What did you rehang today?

jblyttle · Feb 16, 2015

Agent_H said:
JB- I like that axe. It's got old charm. The handle, is it a full-sized just cut down?

Yeah me too! The handle is old, but the head is OLD, so I'm almost certain that it is an old replacement. I don't know the maker or the history of the head, and it looks like the poll was ground to fix mushrooming long ago before mushrooming again. Any maker's marks are long gone, but that's OK- this head has history. Given that, the handle and the eye wood is probably in too good a condition to be original, but like I said, I think that it is also old. I think that the handle was intended to be it's current length, as it has a swell that would not be there if cut from a longer handle. Also, it's thin just beneath the head for a control grip that you don't see on full sized handles. I think that this was a replacement handle intended for this type of axe.

This whole thing is like the ugly mutt that you just have a fondness for. I'm going to carefully grind the poll and put a nice edge on it and make it a proud tool. I probably would not take it camping as it weighs 4lbs, this would be for my firepit at home. My current camping favorite is a 19" 3lb (w/handle) Kelly Red Warrior.

Side note- after observing that Craftsman HB, it occurred to me that of all the many axes/hatchets/heads that I have found (maybe over 100 since last summer), I have never not once ever seen a Hudson Bay, unless a single Norland hatchet counts. One of the dealers that I buy from has a really nice Snow & Neally HB around 22" that he uses for camping but it isn't currently for sale. He knows that I want it and when he is ready I'll probably get it. I like buying from these guys, but that doesn't really count as "finding" anyway. I find Dayton's most, and Jersey's, Connecticuts, lots of old hand made heads but no HB's. Must be a regional thing.

grapeja · Feb 16, 2015

I just rehung this its a plumb it is anchor so its older my friend found this at his farm in the ground.

Curt Hal · Feb 16, 2015

Side note- after observing that Craftsman HB, it occurred to me that of all the many axes/hatchets/heads that I have found (maybe over 100 since last summer), I have never not once ever seen a Hudson Bay, unless a single Norland hatchet counts. One of the dealers that I buy from has a really nice Snow & Neally HB around 22" that he uses for camping but it isn't currently for sale. He knows that I want it and when he is ready I'll probably get it. I like buying from these guys, but that doesn't really count as "finding" anyway. I find Dayton's most, and Jersey's, Connecticuts, lots of old hand made heads but no HB's. Must be a regional thing.

I am a huge fan of the HB shape. I like Norlund axes a lot, but am not ready to pay the price they seem to be commanding. When this one came along, I got it. I wish I could have found a better handle for it. I wanted to use a Wetterlings, but the eye in the Craftsman was too large for the 24" handle I had.

Curt Hal · Feb 22, 2015

This is that last project. It was a great 3 1/2 lb. Plumb purchased from JB. The handle came back to life nicely thanks to some BLO and some beeswax. In retrospect, I wish I had only taken the wire brush to the head and not the sandpaper. I think it would have looked nicer had I just cleaned up the poll, shaped and sharpened the edge and left the patina on. Oh well, live and learn. It was great fun working on this one. Lovely wood and steel to work with. I was happy to have been able to re-use the old haft, but would have liked it had I been able to drop it down on the shoulder enough to have a quarter inch sticking out of the top of the eye. Really debated using a metal wedge. I prefer to leave them with just the wood, and I packed the empty spaces around the eye with additional wedge material, but in the end, I thought it would be safer to pop that metal wedge in.

Agent_H · Feb 22, 2015

Curt that is a really nice handle, I'm a Plumb fan- good looking axe.

jblyttle · Feb 22, 2015

Curt Hal said:
This is that last project. It was a great 3 1/2 lb. Plumb purchased from JB. The handle came back to life nicely thanks to some BLO and some beeswax. In retrospect, I wish I had only taken the wire brush to the head and not the sandpaper. I think it would have looked nicer had I just cleaned up the poll, shaped and sharpened the edge and left the patina on. Oh well, live and learn. It was great fun working on this one. Lovely wood and steel to work with. I was happy to have been able to re-use the old haft, but would have liked it had I been able to drop it down on the shoulder enough to have a quarter inch sticking out of the top of the eye. Really debated using a metal wedge. I prefer to leave them with just the wood, and I packed the empty spaces around the eye with additional wedge material, but in the end, I thought it would be safer to pop that metal wedge in.

