Restoration & Rehanging Ruminations...

Marcelo Cantu

Marcelo Cantu

Joined
Jan 18, 2003
Messages
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The following is somewhat nerdy.

Like many here, I've been bitten. I don't aim to get into how rewarding on so many levels this pastime is. For me it's the history.

What I would like to get into is; What choices do you make and why, during the process?

When I had my first go at some old rusty heads I did the vinegar soak and while quite effective, it ends up looking like a restored axe rather than an axe that has been well taken care of. I've found that I like the look of just a wire wheel and wd-40. Is it because it looks "more authentic"? possibly but I also like to put a mirrored convex edge. I doubt the majority of loggers, foresters, woodsmen went to the trouble of carrying and using anything more than stone and a file. What are your preferences?

Also, are there particular handles that call for certain heads? Vice versa? I've picked up several axes at flea markets with destroyed heads but with hidden gems of old handles, maybe dried out and chipped and all taped up but with no warping and beautiful curves. A little bit of love and now I'm left with struggling with which head is going to the the best handle. and vice versa.

I've a Cedar head that's waiting for an answer.

What say you?
 
I'm with you on the wire wheel and WD-40. I've yet to try the electrothingymajig that people talk about. For me it's all if the handle "feels" right for the head, usually it's off a gut feeling. I try and go with what I want to use the axe for, what it may have originally came with, etc. etc. etc.

For example: Almost all Maine Wedge pattern's I hang go on straight handles at about 28" length, whereas Jersey patterns go on a basically straight handle until the bottom where it curves out to the swell. Bigger heads go on more curvy handles for comforts reasons, and even some smaller ones. Really it's whatever I feel like doing when I'm carving the handle.
 
Wire wheel and wd-40 here too. Sometimes just 0000 steel wool. I only use vinegar on deeply pitted axe heads and I rarely get those anymore, preferring heads in better shape. I just use files and stones for sharpening. I can see the appeal of a polished edge though. I almost always use curved handles on single bits. Straight handles on double bits of course is the only way there. I am always on the lookout for good vintage handles and get more excited over them than a run of the mill axe head.
 
Marcelo Cantu said:
What I would like to get into is; What choices do you make and why, during the process?

I've found that I like the look of just a wire wheel and wd-40. Is it because it looks "more authentic"? possibly but I also like to put a mirrored convex edge.
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I like those things, too. But I use a beeswax/BLO/turps concoction instead of WD-40


Also, are there particular handles that call for certain heads? Vice versa?
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In general, any axe that you expect to use both ends of should have a straight haft, i.e - hardened poll axes, pick axes, etc. Of course felling axes are also fine with straight hafts but multi-use heads really call for them.


I've picked up several axes at flea markets with destroyed heads but with hidden gems of old handles, maybe dried out and chipped and all taped up but with no warping and beautiful curves.
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I'm the same way with good vintage hafts. Save them for your favorite work axes. Or for an axe you really want to showcase. Use them as patterns for modifying new hafts. Just don't waste them - they're rarer than good old axes. There are threads here about how to save an old haft. Check them before you just cut off a vintage haft.
 
Square_peg said:
Just don't waste them - they're rarer than good old axes.
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This is true. I like the vintage slim profile that the old handles had. Everything is so bulky and clumsy today. I'd love to get my hands on a couple of good vintage handles
 
I don't use WD-40, nor do I keep any in my shop. Many years ago before the Internet when enthusiasts started communicating electronically with echos, a well known engineer from Ruger, Mr. C.E. "Ed" Harris wrote an article about the ills of WD-40 going into excruciatingly scientific detail, I have not used it since.
I have always used either a soft wire brush and Ed's Red, or a 500 grit wet sanding. Being curious about the the vinegar soak I gave it a shot. It was a long slow process and when it was over I just did not like the way the steel it felt when it was done. It still needed to be wet sanded to remove the roughness left from the soaking. Now that I have done it once, I can't say that I would ever do it again.
 
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Smith357 - I made several gallons of Ed's Red maybe 13-14 years ago and have used it as bore cleaner, degreaser, and on just about anything else where metal needed gunk/corrosion removed. Haven't heard too much about it for a while but it is great stuff. I'm down to 5-6 mason jars now.
Of course, when you are buying all the components together you get a look like, "Hmmm.... home lab, huh?"

Anymore I am inclined to leave heads in as much as an original state as I can while removing junk. Haven't soaked a head in vinegar for quite a while. I have been experimenting with using it to force patina or even the look out some.
 
IMHO, you can't beat a restored head with a fine, mirrored edge and a good patina. I use vinegar, less now than before, when the pitting is extreme. Since I can only get those big, beefy Truper hafts, or the 36 inch fawns foot handles where I live, I have taken to shaping the fatties into something more aesthetically pleasing. I would love to order House Handles, but the cost is prohibitive. I have had a double bit for two years and finally had to break down and order a House Handle for it that had a $10 price tag and a $25 shipping cost! Welcome to the addiction!
 
halfaxe said:
Straight handles on double bits of course is the only way there.
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Unless you find/make your own Adirondack handles- personal goal of mine to make an extra curvy Adirondack cruiser handle. I just like the look & feel more...
And side note: if you find a vintage Adirondack, they're worth more than most axe heads.
 
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