Salvagable? worth it? much questions...

[Remzy]

Ive gotten this 4lbs axe head to get the chopper 1 handle that came with it ($10), turn out the the chopper1 was not hickory (booo!) so im trying to cut my loses and refurbish this axe head, but from the look of it, it doesnt seem like quality.

The eye is crooked as seen in this picture, im trying to straighten it all out but its not what i would call an easy job, so do you think its worth it? the head has a 80's mastercraft feel to it, to be honest.

yeah, again, is it worth it or should i throw away to the scrap bin if i cant fix the eye?

By the way, first time ive seen this, i think the eye tip got spot welded? real odd... any ideas on that? known makers doing that? weird anyways.

 

[garry3]

Not really seeing the problem. The head does seem to be not quite symmetrical but I wouldn't try to make the eye a perfect shape. Its a lot easier to just shape the haft to fit what you have. Should be no problem. If I understand you right. The main thing is to get a good fit at the bottom of the head and through the eye. We don't have all that much control with the fit at the top of the axe, we just drive a wedge in. I prefer a softer wood wedge. I like for the wedge to split when I drive them in because the gap between haft and eye is never uniform. I drive them hard and as deep as I can.
I hope I was of some help.


That head does look suspiciously like a china head. Take a file to it and it will tell you all you need to know. It really does not look to bad. I have seen axes that would be better as a door stop. If it files OK why not use it?

I didn't know Mastercraft was still around in the 80's. I do remember you could buy a good axe there at one time. Also Western Auto, Sears and Montgomery Wards ect.

I am waiting for the day some body asks about rehanging a vintage Marbles hatchet.

 

[Remzy]

Garry, the steel seems reasonable in the bit, it had chips in it before i reprofiled it (in the pictures it is reprofiled, just look odd cuz of the vinegar bath) so im not too worried about it holding an edge but the problem is (the picture dont do it justice) the poll is misaligned and twisted compared to the bit because the axe was most likely used as a splitting wedge in the past, since the poll was mushroomed quite a bit.

anyhow ill try to "unwarp" the eye because i dont like a smaller eye at the bottom than at the top, it removes too much wood at the top of the eye and (I think) makes for a weaker purchase.

we will see if i can manage... i usually dont like to mess around with warped axes so i might not fallow thru on that one and ship it to online merchant land... hehe.

 

[Rhinoknives1]

Garry, the steel seems reasonable in the bit, it had chips in it before i reprofiled it (in the pictures it is reprofiled, just look odd cuz of the vinegar bath) so im not too worried about it holding an edge but the problem is (the picture dont do it justice) the poll is misaligned and twisted compared to the bit because the axe was most likely used as a splitting wedge in the past, since the poll was mushroomed quite a bit.

anyhow ill try to "unwarp" the eye because i dont like a smaller eye at the bottom than at the top, it removes too much wood at the top of the eye and (I think) makes for a weaker purchase.

we will see if i can manage... i usually dont like to mess around with warped axes so i might not fallow thru on that one and ship it to online merchant land... hehe.

I don't claim to be a Axe head Hafting expert but as garry3 said, Just focus on the Hafting and I don't think I've seen many heads that had a perfect elliptical eyelet to the edge, unless they were hand done to order. You should be able to make a serviceable hand Axe with that head.

 

[garry3]

Garry, the steel seems reasonable in the bit, it had chips in it before i reprofiled it (in the pictures it is reprofiled, just look odd cuz of the vinegar bath) so im not too worried about it holding an edge but the problem is (the picture dont do it justice) the poll is misaligned and twisted compared to the bit because the axe was most likely used as a splitting wedge in the past, since the poll was mushroomed quite a bit.

anyhow ill try to "unwarp" the eye because i dont like a smaller eye at the bottom than at the top, it removes too much wood at the top of the eye and (I think) makes for a weaker purchase.

we will see if i can manage... i usually dont like to mess around with warped axes so i might not fallow thru on that one and ship it to online merchant land... hehe.

Oh, that's why it looked asymmetrical. I am sure you can do it, not at all sure it is worth it.
Be interested in hearing how it works out.

 

[cityofthesouth]

anyhow ill try to "unwarp" the eye because i dont like a smaller eye at the bottom than at the top, it removes too much wood at the top of the eye and (I think) makes for a weaker purchase.

I just wanted to make sure about what you were saying here. What I define as smaller at the bottom than at the top would be a good thing .... but maybe we're saying two different things.

There are some pics, I think in my project thread, of a head that got "bent" like yours from being beaten on - a friend brought it to me to hang. To me, that axe, while historical and valuable, became more or less unworthy of use in my mind. I'm not saying that because it actually IS useless, it's just that in my mind, there are other things to spend time and effort on. Based on what I can see in your pics, the bend isn't as bad. As others have said, I just wouldn't worry about the eye. I would try to get a stick on it (maybe just something old or whatever laying around if possible) and see roughly how the hang looked. If it's bent to the point where you can't possibly align the head to the handle, I'd move on. If you have the capabilities to heat the head and return it to center, this might be a great opportunity to try it.

 

[jblyttle]

I don't know if this influences your decision to continue or not, but based on it's shape and shallow hardening, it is almost certainly Chinese.

 

[300Six]

I see what you're getting at! This head must be overly soft for it to have bent right out of shape with what seems to have been very little effort. I say that because the poll was not horribly mushroomed from repeated abuse such as what I'd have expected to see. Unless somebody used it as a splitting wedge on a particularly tough hardwood round and only hit it hard a few times, but with a really big sledge.

There will be better heads to be found and that are also not expensive. When you figure how much time and effort you put in on making and hafting something like this there really is no reason for you to try to "make a silk purse from a sow's ear". Let's see how inventive you are at making your first ornamental door stop!