SC T100's Axe Projects (Pic Heavy)

"The Wall Hanger"

It's been quite a while since I picked up any new finds, but I was just gifted a cool find from my father. It was given to him from an acquaintance and apparently hung on a shed for quite a while. Based on it's looks and the information I've run across on this forum, my best guess at this axe is a relatively newer (probably still 30+ years) True Temper that likely had a paper label. It's a Jersey pattern with a high centerline, so it's likely good stuff. Or...rather...was.

So far so good...love the straight handle too...


High centerline, minimal mushrooming...excellent! But something is amiss...


Dangit...yep...that's a wall hanger all right! I'll clean the head up a little and oil the handle and slap it on the wall...looks awesome either way. Still a fun addition to the collection though.


Yep, that crack runs the entire length of the eye. Someone bashed this thing good. Ah well...retirement on the wall is in store for this one.
 
And I thought I would throw this up for good measure and for all the handle-heads around here. I ran across this handle the other day and even though I don't (yet) have a head for it, I had to pick it up as it's probably the most perfect handle I've run across personally. It's a Council Tool 36" straight haft. All sapwood, and the grain is about as perfect as it gets from what I can find locally. There doesn't appear to be any runout at the front or rear where it matters, and it's arrows straight. Hopefully I can find a nice Connie or Flint Edge for this handle...it seems it deserved a good quality head. I'll be up in the mountains in a few months where I found my monster Sager and my Cayuga, so hopefully I'll find another gem.




 
cityofthesouth said:
yeah nice! I fully understand the thought process of a good handle deserving a good head.
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Thanks! Yeah, and I forgot to mention that I can't tell if it's from the lathe or not, but it appears the handle may have some figuring on it. Here's hoping!
 
I like to think of it a bit differently and say that every head deserves a good handle.
 
Axe Master '94 said:
Like I said, I could fix that TT wallhanger for you and it'd look nice on that haft ;)
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I am finally getting back around to it and I wanted to thank you for the offer, but after some further inspecting I think I'll leave it as a wall hanger. The eye is definitely more "blown out" than I first realized, which makes me lean a lot more towards a soaked, then frozen haft. I'm not sure it's worth that much effort. I'll let it stay retired :)



I think I'll focus my efforts into finding another new project or two...I've got some travels coming up, and I'm going to see what I can dig up. I'll be in the mountains soon where I picked up my Sager and Cayuga...here's hoping for some more quality finds!
 
Well it's been a while, but I've finally got a few axe-related things going again! So without any further delay:

"Pickett's Pride"

I grabbed this CT from the flea market recently. It's an older (I think) Council Tool SB with phantom bevels, marked Pickett's Pride. It has a great vintage haft on it that I think it can be reused...too bad it has a lacquer on it. I may just lightly sand it, but we'll see...I don't want to remove that nice color. The swell has some chunks missing unfortunately. I may just end up gluing some wood on the end and sanding it flush. The profile is actually pretty good, and won't require much effort to get it sharp again. There's a bit of a chip in the toe that I will essentially not worry about as it would require tons of re-profiling to hide.


 
"Another Council Tool"

In the last pic above, you can see my other new addition. It appears to be a fairly standard Dayton pattern 3.5lb Council Tool single-bit. It was either on a short haft to be used as a miner's axe, or it was on a cut-down haft. Either way it was destroyed so the head will be re-hung.

It has a very blunt profile, so this one is the opposite of Pickett's Pride, and will require a good bit of filing. Good thing I have 3 "new" sharp Nicholsons I also picked up! Here's the head after a vinegar bath.



I have a beautiful 36" straight CT handle, but I think I want something a little shorter and curved for this one. I think this will be my first 28" curved full-size, and I'll likely be ordering from HH soon.
 
I also FINALLY got around to making sheaths for all the axes. Both Two Face/The Council Elder and The No-Name Chopper got masked up. Leather sheaths of course, but I went with some bungee as the strap on these. This was for two reasons: 1) I didn't have any snaps for the leather, and 2) I wanted to try something easy, and a $2.99 pack of bungees from Harbor Freight was a super cheap way to do it. The only thing is you have to be careful not to cut the little cord knots inside the sheath when you put the axe away.
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Next up will be a re-hang on the newest CT Dayton and a sheath, and I plan to re-do the sheath on The Cayuga, as well as thinning the shoulders down on it's octagonal re-hang. Piccies will be taken of course!
 
Oh my, that Council Jersey is swwwwwwwwweet. Yeah I wouldn't do a thing to that handle except put a new wedge in it. I really dig the sharp lines of the bevels.
 
cityofthesouth said:
Oh my, that Council Jersey is swwwwwwwwweet. Yeah I wouldn't do a thing to that handle except put a new wedge in it. I really dig the sharp lines of the bevels.
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Thanks! Yeah, I've never seen or heard of one before...it's an awesome piece. The handle has a few "fun" objects as supplemental wedges, so the handle will definitely be re-used unless something crazy is lurking in the eye.
 
It has begun. This will be some work. But holy moly are those Nicholson USA files awesome! I got some really nice files for $5. Their quick vinegar soak really cleaned them up and they are still very sharp. That will help as I have a lot of filing ahead of me. I can see why folks are tempted to knock the bevel down on a bench grinder, but I shall forge ahead with file and sweat. Put on a 28" haft, I think this axe will live in my work trunk that lives in my field vehicle. Now to decide...28" curved or straight? Hmmmm...

 
Well, that was a LOT of work. But after a few hours, lots of sweat, and a significantly dulled file, as well as some stone polishing, this thing is sharp again. Shaving sharp actually. Now for a handle....HH order to follow.


 
A few more pics, including the new profile. This thing was seriously thick at the edge. And I think the outer metal on the old bevel may have been overheated on a grinder. It got harder and harder to file as I worked down through the cheeks. Maybe the metal got harder, maybe the file was dulling, maybe there was more surface area to file as the bevel widened, or maybe I was getting tired. Or all of the above. But the metal at the new edge seems much harder. This should be a great axe.



 
House Handle order has been put in. I ordered 2 handles...a 28" curved and a 30" curved with a special request that I'll show if it can be fulfilled (I think it can, as other members have mentioned it). I'm going to see which I like best and which fits best in the work trunk. I'm hoping I like the 30" best, as my Norlund Cabin Axe could use a new haft...it currently has a nice, thin 28" handle but the handle eye is WAY too small for the head, and there are large gaps. The eye on that axe is huge for its size and I would feel much better about using a nice, new handle that fills the gaps properly. I suspect I will need to thin the new haft considerably (considering it'll be coming down from a full-size) but now that my sanders and rasps are all up to par, I don't think it will be a big deal. Woo hoo! Axes ahoy!

And a pic of the wall recently. I need to build a more efficient system I think! :)

 
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