Question - About to hang an Ax

[Pondoro2310]

I hung this ax a couple of years ago:


Comments were that I should have hung it lower on the shoulder. I don't disagree, though it has worked well for two years.

I now want to hang this old Collins:



Note that if I hang it all the way down on the shoulder it will be well past the sawed slot for the wedge. I can easily extend the slot. But my question is - how low to hang it? How far into the ax head should the slot go? The first ax was hung so the slot ended just at the bottom of the head. That is how it ended up so far above the shoulder. Asking advice beforehand this time.

Thanks

 

[junkenstien]

look for video on youtube called an axe to grind

 

[Agent_H]

And maybe thin the shoulder down to "just" slip into the eye at the bottom.

I find they are easier to sharpen/reshape off the handle.

This may or may not help:

 

[jblyttle]

Get the bottom of the head at least to where the wood starts to widen. Looks like you are choosing nice handles. Maybe clean the head before hanging?

 

[Pondoro2310]

look for video on youtube called an axe to grind

Well that guy sure looks like he knows axes!!

 

[300Six]

Well that guy sure looks like he knows axes!!

That he does and we are blessed on this forum to have Bernie as member and contributor Old Axeman.

 

[Square_peg]

The example Agent H posted is correct. But sometimes there are 2 ways of getting there. You can lower the axe down onto the shoulder or if your eye is small and haft is large you may be able to bring the shoulder up to the axe a bit. Either way you'll want to cut your kerf at least 2/3 the depth of the eye. With the slightly short eye of that Collins you may wish to kerf to 3/4 depth. Also, it's wise to fit your wedge to the eye before final assembly. You want to be sure that your wedge is only stopped by its tightness in the kerf and not by the ends of the eye or the bottom of the kerf. Only then is a wedge truly tight. Sounds like you were successful before.

 

[Hickory n steel]

You'll also want to try for the head to angle downwards a little. What you're shooting for is when you set it on a flat surface with the axes edge and corner at the end of the handle touching, it contacts in about the center of the edge.
I hope this makes sense, but if not I'm sure someone can post a picture of what I'm talking about.

To do this you want to remove a little bit more wood towards the top on the back edge, and a little more towards the bottom on the front edge.
I would do this after you've cut off the excess.