Straghtening an axe head's alignment to handle (Council Hudson Bay Axe)?

[Macchina]

I got a nice Hudson Bay patterned axe from Council, I'm very impressed! The grain is very nice, better than my Gränsfors Bruk. I made an edge cover for it, put about 8 coats of linseed oil on the handle, and put a very nice edge on it. My only complaint is the edge does not line up with the centerline of the handle. I don't know if this matters for cutting efficiency or not, if not please let me know. If it does matter, is there any way to correct it without rehanging the head or sending it back?

I tried to align the handle with the edge in these pictures:

And the simple cover:

 

[Silverthorn]

I am not by any stretch an expert on axes, so take this for what its worth. It may be that its just an uneven grind, that is making the head look angled. I have had an axe with grinds deeper on one side of the head, and it made the axe look very slanted when looking down the shaft. Once I evened the grinds with a file and some sand paper it became clear that the axe was aligned, but had looked canted because of the grind. Possibly not whats happening with yours, but maybe...lol

 

[jpeeler]

If it's not a grind problem, then that means the cheeks on the tongue of the handle were uneven when the handle was set. Not usually a problem with Council. I don't think there's much to do about it once the axe is hung and wedged- ie you'd have to pull the head. Maybe you could steam bend it, but I doubt it would hold the shape.

I've used axes with this problem before, with great success. Your eye and brain will compensate for the slight variance.

John

 

[Macchina]

It's definitely not uneven grinds. It's hard to show in pictures, but the first picture is aligned directly with the handle. As you can see, the line of the edge is off the line of the handle by a good 5 degrees...

 

[willseeyalater]

When you use it do you have trouble making it work? Nothing wrong with that axe in terms of what it is meant to do. Alignment is off but not radically.

 

[Bo T]

As you use the ax, sharpen only the one side. After a few years, you will have the edge where it should be. Other than that, you could try to get it replaced. Unless, you bought a blem to start with.

 

[nickzdon]

I say write Council. Tell them your concern and that you'd like to use it and see if it's a problem. And ask if you could exchange it if it's a problem. If they won't let you do that ask to exchange it right away. Give Council a chance to rectify the problem before you try and fix it yourself. And if you don't notice any problem when you use it then you've saved yourself a lot of time. But at the end of the day you should have the axe that you want.

I would sharpen it as usual. If you begin to sharpen the bit asymmetrically you'll have to rehang it asymmetrically in the future, or reprofile it again. In my experience it's much easier to fix issues with wood (handles) than it is to fix issues with steel (heads).

 

[idaho_crosscut]

sharpen asymmetrically? wooden handles can be replaced.... easily. adding more stock to your axe is impossible, and re-grinding an axe is quite a bit more of an endeavor. definitely re-hang your axe before your screw up the grind.

 

[camo kid]

My council tool hudson bay was way out of wack too when I received it. I drilled a small pilot hole in the center of the aluminum wedge and sunk a 5/16" self tapping screw in to the wedge. After I first clamped the handle in to a vice I used a pry bar to remove the wedge. I reshaped the handle and set the head a 1/2" closer to the shoulder and wedged it with a proper wooden wedge. It is now hung straight and firm. Joe

 

[300Six]

Once you start swinging that axe hopefully you'll entirely forget about this minor issue.

EDIT: In hindsight; if the alignment issue lies with the metal head (eye is not punched on-center, or the blade grind is not parallel) then I'd hurriedly send it back. If it is because the handle is filed more on one side than the other then don't worry about it. In 50 years of using axes I've never even looked for alignment issues such as that. From what I can see the head is perpendicular to the handle axis and that's what really counts.

 

[Macchina]

The head is very nice (especially for a $40 USA made axe) and the edge is aligned to the eye, it was the hanging that appears to be the problem. On a whim, I decided to put the axe in a vice and give it a decent pull in the direction I wanted it to go. It aligned up nicely! I gave the handle butt a few good whacks on the concrete then pounded on the wedge a bit (just in case). I'm very happy with it and the alignment couldn't have been easier. It's literally perfect now, A FANTASTIC AXE!

I am a little bit concerned on how easily it moved, I guess that's the trade-off with the reduced eye you see on Hudson Bay patterns...

