What did you rehang today?

Here is one that I had fun putting together. Lakeside 3.5 lb’er . There is a town next to the one I grew up in that shares the same name – thought it would be worthwhile. Feels nostalgic – probably will have to hide it in the back of the stack when my brother and father are visiting.
The handle was a pig of a stick that I got at an Army surplus place in Boring. It caught my eye because the grain was really good looking. It is a 28” single bit that I whittled down into something more comfortable.
It feels pretty good in hand – haven’t tried it yet but it feels like it would split rounds and be quite manageable.
Logo-side
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Weight/Chalked
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Table dance
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Heads
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Tails
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Agent_H said:
Here is one that I had fun putting together. Lakeside 3.5 lb’er . There is a town next to the one I grew up in that shares the same name – thought it would be worthwhile. Feels nostalgic – probably will have to hide it in the back of the stack when my brother and father are visiting.
The handle was a pig of a stick that I got at an Army surplus place in Boring. It caught my eye because the grain was really good looking. It is a 28” single bit that I whittled down into something more comfortable.
It feels pretty good in hand – haven’t tried it yet but it feels like it would split rounds and be quite manageable.
Logo-side

Weight/Chalked

Table dance

Heads

Tails
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That's good stuff. I had a bench vise made by that company.
 
I like it when the head and haft contrast. Like mine I posted has the shiny head but darker haft. Or like Agent_H has a dark head, lighter haft. What preferences do y'all have?
 
_RJ_ said:
It's not 100% but close for now. Two coats of Danish Oil with a dark walnut stain. Haft is from House Handle.
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That is a nice contrast. The stain really brought the grain out. I like that Collins. There is one here w/o the 3 1/2 stamp.

Nice work!
 
Agent_H said:
....It caught my eye because the grain was really good looking. It is a 28” single bit that I whittled down into something more comfortable.
It feels pretty good in hand – haven’t tried it yet but it feels like it would split rounds and be quite manageable.
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It looks great and I bet it feels great, too. I love it when someone takes the time to make a fine haft. Kudos.
 
First of all, thank you Square_peg.
So, I posted this head under the following thread and got some really good advice/encouragement on what to do with this head as the toe was so worn.
Here is the discussion: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1248549-Damage-Assessment-Input-request
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– good discussion there on how to go about it.
Thought of writing it off but decided to give a go at a real re-profile.
This was done by hand. I have every power tool necessary but I kind of wanted to do it for the experience.
Just left it in the vice for about two weeks and would step out for 20 minutes at a time and go at it. I tend to wind up with better results if I take breaks anyways.
This is what I ended up with. The head is a no-name with bevels.
The handle is from another axe and seems to be old enough to fit the age of this one. It had some pretty bad over-strike damage and, like this head, I kept avoiding dealing with it.
Seems like a good marriage of resources. The 36" handle was slimmed down starting with the over-strike damage.
She won’t win a beauty contest but she does get a new lease on life.
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Agent_H said:
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If you want to take the time to do it, you can fill those cracks in the swell with BLO. Applied by brush with the haft in a vertical position a good quantity will get down in the cracks with each coat. 4 or 5 coats applied one coat per day would do the trick. Sand after the 2nd or 3rd coat to help fill the cracks with hickory dust. As the BLO cures it will bind it all together.
 
JB- Very satisfying indeed. Square_peg - I will give your coat/sand approach a try. Sounds like a winner. This axe is sort of growing on me - wasn't sure about how it would turn out.
 
So the add on eBay said it was a 19th Century axe. "Here is a nice 19th century axe in good original condition. The wood and steel surface have a nice dark patina from age. In total measuring 15 inches long with a 5.6 inch wide head and 3.2 inch long blade." I have some doubt, as it sold for $27, but who knows; maybe I got lucky and it really is a 19th Century axe. I wanted to preserve what I could. The head was loose. I popped the head off. The wedge was about the size and thickness of a communion wafer. I re-hafted it, lowered the shoulder to allow for the helve and wedge to protrude a bit. I sanded the handle as best I could without losing too much diameter. I cleaned off the head and sanded it up to 2000 grit. I sharpened it and cleaned up the butt. The steel was like no steel I have ever worked for. It actually rang when I was filing. The interesting part is the piece of metal that runs through the eye, down onto the haft where it is nailed. Never seen that before. I should mention it came from England. I know nothing about English axes.
 
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It looks too modern to be 19th century. I think that was ad jargon. But in any case it doesn't look bad at all for a $27 axe. I doubt you could buy a new one of the same quality for double that price.
 
Square_peg said:
It looks too modern to be 19th century. I think that was ad jargon. But in any case it doesn't look bad at all for a $27 axe. I doubt you could buy a new one of the same quality for double that price.
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That's what I think. I can't guess it's age, but it is very cool and different looking and obviously an awesome specimen for $27. And... nice job!

You guys all keep reminding me that if I have any talent at all, it is only a beginner's talent.
 
You can see where he got 19th century from though, boarding axes had langets and I the seller thought "This looks kinda like that so it works!" I see it a lot in antique stores too, something LOOKS old when in truth it's more than likely an import from the last 50-75 years. Not a bad axe, but not worth the insane price some of them ask.
 
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