Wetterlings axe fail....

M3mphis said:
I actually thought it was pretty dishonest the way they touted themselves as local, American-made, yada-yada. All along they were keeping it quiet that they had moved forging to China a number of years ago.
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Kind of a grey area I suppose. When I was interested In a SN HB a couple years ago I called and spoke with a sales rep. She said yes the heads were forged in China because they couldn't find someone to do it locally. Translation $$. Anyway she also said that the heads were put in ovens in Maine for some finishing treatment and the handles were installed there also. Furthermore she went on to tell me that once in a while they get a return due to soft treatment and if that should happen send it in for replacement. That was probably three or four years ago.
It is a shame that an American axe company with the history they have behind them couldn't take advantage of the current popularity with axes.
I read they made great gardening tools also.
 
upnorth said:
I thought that this would have been intuitive to anyone using an axe, experienced or not. I do my own oil changes, some bring their vehicle in to the dealer. Whatever floats yer boat.
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I do almost all maintenance and repairs on my vehicles. Good for me, but that's pretty irrelevant. The point is that I've actually seen people sand the wedges smooth and oil them up before driving them in. The result is no friction to hold in the wedge. Intuitive or not, people do it and it sometimes causes issues. I was trying to help out the OP.
 
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M3mphis said:
I do almost all maintenance and repairs on my vehicles. Good for me, but that's pretty irrelevant. The point is that I've actually seen people sand the wedges smooth and oil them up before driving them in. The result is no friction to hold in the wedge. Intuitive or not, people do it and it sometimes causes issues. I was trying to help out the OP.
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I'm not as experienced as you guys, but I'm still swearing by bottoming out with a kerf slot of 2/3rds of the axe head. Goal is though to "bottom out" 1/4 of an inch from actual bottoming out, if that makes sense.

But Fortytwo, I guess I was off. And cattledog, every S&N axe I've seen is tempered on the soft side. So easy to file ( :( ).
 
I've had several pretty expensive custom axes that had the head come loose on them so it happens. I'd make a new wedge, drive it in and then soak the head in a ziplock bag full of linseed oil for a week or so.
 
cattledog said:
When I was interested In a SN HB a couple years ago I called and spoke with a sales rep. She said yes the heads were forged in China because they couldn't find someone to do it locally. Translation $$.
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Apologies for taking this thread off topic for a moment.

I used a S&N Hudson today at work (trail crew). I chopped a half dozen 6" trees with it. It has the equivalent chopping power of a good boy's axe. The advantage of a Hudson is that you can choke up a little further for bush craft work. But after only that small amount of work I noticed that the head had slipped about 1/16". There was no wiggle in the head but you could see by the line that it had moved off of its original seating on the haft. I'm a big guy and I was giving it close to full power swings.

It's a nice little axe with a good handle and a good feel to it. But for straight up chopping I'd swap it for a good boy's axe any day.
 
I love the look of a Hudson bay axe.

I sawed the kerf a little deeper this time, and Made a wedge out of what i believe was maple? Not sure if thats a good wood, but it is all i had at the moment. Sanded up the inside of the kerf like yall said. The axe head is now sitting in a bucket of linseed oil. Im going to take it out this next saturday to see if there is any improvement.

I have heard that some people do not use wedges at all, they just carve the haft to fit in the eye, and soak it in Linseed oil for a few months, to allow the wood to swell over the top of the head. Does anyone have experience with this?
 
sisk61 said:
I love the look of a Hudson bay axe.

I sawed the kerf a little deeper this time, and Made a wedge out of what i believe was maple? Not sure if thats a good wood, but it is all i had at the moment. Sanded up the inside of the kerf like yall said. The axe head is now sitting in a bucket of linseed oil. Im going to take it out this next saturday to see if there is any improvement.

