True Temper Kelly Perfect double bit ax

D

Darteres

Joined
Feb 4, 2008
Messages
380
I recently rescued my grandfathers double-bit ax and splitting ax from his barn. He's been gone for many years now, but I remember helping stack wood as a child while he cut and split. I'm more than willing to put the effort into this old ax.

There are several chips in the edges ranging from 1/8 to 1/4 of a inch. Is this ax savable? Does the temper typically go back far enough to remove this much metal? My plan is to remove equal amounts of metal from both edges to get the chips out and leave both edges convexed, one a bit steeper than the other. The head is 9 1/2 inches wide. I hopefully wouldn't have to remove much more than 1/4 inch from each side.

I could also just tweak the profiling a bit and sharpen and not worry too much about the chips and they would eventually sharpen out, I suppose...

Here are some pictures before and after a WD40 spray and some light sanding. Also, would it be a good idea to take the metal to a shiny finish, or just leave the patina on after removing the rust?

I'd like to clean it up regardless. I have fond memories of those times.

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id go for it brother. even if you get it all cleaned up and reprofiled and it doesnt serve as well as you would like, its good to see an old tool given life again.
 
Soak the head in mustard for a couple days. It will remove the rust and leave nice patina. I did it to a few after I wire brushed them and they clean up nice.
Sharpen it and dont worry about taking out the chips. It will work well for you.
Thats a nice looking double axe....
 
I was recommended on another forum to soak the head in vinegar to remove the rust. Same idea as the mustard, just a little less messy. I'm going to profile the size with the larger chips into a thicker splitting profile and leave the original profile on the other side after touching it up a bit. Unfortunately the handle has some cracks. It's balanced perfectly the way it is.
 
Dusty One said:
Soak the head in mustard for a couple days. It will remove the rust and leave nice patina. I did it to a few after I wire brushed them and they clean up nice.
Sharpen it and dont worry about taking out the chips. It will work well for you.
Thats a nice looking double axe....
Click to expand...

Dusty has the right formula.

i you're gonna use it by all means, sharpen it. don't fuss with the chips...

use the mustard. it will stick to the axe. i have a bottle of the yellow stuff,(kids) mustard for this purpose

oh btw, get some linseed oil on the handle, do a little light sanding first. you can use super glue to fill in any cracks, before during and after you apply the linseed oil. the glue will penetrate and seal the cracks

looks good
i have two Kelly's
good steel ,
buzz
 
You could also soak it in coke to help remove the rust. I think I would reprofile the axe. I wouldn't want a chip breaking out more. Clean it up, make it look good and use it. Pass it on. Keep a pre and post pic.
 
What will a vinegar soak do to the handle?
Should he get the BLO on the handle first to keep the vinegar out of the wood?

I like the mustard idea, get the results of vinegar but without exposing the wood to the acid.
 
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