Remzy's Axe & Old Tools Restorations (PIC heavy)

[Remzy]

Tired of starting new ones each time, so here goes...

A welland Vale house axe or big hatchet, was able to reuse the original handle, if the swell looks smallish, its because i had to fix someone else' inaptitude...

Before and after.

Didnt notice these little guys stuck in the handle until it was too late, i dont mind them much anyways, adds character.

 

[Remzy]

A very old spokeshave that desperatly needed my attention, it was all cracked and dried out, i soaked it in raw linseed oil for several days and sealed the cracks with superglue then proceeded to sharped that blade, someone filed it with a double bevel, which was a super pain in the arse to fix as the steel is extra hard, they didnt mess around with soft steel back then!

Couldnt leave this little guy hanging and had to make a leather case for it, crude but it might extend this guy's life.

 

[Remzy]

Heres my Stanley large boy axe, its on a link handle i believe, has the M Stanley M stamping which i believe is Mann's Made since ive seen some similar axe that had this stamping and a sticker saying "made in USA" on the same bit.

I lightly stained the handle to give it an aged look and add a little character as I found it looked a bit goofy before the staining. dont know why, odd shape maybe?

 

[markv]

good looking Vale, a couple of real rock chips to whet down.
glad you saved the spoke shave. i also use super glue/BLO on old handles to seal up cracks , works really well.
these old spoke shaves are classic cool. wish i could find one.
all good
buzz

buzz

 

[Agent_H]

Remzy, I'm glad you started a project thread. Keeps all of your work organized here.

So, the M marked Stanley look terrific there if you ask me. When you mention a goofy look to the handle on that one, was it the contrast in color or was the handle a little "flat-sided" at the start?

Those took more work than a quick scrub and polish. Your leather work is great as well (I have yet to make one worth sharing...)

Very nice!

 

[quinton]

Nice work!

 

[Remzy]

Remzy, I'm glad you started a project thread. Keeps all of your work organized here.

So, the M marked Stanley look terrific there if you ask me. When you mention a goofy look to the handle on that one, was it the contrast in color or was the handle a little "flat-sided" at the start?

Those took more work than a quick scrub and polish. Your leather work is great as well (I have yet to make one worth sharing...)

Very nice!

heheh thanks for the praise, the stanley looked goofy for that particular reason, the patina on the head is so rich yet the handle was way too white so i used some leather stain to darken it a bit and try to make it look a little aged.

you are right, these took alot of work to put back in working order, the one that took the most work was the spokeshave, ironicaly, the steel was diamond hard, my swiss made jeweler files just slided right off of the edge.

 

[cityofthesouth]

Good looking. Having a project thread just makes life easier. I kinda like the nails (or whatever) stuck in the hatchet handle too. Since it is obviously a master hang, they are sort of a reminder of its previous life.

 

[Remzy]

Here is a small splitting axe I just made today to give to my big brother on Christmas.

its a Garant head on a unknown handle that ive modded and on which I've added a bashplate held in place by three tiny rivets. Also made a quick sheath for it in veg tan leather. lemme know what you think!

oh and .. i know i know, metal wedges, but this one is to give and made to be a heavy user used by someone who isnt an axes enthousiast, so i figured id get some slack on that one

 

[Operator1975]

Don't sweat any comments on metal wedges. They have been used in various handles for who knows how long, so they must be ok.

That is a fine lookin specimen, I salute you on it. Great work.

 

[Square_peg]

Here is a small splitting axe I just made today to give to my big brother on Christmas.

its a Garant head on a unknown handle that ive modded and on which I've added a bashplate held in place by three tiny rivets.

I need to get something like that to take camping with my beer drinking buddies who don't know how to use an axe. I hate having to fix one of my favorite axes after some drunk has abused it.

I, on the other hand, abuse my axes when I'm sober.

 

[TrailingPoint]

Great Christmas present. That bashplate is very cool.

 

[halfaxe]

Looking good. That bash plate might be a product that would sell well.

 

[Remzy]

Thanks for the kind words guys, appreciate that.

On another topic, I forgot to mention that the pole was mushroomed and that I cold forged it back into submission instead of grinding it off, I was wondering if I was the only one to do that since most of the pole i see look ground off into submission.

Cheers!

 

[SC T100]

Thanks for the kind words guys, appreciate that.

On another topic, I forgot to mention that the pole was mushroomed and that I cold forged it back into submission instead of grinding it off, I was wondering if I was the only one to do that since most of the pole i see look ground off into submission.

Cheers!

I've done both, depending upon the severity. I have a Craftsman boy's axe that I hammered slowly back (and then filed any sharp nicks). My no-name, two-piece Maine wedge was severely mushroomed out, and that one got the grinder treatment.

 

[Remzy]

I guess there is a no return point when it comes to mushroomed poles.

 

[SC T100]

I guess there is a no return point when it comes to mushroomed poles.

Well, admittedly this was early in my hobby. I would try to hammer it back now with the tools and lessons I've learned on here.

 

[Square_peg]

On another topic, I forgot to mention that the pole was mushroomed and that I cold forged it back into submission instead of grinding it off, I was wondering if I was the only one to do that since most of the pole i see look ground off into submission.

I'm a proponent of doing it this way. I will typically heat it to 'hot-to-the-touch' with a torch and then slowly hammer what I can back in to place. If I still have to file after this I'll come back and hammer the filed edge so it doesn't look filed.

A couple things about this. Part of the purpose of the poll is to balance the axe. Whatever filings you leave on the shop floor are gone for good and don't contribute to balance. But remember, the poll that has been hammered cold will not be as tough as the original poll. It will be more likely to chip if used for striking metal. A flying metal chip can injure an eye.

You might think you can't do much work hammering at low heat. But recall that this poll deformed cold. Some of it will surely hammer back into place with little or no heat.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Even moderately hardened steel can move a surprising amount cold if done with care.

Very nice work with the plate--I've been meaning to make some of those for my personal axes, not so much for preventing overstrike damage (which seems to be the concern with most folks) but for preventing damage when splitting from when the split decides to veer off in strange ways. What gauge did you use, and was it just hardware store sheet, or...?

 

[Operator1975]

I'm a proponent of doing it this way. I will typically heat it to 'hot-to-the-touch' with a torch and then slowly hammer what I can back in to place. If I still have to file after this I'll come back and hammer the filed edge so it doesn't look filed.

A couple things about this. Part of the purpose of the poll is to balance the axe. Whatever filings you leave on the shop floor are gone for good and don't contribute to balance. But remember, the poll that has been hammered cold will not be as tough as the original poll. It will be more likely to chip if used for striking metal. A flying metal chip can injure an eye.

You might think you can't do much work hammering at low heat. But recall that this poll deformed cold. Some of it will surely hammer back into place with little or no heat.

Peg I have never tried that, but I might give it a go. I think this could be a very interesting thread and help some people, myself included out. I always thought I didn't have the ability to get the poll hot enough to effectively hammer it back into place, but what you are saying does make sense. Now Im going to have to try it and probably end up burning the garage down.