Sharpening

@trailmaker: Tormek and the like are fine to use. To avoid getting a concave profile on a rotating stone you usually sharpen freehand, with a slight wobble in order to get a convex.


Ookami

PS: Sorry for the double posts, but I am trying to have only one overall point per post.
 
How much do you plan on using your axe? I don't object to using a belt sander on axes, but I've personally never felt like sharpening by hand took all that long. It also depends what type of axe you are sharpening. Some axes have steel so soft that the difference between a carefull job with stones and a quick job with a file will only last a few swings.
 
I use a belt for hogging off metal. I dress the whole cheek and edge down after with a file. I don't like the "edge" that results from the belt sander.
 
I'm not going to quote his whole post but I've experienced the same thing with a Fiskars hatchet that Ookami is talking about. It came sharp when new but the edge kept taking on rolls and such. After the first sharpening I did, by hand, the problem ceased. This is probably because of what Ookami is saying. The sharpening at the factory heated up the blade enough to lower the RC a bit and when I sharpened it I took off all the "soft" metal.

To the OP. I use a Norton file and I think it's a coarse/medium and I can actually get a serviceable edge with the medium alone. The hand sharpening with the grits is really for performance and edge holding. I finer/polished edge will push cut better and will last longer.
 
Ookami said:
@trailmaker: Tormek and the like are fine to use. To avoid getting a concave profile on a rotating stone you usually sharpen freehand, with a slight wobble in order to get a convex.


Ookami

PS: Sorry for the double posts, but I am trying to have only one overall point per post.
Click to expand...

Thanks that's good to know. I might look into these since I seem to be accumulating old axes faster than I can refurbish them. It would be nice to be able to speed up at least the re-profiling and sharpening part of the job.
 
Ookami said:
I know, I have been to some of the OEM makers in Japan, they do it too. Leatherman does it, Böker does it, most other makers (industrial and custom) do it. However, that doesn't make it any better. Like I wrote in post #14 it is economical.
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Yep, I went to a japanese semi-industrial maker (Takefu knife village- these are a bunch of craftmen that work in a single factory building, each one makes his own production plus they make some "brand knives" together), and they did all the grinding on huge waterstone grinders.
There are many problems related to water stones grinders, like the whole water aspect, the fact that if you allow the wet stone to rest for too long, you'll have all the water migrating to the bottom of the stone, which will damage the stone or the axis when they start spinning again.
The fact that good sharpening material is more expensive than belts.
The fact that the stone wears out which means craftmen have to adapt angles.
The stone wearing also means it has to be corrected pretty often. The "factory" I visited had one person working almost full time on maintaining the stones.

For all those reasons most makers turn on belt sanders, but as already said it doesn't work that well.
Problems are mitigated by the fact many makers do some final sharpening on benchstones or problem is less acute on high alloyed steels. Problem may also be mitigated by lower rpm.

But it is not uncommon to have the initial edge problem.
See here:
http://www.skookumbushtool.com/
Also often seen on moras.
 
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Yeah, good quality files make this kind of work much easier. The cheap junk they offer at hardware stores is good for nothing.


Ookami
 
Ookami said:
Yeah, good quality files make this kind of work much easier. The cheap junk they offer at hardware stores is good for nothing.


Ookami
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My new files are made by Nicholson, purchased at the local Ace hardware. I don't know how they compare to other files but they are a big improvement over what I was using.
 
trailmaker said:
My new files are made by Nicholson, purchased at the local Ace hardware. I don't know how they compare to other files but they are a big improvement over what I was using.
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I think I replied Norton in the post above but the file I have is indeed Nicholson. It's pretty nice from what I can tell with my limited experience.
 
Thanks for the info!

Amazon has Pferd, Vallorbe, and Nicholson. Each brand has fifty-plus different files - different cuts, different lengths, different shapes, different types. Which kind is best for working on axes?

I've seen bastard files mentioned on this forum. Is that the right kind for sharpening? Do I need a different file for thinning the bit? What about single-cut versus cross-cut?

If I'm going to get serious about axes then I might as well invest in quality files right from the start. Thanks for your help!
 
Saw this on YouTube and wondered with great wonderment about this person method of sharpening his axe as a means for a "quick fix" to get an edge back.

[video=youtube;rvbKKzGlehA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvbKKzGlehA[/video]
 
For things that need an initial edge put on them, ie: trailhawk, I use a sander. Unless I need to remove some serious metal, I "keep" my tools sharp by hand. Like working out, it's easier to keep it going than start from scratch so I pay a bit of attention to proper maintenance.
 
trailmaker said:
Here's an axe jig for one of these machines. It looks pretty nifty but I guess these wheels will always leave a slight concave to the edge.
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The concavity can be fixed with a file.

The thing with grinders and sanders is that you need to stay off of the very edge unless you have a water cooled machine. If you stay at least a 1/4" back from the edge and keep your thumb or finger in contact with the metal right opposite of the grinder you can safely grind the cheeks of an axe. Most axes are tempered to around 500°F. Your finger touching the axe will not let you get it that hot. While grinding if you have to remove your finger from the axe then it's time to dip it again.

And you MUST STAY AWAY FROM THE EDGE! The thin bit of an axe will temper almost instantly if it comes in contact with the grinding wheel or sanding belt. The bit must be worked with files, stones or water-cooled systems only.

If you're not very skilled at your grinder or sander then you're better off sticking with files and stones.
 
Well worn axes often need their profiles corrected before they can even be sharpened. That profiling mostly involves removing cheek material. It's the most tedious part of a restoration because it's where most the metal needs to be removed. A grinder can save you an hour's worth of filing. Or it can ruin your axe in a second.
 
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