to vibrate nicely as well. It may also be true that in the old days there were cast axes of different metals and perhaps full of air/gas bubbles and a steel head might ring better than a bubbly cast iron or bronze bit.

Also if an ax had a nice ring until suddenly it didn't (after you loaned it to your relative perhaps)... well, I can see context where the myth could have some truth to it.

Bells ring nicely when struck but they make crappy axes.
Click to expand...

Cast axe head?
 
I don't know if it is relevant but I know that you always want to test a new Estwing hammer for ringing. Some do and some don't. Same steel , same shape. The ringing is annoying when pounding nails all day. I would think that shape has the most to do with the ring of any metal abject.
Rmfcasey
 
The fit also has to do with it. Generally a very solid tight fit to components will facilitate a ringing action.
 
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