Newbie with a lotta heads (axe and hatchet, that is)

Z

ZombieDadNJ

Joined
Aug 21, 2015
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27
Glad I found this forum. I recently helped a woman clean out her late husband's garage and for $100 I was allowed to take as much as I wanted from it. Got a drill press, some NOS electric clocks, various old hand tools and these pretties:

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Sorry for the size, still learning my way around here. The top left one is a Kelly hatchet from Charleston WV while the other is a no-name, possibly a Stanley.

The heads, top to bottom, are unnamed (simply has a "1" stamped under the poll), a Boy Scout hatchet made by Plumb and a really old hewing hatchet, likely made by a blacksmith. Also, not pictured is a True Temper Kelly Perfect axe head I found in somewhere in my travels.

I'll keep adding to the post as I restore them. So far all of them have been through a vinegar bath and a wire wheel to get the bulk of the rust off. Now I'm going through the progressively finer grits of sandpaper in the hopes of getting a mirror finish out of a few. And yes, I've already put in an order to House Handle Co. so I'm hoping to have all these heads ready when the handles arrive.

Comments and advice is greatly appreciated. This is my first outing restoring axe and hatchet heads and I'm liking it a lot!

Scott
 
Nice, they look in great shape and you should have fun restoring them. I'm waiting for a few handles to arrive to get a couple more rehung.
 
Those all seem to be great finds!

I always point people to An Ax to Grind, both the video floating around on YouTube or the PDF you can grab from a few places, for the best 101 on axe hanging.

But most importantly, post up pics of the refurbs in progress! :)
 
Wow you have some specimens there! If you sand the handle on that small hatchet really well, you may be pleasantly surprised at ow nice it comes back with some TLC. I've sanded a few very weathered ones and ended up with a couple of handles with a nice patina(?) and lots of character. Someone, somewhere, posted a thread on how the pulled metal wedges, just in case the head is loose and you were tempted to just saw the handle off.
 
Yellowdog762 said:
Wow you have some specimens there! If you sand the handle on that small hatchet really well, you may be pleasantly surprised at ow nice it comes back with some TLC. I've sanded a few very weathered ones and ended up with a couple of handles with a nice patina(?) and lots of character. Someone, somewhere, posted a thread on how the pulled metal wedges, just in case the head is loose and you were tempted to just saw the handle off.
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Agreed...a very light sanding or even a scrub with a scotch-brite pad and BLO for those handles and you'll likely have some some really nice color.
 
the Boy Scout hatchet with the nail puller could possibly be made by Collins.
i have a Collins much like your BS hatchet. mine has excellent steel and temper. a straight hatchet/hammer handle will work if you can't find a curved style. i use mine as a bench tool for splitting, shaping and carving wood.
just wanted to let you know. not saying do what I do
by the way, top axe in bottom picture , Hudson Bay is real nice.
prolly close to $50-$70 dollars worth of axes.

buzz
 
Okay, here's where I stand so far.

Rough spots on the polls are filed down before anything else. Four (Five? No three, sir!) have been gone over with a wire wheel to remove rust from pitting, then a thorough sanding with 80, 100, 150, and 220 grits, respectively. Finally some jeweler's rouge and white buffing compound on a buffing wheel to bring up some shine. Here are a few of them as they wait for handles.

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Left to right, True Temper Kelly Perfect axe, hewing hatchet, Hudson Bay style and the BSA camp hatchet. I really only polished the Hudson Bay and the BSA one to a mirror shine; the Kelly Perfect is pretty pitted and the hewing hatchet just looks wrong being so shiny.

markv said:
the Boy Scout hatchet with the nail puller could possibly be made by Collins.
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The Boy Scout one is actually made by Plumb. You can make out the Plumb logo in the photo if you look about midway on the cheek. The BSA logo is a lighter stamping and closer to the poll. Also, the hatchet I thought was a Stanley turned out to be a True Temper Keen Edge and the one next to it is a Union Tool Co. hatchet, not a Kelly. I don't have pics of those two as they just went through the first stages of cleanup tonight (which is why I can now identify them properly).

Yellowdog762 and SC T100: I'm planning on a light sand on both the handles. I had thought of boiled linseed oil instead of a regular finish, but I'm open to suggestions. Also, SC T100, I just downloaded the Ax to Grind PDF. Looks like something fun to read!

I'm going with the idea that at least someone on here has dealt with House Handles before. So far, I've received an invoice and it says I'm all paid up but I've yet to hear about a shipping date. Are they pretty forward with telling you when it's on the move or has my Amazon shopping habits turned me into an impatient little monkey?

Scott
 
ZombieDadNJ said:
Okay, here's where I stand so far.

Yellowdog762 and SC T100: I'm planning on a light sand on both the handles. I had thought of boiled linseed oil instead of a regular finish, but I'm open to suggestions. Also, SC T100, I just downloaded the Ax to Grind PDF. Looks like something fun to read!
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They look great so far! An Ax to Grind will get you going and shows the correct way to hang an axe. The rest is practice and patience!

