Rehaft project Shapleigh

schmittie · Mar 30, 2014

A friend knew I enjoy using an old axe more than a new one and dropped this one off at the house.

To me it looks like it has gotten more use as a sledge than an actual axe, judging by the mushroomed poll.

I don't believe it's that old but the name threw me. Does this look like the stamp says " SHAPLEIGHS"? I can't really make it out well despite the fact someone wrote over it with a sharpie. A vintage axe wouldn't be stamped "HAMMER FORGED", right?

The old handle is shot from too many bad blows. I got a replacement from House Handle at the local farm store.

I'll try to finish this up during the week. The weather is good and I have some small mulberry and walnut trees growing in the fence line that are coming down! This axe just may be pushed back into service before weeks end......

300Six · Mar 30, 2014

Plenty of life left in that old head. I've seen many polls that are much worse beat up than that and there looks to be lots of blade left. Drop forged and hammer forged are moot points; up this way Walters Axe switched over to a huge drop hammer process starting in 1947 which reduced production time by a considerable amount and also required much less skilled labour. If you watch videos of labour intensive Swedish axe making you'll realize they cannot compete with modern manufacturing techniques and therefore cater entirely to a niche market.

Steve Tall · Mar 31, 2014

Yes, that's a Shapleigh's. Under the inked "S" is a clear "G".

schmittie · Mar 31, 2014

Thanks Mr Tall. I thought that was a 'G' under there.

This is a name that I was not familiar with. A search found one of Operators threads on Keen Kutter and the Shapleigh name. It was interesting to say the least. I love this forum.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-Keen-Kutter-Axes-Info-and-Post-Em-Up-UPDATED

Square_peg · Mar 31, 2014

schmittie said:
To me it looks like it has gotten more use as a sledge than an actual axe, judging by the mushroomed poll.

It's not too badly hammered. That will easily grind off. And if you have hammer and anvil you can push a lot of it back even at low heat. Heating it with only a propane torch to 200°-300° is sufficient to get some of that back in shape. Remember, it moved out into the mushroom at low temperature. Some of it will move back at a warm temperature. Granted, it will be softer for this but since it's really there as counterweight to the bit that doesn't matter.

blasto9000 · Apr 1, 2014

schmittie said:
A vintage axe wouldn't be stamped "HAMMER FORGED", right?

I don't see why not. "Hammer forged" is probably accurate. The only two methods of manufacturing I've seen on pre-1980s axes are forging or casting. (On more modern specialty makes I've seen them machined or ground from oversized billets, but that's sorta off-topic, heh.)

In modern manufacturing, drop-forging and hammer-forging are generally not distinguished from one another. Both are just called drop forging. I work for a major automaker, and when spec'ing forged components, we just say "drop forged." This is the general practice at companies I've worked at and consulted for.

Traditionally speaking, the difference between them is that drop forging presses the metal between dies in a negative shape of the item. Hammer forging presses the metal between flats -- similar to a hammer and anvil.

On a drop forge line, the metal is progressively formed in a series of closed dies. This is relatively easy to automate.

On a hammer forging line, the metal is also progressively formed but its shape is controlled by manipulating the material direction, and force/direction of the hammer blows. This is more difficult to automate and often uses human operators with mechanical hammers.

Theoretically hammer forging creates an end product with "superior" grain orientation and higher density. I have not had the opportunity to personally prove it however!

schmittie · Apr 3, 2014

Thanks for the tips gentleman.

Since this is an older axe, I'm going to leave it as is and use it. I've modded a few axes I the past and I'm happy to leave this one as is.

Small update: so far I have removed the old head from the junk handle and wire brushed it, scrubbed it with hot water and steel wool, then rubbed it down with oil and let it hang. I've also sanded all the lacquer off the handle and cleaned it with mineral spirits. It's also gotten a coat of stain. In the next few days, I hope to have a pic of the finished product.

Thanks for your tips.

schmittie · Apr 4, 2014

I had some time today so a few things got attention.

I really like the old patina. I'm glad I came across some of the other projects around here that just wire wheeled the surface rust. It's a great idea that I would have never come up with.

The stamp is a little more clear now. With the red paint in the letters, I wonder if this was painted red from the factory?

I filed away for awhile on the bit this afternoon.

It's far from done but coming along. I like the color I stained on the handle.

But I made a rookie mistake. Don't stain the handle before you start shaping it to fit into the eye! Silly me, there is going to be quite a bit of rasping to do here...

Square_peg · Apr 5, 2014

schmittie said:
I really like the old patina.

Beautiful! That came out great.

I filed away for awhile on the bit this afternoon.

That's coming along well. Looks like your file might be plugging up with filings just a bit. Do you have a file card to clean it with? Alternately a thin sheet of brass can be used to clean the teeth of a file. A few strokes in line with the file's teeth will cut grooves in the brass to fit the teeth. Then the little points will scrape the chips out of the teeth of the file. It works OK but I still use a file card most of the time.