SC T100's Axe Projects (Pic Heavy)

SC T100 if you can hang an axe you can certainly do a little reshaping to the handle. Trust me when I say I'm no skilled craftsman. Some of the handle projects I've seen around here are very impressive, but trust me when I say spending an extra half or full hour shaping up your handle can make a world of difference.

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Here's a 19" house handle (both the manufacturer and model) that I simply thinned out a bit, knocked down the shoulder, and then clipped a little off the bottom of the swell with a saw to make a more classic fawn's foot.
 
Square_peg said:
As well you should. That axe needed to be freed of its old haft. It's thanking you right now.


Edit: And BTW, you might want to keep that old haft around to remind you what shape felt so good in your hand.
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Ha! Yeah, agreed. And I am definitely keeping the haft. Once I have a haft with a large enough swell, I plan to use it as a template. It's also so pretty it might just get hung on the wall. I have another old Council Jersey with a cracked/blown out eye with a rotted handle...I may swap the handle for the nice one and it should be a nice, pretty wall hanger.
 
Hacked said:
SC T100 if you can hang an axe you can certainly do a little reshaping to the handle. Trust me when I say I'm no skilled craftsman. Some of the handle projects I've seen around here are very impressive, but trust me when I say spending an extra half or full hour shaping up your handle can make a world of difference.

Here's a 19" house handle (both the manufacturer and model) that I simply thinned out a bit, knocked down the shoulder, and then clipped a little off the bottom of the swell with a saw to make a more classic fawn's foot.
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Oh for sure...I've reshaped a number of my handles, especially the Norlund's and the Sager's hafts...they had to be thinned significantly.

My prblem lately has been the swells that come with new haft aren't nearly large enough to support a swell like the one on my broken CT handle...they simply don't have enough material. As for the Plumb...yeah, it'll get re-shaped at some point! :)
 
SC T100 said:
Oh for sure...I've reshaped a number of my handles, especially the Norlund's and the Sager's hafts...they had to be thinned significantly.

My prblem lately has been the swells that come with new haft aren't nearly large enough to support a swell like the one on my broken CT handle...they simply don't have enough material. As for the Plumb...yeah, it'll get re-shaped at some point! :)
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I hear you, I do feel like I've had more to work with having the lacquer left on, but my more recent orders the swell has been sanded down more so on one side than the other. More material would definitely be welcome, and preferably less at the shoulder. I wonder if they see enough requests for this if they would consider changing the process for axe handles just a little.
 
"The Sears Special"

I didn't like the curved hatchet handle I threw this head on, so I grabbed a nice looking link and re-hung it. Terrible grain and runout, but I doubt it will matter much with such a light head. I guess we'll find out...or not!






Side note: this wood was a little odd to to work with...it was a waxed Link handle, but when sanded, some of the grain lines wold continue to have raised fibers, and it smoothed easily with a scotchbrite pad, and darkened much more than usual with the first coat of BLO...I think it may be light heartwood. I've noticed heartwood had the same feel to it as this one does, even though it was pretty pale on the shelf. Either way I'm happy...I love the color and feel. A few more coats of BLO and it should be a gorgeous little hatchet.
 
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"Pickett's Pride"

Here is the carnage that was wrought upon my gorgeous old CT beveled Jersey. Sad, but you can see the wood broke on both sides of the eye, but not the center oddly enough. It's hard to tell from the pics, but both sides broke off, leaving a center strip of wood that I thought was the wedge at first.


My guess is this axe sat head down and wicked moisture for a long time, given the way the wood failed, the amount of flaking rust in the eye, and the relatively minor surface rust on the head when I picked it up. Sad, but that's how it goes. It went out doing what it was designed to do. I got re-hung on a perfect-as-you'll-find straight CT handle. Pics soon after a few coats of BLO.
 
"Pickett's Pride"

It rises once again. It's now on a thinned CT straight 36" handle. I used my new HF 1x30 belt sander to thin the handle some to match my old Plumb DB approximately. It has a nice swell, and I rounded the butt end for aesthetic reasons. I think it turned out great and feels great as well. It seems really well-wedged too based on depth and effort required on the last few strikes. This should be a great axe again.








 
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"The Import"

I found a nice Link (I think) handle at a hardware store in NC recently. Good grain, straight handle, heavy, etc. It was a bit chunky, so I thought I would use it on my China head that is destined to be a splitter and a gift. I think it turned out well, and the handle was thinned some, but not as much as the CT above. I left the shoulders a little big for extra splitting durability. It's a decent wedge shape and took an edge, though its edge holding abilities are unknown (and less critical for the intended use). Should be a good rough-use axe.




 
Nice stuff, I have no use for another 3+ lb head...but you are making me want to get one...that council looks amazing.
 
"The Actual True Temper" Update. While this head is still hung...maybe not poorly, but not my best work, I decided to finally sharpen it. I got a little overzealous with the file and caught the body of the head a little more than I should, and I thinned it quite a bit so it's not actually thinner than the An Ax to Grind gauge, but it had to be done to fix the wonky, offset grind I found it with. It also didn't help the forging isn't the most consistent, and it has high and low spots behind the bit (hence the weird file lines). Overall I'm very pleased, and man this thing took a great edge. We'll see if it holds up once I get to use it some, but the steel seemed great even though it appears to be an 80s-90s later model. It still has a high-ish centerline though, so it should be a great axe regardless. As you can see in the third pic, I left the toe a little steeper so I didn't move it back too much, and it should retain some strength there. The harpening went as follows...files, coarse stone, fine stone, then 300, 400, 600 grit diamond, then stropped. It's hair popping sharp now.

I am in the process of shaping a new handle for it. I found a pretty good curved-haft Ames handle. I'm trying my best to make a copy of my broken Council haft, and it's coming along. I think this head will go on that handle once it's finished.




 
I also grabbed this old Estwing a while back. The leather handle was rotted and mostly missing. I thought the label looked old, but it's stamped '94. I'm not sure what I'll do with it, so I threw it in vinegar for the time being. I don't think I like these enough to do a complete rehandle. Any suggestions?


 
Not an axe, but interesting project for a family member on my bench. It's a sledge from 1944 (presumably), and I can't find much on the company yet. Anyone know what the other side of the sledge is for? Concrete maybe?

 
SC T100 said:
I also grabbed this old Estwing a while back. The leather handle was rotted and mostly missing. I thought the label looked old, but it's stamped '94. I'm not sure what I'll do with it, so I threw it in vinegar for the time being. I don't think I like these enough to do a complete rehandle. Any suggestions?


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If it were mine I would likely use something to fill the voids in the I-beam on the handle. Then I would do a jute wrapped handle where you soak the layers of jute in resin as you go and sand it down to a smooth consistent finish once it's dry.
 
Hacked said:
If it were mine I would likely use something to fill the voids in the I-beam on the handle. Then I would do a jute wrapped handle where you soak the layers of jute in resin as you go and sand it down to a smooth consistent finish once it's dry.
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Not a bad idea, and within my skill level haha! I may just do that. Thanks for the idea.
 
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