Prepping a Wetterlings for Use

T

tsimpson

Joined
Dec 7, 2007
Messages
5
I just purchased a Wetternlings Large Hunter and received it yesterday. Overall the fit and finish are fine for a small axe, short hatchet. As others have mentioned, it needs a little work in some areas. Specifically, I noticed that the edge is not symetrical. The grind angle on one side is greater than the other. Can someone recommend the correct sharpening angle so I can fix this? It also appears that the top 1/4" of the blade wasn't finished completely or maybe, evenly. It looks like it was ground or sharpened on one side, but not the other. This will be an easy fix when I reshape the edge.

Any other recommendations for prepping this axe?

Thanks!

Tom
 
Sometimes you'll get a bit of variance in the edge geometry, but in my experience, this is a minor detail. You can make use of a belt sander and spruce up the edge a bit, then use a deburring wheel to polish out the edge. Take care to allow the head to cool a bit if you spend extra time on the sander. I'd not mess around with the taper too much if you intend to do some heavy work with the axe. A delightfully thin edge can be readily damaged, but a sharp super-keen axe is tempting bounty for many of us that are addicted to high performance Tuatahi and Keech products.
 
Can be done with a bench grinder, too, but is a little more difficult. WalMart sells hand held belt sanders for $30 or $40 bucks. Buy one, gently clamp your axe into a vice, and go to town (thoughtfully).
 
if you don't want to use power tools (and keep it simple, no risk of overheating) you can grab a course to medium file (i would suggest an 10 or 12 inch length) and file the edge even. be careful not to slip and push your hand into the cutting edge of the axe.

i finish the edges on my axes with a benchstone, then sandpaper up to 1200 grit, then a strop. a good sharp polished edge.
 
Erasmus said:
Can be done with a bench grinder, too, but is a little more difficult. WalMart sells hand held belt sanders for $30 or $40 bucks. Buy one, gently clamp your axe into a vice, and go to town (thoughtfully).
Click to expand...

Maybe try clamping the sander in a vise belt up or at and angle.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top