Overspent...now what?

[PhilipWimberly]

Well, I dramatically overpaid for this, but have been itching for a 5 pounder, and...well...just got it. I've tried to get pictures that show how dramatic the difference is between the heel and toe, but these are the best I could do. It's worse than it looks. I've never "re-built" a bit this bad before...but I think I'm gonna try. Two questions:
1 - A LOT of YouTube instruction on this...and almost as much variance. Does anyone have a suggestion as to who does the best job teaching this? I reeeeally don't want to end up grinding it into a danged 4 pounder...
2 - Besides being ugly in this condition, what is the functional difference when it is this far off?

(Side note: This is one of the Collins with "Collinsville, CT" below the name Yesteryear does an incredible job of teaching the history of these tools -- so glad to have that resource -- but I've never seen a timeline of branding for axes. It seems like it would be possible to order all of the branding for an axe manufacturer by years the particular embossings were sold. I wonder if it is safe to assume that generally, Yesteryear has the oldest brands at the top and newer ones at the bottom?)

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

The simple solution is to correct the bit alignment in use via the handle. The functional difference is a worn toe like that will inherently present itself to the cut like an axe that was hung too open. This neck in the handle brings it back fairly close to alignment without becoming too extreme.

 

[catspa]

Benjamin is right (and nicely illustrated, dude) however in extreme cases it’ll mean carving your own handle with a diagonal tongue, because there’s not enough straight tongue on a commercial one to fully fill the eye when it’s canted.

Or you can add a nose wedge to the commercial handle, but then it’s not a simple solution anymore.

Parker

 

[PhilipWimberly]

Head-slapper. This never crossed my mind. So many thanks, Benjamin.
Parker, Check my understanding, please? In my mind, I was going to file the tongue as I always do, UNTIL the last 1-2 fittings. On those I was going to trim the neck/front/bit-facing end of the tongue slightly more to dip the bit to the correct presentation/alignment. Is it your point that when the head dips, it will create a gap in the front/bit-facing end of the eye?

 

[catspa]

Right. Commercial handles have straight tongues, intended for close to a square hang. We’re basically talking about a closed hang, which isn’t a problem if you’re closing it 1 or 2° from vertical (approximately Benjamins green line, for sake of discussion). And if you’re using a big fat handle with a big wide tongue on it, maybe you can even get 3. But the longer the eye, and/or the narrower the tongue, the sooner you find that rotating the head counterclockwise opens a gap at the upper left or lower right. Very much gap in either location will make it difficult if not impossible to wedge the kerf enough to keep the head on the handle in use.

Compensating for a very closed (or open) hang moves you north of “simple solution” territory.

Parker

 

[Square_peg]

Cut the heel an eighth inch shorter than the toe. Make the curvature of the bit slightly less than it is now. Shape the edge profile to the Forest Service gauge. Hang it.