"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.
If I understand correctly, do you basically line up the file with the top of the axe head eye when filing? Essentially making it a scandi so to speak? (Still banana though)