P.S.: I was at my cabin all last week with the axe hoping to have a need for it, but the temps never went above 20 and windchill was around 0 or less the whole time so it was not exactly axe weather. I'm always a bit concerned about using metal tools against hard (frozen) objects at that temperature. I think I'll split and kindle some smaller logs next weekend to get a feel for this axe. Like I said above: This is a very nice axe. I'll always like my Small Forest Axe, it's been on a lot of trails with me, but I'd have no problem taking this axe instead.

 

[Square_peg]

Glad it worked out for you.

Misaligned heads are usually the result of misshapen handles. But you will occasionally see a canted eye, too.

To correct a misshapen handle, remove material from two opposite corners of the eye to allow the axe head to rotate into alignment. You might then need a thicker wedge when you go to set the head. A rotationally misaligned eye can be compensated for using the same method. But if you get an axe with a canted eye then there's no way to really correct for that.

 

[300Six]

Never having looked at length-wise head orientation on any axes I own I went out into the garage and looked over my 22 year old personal favourite Iltis Canadian and lo and behold it is offset on the OEM handle almost identical to yours. Head is perfect and the handle is straight. I suspect, because the wedge kerf is not perfectly on-center and likely also has a twist to it, that the wedge installation shifted the head over a little bit. Quite a few wind blown trees have succumbed to that blade over the years and I'll be darned if I ever noticed any sort of diminished performance.

 

[G-pig]

Never having looked at length-wise head orientation on any axes I own I went out into the garage and looked over my 22 year old personal favourite Iltis Canadian and lo and behold it is offset on the OEM handle almost identical to yours. Head is perfect and the handle is straight. I suspect, because the wedge kerf is not perfectly on-center and likely also has a twist to it, that the wedge installation shifted the head over a little bit. Quite a few wind blown trees have succumbed to that blade over the years and I'll be darned if I ever noticed any sort of diminished performance.

I make all my own handles and saw every kerf by hand with a rip saw. Some are off center, or crooked. Even given that I try to drive the wedge the full length of the kerf, I've never seen it alter the hang. You cant see the wood inside the eye, and if that is crooked, the rest of the handles straightness is more or less irrelevant.

 

[300Six]

I make all my own handles and saw every kerf by hand with a rip saw. Some are off center, or crooked. Even given that I try to drive the wedge the full length of the kerf, I've never seen it alter the hang. You cant see the wood inside the eye, and if that is crooked, the rest of the handles straightness is more or less irrelevant.

Can't do a heck of a lot with a commercial handle that already has a 'careless kerf' cut into it. I was making an educated guess here knowing that most of these 'wandering cuts' are 'dull bandsaw'-generated. To be honest I've never looked at 'hangs' with regard to long axis of a blade/handle before. But I personally don't like it at all when my kerf cuts want to go off center and haven't allowed that to happen for quite some time now.

 

[DerFALMaus]

Hey G-Pig,

I'm in need of an 18 - 19" and a couple of 32" Maine White Ash axe handles for my Snow & Nealley axe heads. You can e-mail me at derfalmaus@gmail.com Thanks in advance!

 

[Cajun Kamikaze]

As you use the ax, sharpen only the one side. After a few years, you will have the edge where it should be. Other than that, you could try to get it replaced. Unless, you bought a blem to start with.

Please, Don't take this guys advice....

 

[Bo T]

Please, Don't take this guys advice....

Oh? And why not? Truing up the edge of an ax (or a knife) through selective sharpening (or grinding if you are in a hurry) is a tried and proven method.

 

[Cajun Kamikaze]

Oh? And why not? Truing up the edge of an ax (or a knife) through selective sharpening (or grinding if you are in a hurry) is a tried and proven method.

As a maker, I can easily see the issue is not the grind and/or the bevel.... Following your advice would give the guy an asymmetrical grind like Idaho eluded to.

Not trying to bust your balls or be a dick, just sayin.... But after the fact, It looks like he was able to fix his issue....

 

[Bo T]

Based upon what was said up to that point and the photos, it appeared that the grind was asymmetrical to start with. As a maker you know the primary way to clean up a bevel, post heat treat, is by removing metal. Yes, in this case it seems the problem was with the handle and not the head. You should post some of your work. If you decide you would like to sell then you will need to get a knifemakers subscription.