I have heard that some people do not use wedges at all, they just carve the haft to fit in the eye, and soak it in Linseed oil for a few months, to allow the wood to swell over the top of the head. Does anyone have experience with this?
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Hey Sisk61
I've been following this for awhile and I think the BLO might be the culprit here.
What I would do at this point is leave your axe outside in the sun for a few days to dry,let the blo dry it is a drying oil. Then I would fit the wedge to the eye and I would do it with glue like the craftsman said.
 
cattledog said:
Hey Sisk61
I've been following this for awhile and I think the BLO might be the culprit here.
What I would do at this point is leave your axe outside in the sun for a few days to dry,let the blo dry it is a drying oil. Then I would fit the wedge to the eye and I would do it with glue like the craftsman said.
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Well i already put a wedge in, should i dry the axe in the sun with the wedge in it? or take the wedge out and dry the handle?
 
sisk61 said:
Well i already put a wedge in, should i dry the axe in the sun with the wedge in it? or take the wedge out and dry the handle?
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I'm beginning to think that the only commandment for taking care of your own axe is "Do as thou wilt". I expect that all the advice here is good, even where it conflicts. Try what looks good and if it doesn't work for you try something else.

That said, I would suggest that you see if your linseed soak holds the wedge in before prying it out and starting over.
 
scrteened porch said:
I'm beginning to think that the only commandment for taking care of your own axe is "Do as thou wilt". I expect that all the advice here is good, even where it conflicts. Try what looks good and if it doesn't work for you try something else.

That said, I would suggest that you see if your linseed soak holds the wedge in before prying it out and starting over.
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I agree 100%
Getting a little confusing. I'm surprised your able to insert or extract the wedge at will.
If it doesn't hold then I would use the glue method. Difficult to help without being there to see it.
Good Luck and keep updating.
 
scrteened porch said:
I'm beginning to think that the only commandment for taking care of your own axe is "Do as thou wilt". I expect that all the advice here is good, even where it conflicts. Try what looks good and if it doesn't work for you try something else.

That said, I would suggest that you see if your linseed soak holds the wedge in before prying it out and starting over.
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:D:thumbup:
 
Sometimes a little coarseness, a little rust, a little grit works in your favor. They help things to stay put.
 
Yup! One of the reasons the tang on Japanese swords is never cleaned. It helps hold everything together nice and tight!
 
I'm with Cattledog. Give the BLO on the wedge time to dry while it's in the kerf slot. It will dry solid like a glue, but before then it will act like a lubricant. I let my axes set up overnight at least before use after a rehanging.
 
Well hey, I know nothing about this stuff... I know how to maintain an axe to some degree, but i wasnt prepared at all to have multiple malfunctions, so i chose to post here because i figured that i would get the right feedback and people would help me out. Im a knife guy. most of the axes i buy come from lowes... because thats all i need, but i wanted a proper sized axe for bushcraft, so i invested in the wetterlings.

I basically came here to learn. And i am. Trust me, i could probably pull out the wedge if i wanted... ive done it twice before! thats how loose it is.

Since i know basically nothing, i dont know what and what not to believe..
 
sisk61 said:
Since i know basically nothing, i dont know what and what not to believe..
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It sounds like I'm cracking wise when I say this but I mean it in seriousness--at least you KNOW that you know nothing! Nothing worse than thinking you have all the answers when in fact you're dead wrong, know what I mean? Unlearning is much more difficult than learning something in the first place. :thumbup:
 
Keep tinkering. You'll find your personal favorite way of doing things. Just make sure you don't listen to Square-peg, and you'll be fine! ;):D****

****Absolutely a joke, 100%. He's one of the few that take axes to task on a very regular basis. :thumbup:
 
Square_peg, I've heard the same from my hubby, about a boys axe being better for chopping than a Hudson Bay. He likes his Hudson Bay, but mostly uses full size axes, worn 2 out.
 
Well i was planning on letting the axe dry in the sun today, but it just rained last night, and it is incredibly humid out. Could someone tell me what to watch out for in my axe in humid conditions? I live in huntsville Alabama, and its usually 70%< from March to September.

I am very thankful for all of your help!
 
mollyhatchet said:
Square_peg, I've heard the same from my hubby, about a boys axe being better for chopping than a Hudson Bay. He likes his Hudson Bay, but mostly uses full size axes, worn 2 out.
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I find Hudson Bay patterns to be very nice for splitting kindling at the camp site. If I were looking for more of an all-'rounder I'd go with the boy's axe.
 
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