- Joined
- Oct 19, 2014
- Messages
- 22
My friend asked me to refurbish the axe his grandpa gave him when he was 12... he is now 57. He has used it at his cabin to split kindling and would leave it out side so it received a lot of weather. This is how I received it. That red band was underneath when I removed a strip of electrical tape. he said he remembers when he received it new the handle was red, so that to the best of his knowledge was the original handle color.
The head was loose, and the wedge was also a little loose. the good news is the rust had not yet pitted the surface too bad.
First thing I did is carefully remove the head to save the handle. sanded the handle down with 120 grit sand paper until I got to good wood. Then sanded with 180. Then I moved on to Stain the Handle Red. I decided on General Finishes DYE Stain, Empire Red. I stained it, let is sit over night and stained it again and let it sit 48 hours, Three light coats of Boiled Linseed oil over the course of a week and the handle was back to life.
I then took some 000 steel wool and scrubbed the Axe head with oil until all the rust was gone. some of the areas were brought down to bare metal. then I wiped it all down with denatured alcohol. I decided to hit it with a little cold gun Bluing and it turned out great.
I mounted the head and used a new wedge I made from a small piece of Brazilian Rose Wood I bought from my local wood working store. Then I sharpened both edges Razor sharp.... Below are the results....
The head was loose, and the wedge was also a little loose. the good news is the rust had not yet pitted the surface too bad.
First thing I did is carefully remove the head to save the handle. sanded the handle down with 120 grit sand paper until I got to good wood. Then sanded with 180. Then I moved on to Stain the Handle Red. I decided on General Finishes DYE Stain, Empire Red. I stained it, let is sit over night and stained it again and let it sit 48 hours, Three light coats of Boiled Linseed oil over the course of a week and the handle was back to life.
I then took some 000 steel wool and scrubbed the Axe head with oil until all the rust was gone. some of the areas were brought down to bare metal. then I wiped it all down with denatured alcohol. I decided to hit it with a little cold gun Bluing and it turned out great.
I mounted the head and used a new wedge I made from a small piece of Brazilian Rose Wood I bought from my local wood working store. Then I sharpened both edges Razor sharp.... Below are the results....
