To soak or not

[flip in va]

Okay I admit that I lurked a little to long and now I'm afflicted with the vintage axe bug. I came across a Collins double bit and have cleaned it up and made an attempt at hanging it. Now I was wondering if I need to soak it in some blo or not and what exactly is the procedure to do that?

 

[AntCaps]

I've always read that you wipe it down with oil and let it absorb than wipe of the excess and keep doing that until the wood doesn't soak any more oil into it.

 

[Remzy]

My grandfather used to soak his hammers in a unboiled linseed oïl tank for about a week after hanging them, might be because he was a blacksmith and the heat from the forge would dry the handle too quickly and losen the heads, i dont know, that is just speculation on my part.

 

[Zemapeli]

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ion-and-Removal-of-Rust-Oxidation-and-Pitting
:thumbup:
:thumbup:

 

[300Six]

My grandfather used to soak his hammers in a unboiled linseed oïl tank for about a week after hanging them, might be because he was a blacksmith and the heat from the forge would dry the handle too quickly and losen the heads, i dont know, that is just speculation on my part.

Your granddad was no dummy! Certainly my preference is to fit and wedge wood handles when they're at their most dry state. Soaking the whole works (head end only I presume, otherwise entire haft immersion is like holding your finger over the end of a drinking straw and expecting liquid inside to rise), in oil serves to swell/stabilize the wood cells. And the easiest way to do this is soaking in a tank or pail!

 

[cityofthesouth]

I can only tell you what I do. Once hung, I set the axe, head down in a container or pan or whatever, and pour BLO down the handle until it's dripping with it, letting some pool in the pan. I leave it like that until the handle is dry. This basically lets the eye sit in a puddle of oil and suck up as much as it wants. This is where you start to find out that wood can vary significantly even when it's the same kind from the same place. Sometimes the handle never dries and I wipe off the excess, other times the oil will be adsorbed in just a few hours. In any case, if it is absorbing oil over a few days, then I just keep putting it on until it won't take any more, making sure the end grain gets an extra helping.