Oh, and if you like a more natural-feeling finish, stick with good old BLO or pure linseed oil (which will take a few months to fully cure as with most pure oils). if you prefer a harder varnish-style finish go with Tung Oil Finish, Danish Oil, Teak Oil, etc. For the oil finishes, unless it says 100% or pure oil, it's likely got varnish ingredients and will cure harder. BLO has drying agents, but not the varnish/finish ingredients. Choose whatever you prefer...they all work well.
 
SC T100 said:
Oh, and if you like a more natural-feeling finish, stick with good old BLO or pure linseed oil (which will take a few months to fully cure as with most pure oils). if you prefer a harder varnish-style finish go with Tung Oil Finish, Danish Oil, Teak Oil, etc. For the oil finishes, unless it says 100% or pure oil, it's likely got varnish ingredients and will cure harder. BLO has drying agents, but not the varnish/finish ingredients. Choose whatever you prefer...they all work well.
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I had completely forgotten about Danish oil! I refinished a cherry hope chest with that years ago and simply forgot how great it looked. I'll test out both BLO and Danish on a scrap handle and see which I like best.

And...(drumroll please) House Handle contacted me first thing this morning to let me know that UPS will be taking my order as of today. WOOHOO! Looking forward to showing off these hatchets complete and ready for use.
 
Looking forward to it! HH is a great company to work with. Less automated than an Amazon purchase, but they take good care of their customers...I've had nothing but good dealings with them.
 
I apparently misread my e-mail from House because my UPS driver dropped off the handles, TO-DAY! Trying to keep focused on the task at hand and not giggle like a schoolgirl. First, the Plumb BSA hatchet.

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As you can see, I went with a lower grade handle (I've been reading a lot of "An Ax to Grind"!). I'm not planning on keeping this one, despite my love for Boy Scouts and my former rank of Eagle. The handle went on straight from the box and fits snugly. My biggest worry is that there seems to be a awful lot of room on either end of the eye (see last picture). I looked carefully at the Ax to Grind video and photos and it did seem that the a gap there was acceptable, but I'm asking some more experienced folk to tell me what they think. Should I go for a larger handle and shave it down, or hammer in a wedge and call it good?

Most of the other handles need some shaping and cleaning up before I show them off. The Hudson Bay hatchet will likely be the next candidate, although it has similar eye gap problem as the Plumb.
 
Looks great! Just use a nice long wedge to fill the top front/back gaps and call it good.
 
^^ What he said. Fat and long oily wedge and mash it in hard. Remember to use a block of wood between your beater of choice and the wedge, especially when you get to squeezing the last of the motion out of it.
Split wedges instantly bum you out...

That is a nice Jersey. I always make someone pay dearly for them when I miss them at auction. I have several flint edge jerseys, and an old old kelly, but the bigger perfect jersey always escapes. I do have a rarer small one with a normal eye tho.. Sweet little biter.

Enjoy!
 
AndreLinoge said:
That is a nice Jersey. I always make someone pay dearly for them when I miss them at auction.
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Being a native of New Jersey, I'm delighted to have an ax named after my home state. However, the way you say that you "make someone pay dearly" for winning one you didn't get makes me want to have my neighbor start the car for me tomorrow.

Scott (currently googling "Auction Witness Protection Program")
 
As it turns out, I bought two 14 inch camp ax handles from House. Why, I'm not really sure as the Hudson Bay will be mounted on a longer camp ax handle and any other head is slated for either a straight handle or a full length ax handle. However, it seems I bought one of each level of quality. The one in the pics that I had temporarily mounted the Plumb BSA head to was the lower quality handle and it shows. Heartwood, grain all caddy whompus, generally making all the time and effort I put into the head look like a rush job.

As of tonight, I remounted it on the higher quality handle (pics tomorrow, promise). Straight grain parallel to the head, no heartwood or odd discolorations, all around a classy looking job even by my mediocre standards. And the feel! I've held many a hatchet and this has just the right heft and balance to it. It's like an extension of my arm. I may very well be keeping this one after all, but we'll see how the Hudson Bay one turns out first.

All I'm saying is (and granted, I'm a rank newbie at all of this so take my advice where it comes from), if I'm going to buy any more handles from here on out, it's going to be the higher quality ones. And you should, too. It's kind of like my advice on tattoos: long after the money has been spent, you're stuck with the results for a long, long time.

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Yep! The higher quality handles are worth it...they're only a few bucks more. And if you choose hand-picked, no lacquer they're even better (saves you sanding time), and possibly octagon, you can have a nice, raw wood handle thinned nicely to start for only a few extra dollars more per handle.
 
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So worth it for the extra cost on the handles.

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Mmmm, shiny.

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I omitted the steel wedge on the BSA Plumb (it fit that nice), but the Hudson had some extra room in the aft section of the eye. Next up, sharpening!

I'm off to order a handle for the True Temper Kelly Perfect as well as a Plumb ax I found hiding in my shed. I showed the finished hatchets off to a few neighbors and they'll be on the lookout for any heads they can find at sales or in their own houses. I may just turn this into a cottage industry!
 
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