Thanks man! I like it too. Kinda looks racy if you know what I mean.
Thanks for the compliment! This axe came with this finish. I'm not actually sure how they achieved that look too be honest. It was obviously soaked but then treated with some kind of oxidizer or treatment of some kind. While I like that finish on this axe it's not my usual nor my favorite.
There's many ways to clean up an axe head. The desired outcome will dictate your method. If an axe has a good coat of rust on it I'll use a wire wheel on a drill and pretty vigorously go over every square inch. Then I rinse and apply an oil with steel wool. And lastly coat in oil and then wipe off as much as I can. Leaves a very nice and old looking patina.
If I want a cleaner look and the head isn't very rusty I'll sand it wet at the sink till I like the way it looks. Then repeat with steel wool and oil.
You'll just have to play around with it till you find what finish you like. I like doing things by hand as much as possible.
You ask good questions and i look forward to seeing all those tassies you bought cleaned up and hung!