That really turned out nice. As loose as the handle was I knew that it was a keeper- it just needed cleaning up and rewedging by someone who cared. I'm glad that it went to a member, as these nice old axes that just need tuning up are the nicest thing. I love seeing them come back to life.

lmalterna · Feb 22, 2015

I really like this 2 3/4lb Maine pattern TBA. It was in excellent shape but the haft was too short for my liking. So I slimmed down a grade 2 fatty and tried to straighten it out some to more closely follow the old haft & knob. Finished out at 3lbs 10oz and 30" long. Tools used- hatchet for roughing, draw knife and spoke shave, Kearney and Foot toothed half round rasp, four in hand and sandpaper. Edge needed only light filing, stoning and paper for a fresh edge. Excellent balance and feel. Does have a couple of small knots that may end up being issues but for now, I like it. A LOT of handwork and no masterpiece in the end but satisfying. I need better handtools- spoke shave is cheap and no adjustments. I also need to work on my jig for holding handles while working.
Bill

cityofthesouth · Feb 22, 2015

Good lookin in here folks. Bill, that new stick looks good. What is the other new one that is also in the pics? Looks like enough meat on that thing to get a nice shape from.

lmalterna · Feb 22, 2015

That is a twin to the one I used to make the new stick for this head. They are 2nds sold locally at one of our flea markets. I became friends with the man and get them for 3 or 4$ each. I am not sure where he gets them, maybe 1 in 4 has good enough grain and straight enough to be useful. Most have at least pin knots or small inclusions but they can be worked into good handles.

Right now I have a few pretty decent HH 32 and 30" handles to play with

Bill

daizee · Feb 22, 2015

Hey Fellas, been awhile.

I re-hung my shop-landlord's splitting maul yesterday:

Agent_H · Feb 22, 2015

Bill, I really like how you shaped the shoulders into the head. Great looking hang! :thumbup:

cityofthesouth · Feb 22, 2015

lmalterna said:
That is a twin to the one I used to make the new stick for this head. They are 2nds sold locally at one of our flea markets. I became friends with the man and get them for 3 or 4$ each. I am not sure where he gets them, maybe 1 in 4 has good enough grain and straight enough to be useful. Most have at least pin knots or small inclusions but they can be worked into good handles.

Right now I have a few pretty decent HH 32 and 30" handles to play with

Bill

Nice! Worth bugging him about where they come from, particularly since they are in something other than 36".

cityofthesouth · Feb 23, 2015

The Collins girls.

collins_trade_ct by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

collins_legitimus_ct2 by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

collins__legitimus_trade by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

valuator · Feb 23, 2015

It's nasty cold out today, so I decided to hang my old Kelly Perfect 3.2. It has been lurking around the wood shop for a few years. Got it cleaned up, sharp, and back in service.

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valuator · Feb 23, 2015

I hung this old Norlund and made a quick sheath for it too. I saved this one from an old cellar with water in it. Got to love snow days!!

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Oxbow · Feb 25, 2015

Finished hanging my ship carpenter's axe/masting axe. 21 inches long black locust with a red oak wedge.

I could only find a few images of this type of axe with handles, and they were typically very short. At least one of the images I found had a straight handle, but I'm not planning on using this on masts, or in a wooden boat. So I put a bent handle on it for hewing. I've not seen many broad axes with swells on the handles but I had plenty of wood so I put one on. I can't wait to see what it is like to hew with this axe.

grapeja · Feb 25, 2015

Oxbow said:
Finished hanging my ship carpenter's axe/masting axe. 21 inches long black locust with a red oak wedge.

I could only find a few images of this type of axe with handles, and they were typically very short. At least one of the images I found had a straight handle, but I'm not planning on using this on masts, or in a wooden boat. So I put a bent handle on it for hewing. I've not seen many broad axes with swells on the handles but I had plenty of wood so I put one on. I can't wait to see what it is like to hew with this axe.

Nice job looks great I just rehung my broad head single bevel to but its a axe.

rjdankert · Feb 25, 2015

Oxbow said:
Finished hanging my ship carpenter's axe/masting axe. . .

Great job.:thumbup:

Oxbow said:
. . . So I put a bent handle on it for hewing. I've not seen many broad axes with swells on the handles but I had plenty of wood so I put one on. I can't wait to see what it is like to hew with this axe.

Did you bend or shape the handle?

That's a swell swell. I know, very punny, but hope you take it as a compliment. Good idea, since you had the wood to work with. Give it a try, and if it doesn't work out it's simple enough to modify or remove. Hope you can update how it works out for you.

Oxbow · Feb 25, 2015

rjdankert said:
Did you bend or shape the handle?

That's a swell swell. I know, very punny, but hope you take it as a compliment. Good idea, since you had the wood to work with. Give it a try, and if it doesn't work out it's simple enough to modify or remove. Hope you can update how it works out for you.

I didn't need to do any bending, I'd say there is a bent broad axe handle in every locust tree.

The locust on my property all seem a bit snaky. Very easy to find the proper bend for this sort of thing.

300Six · Feb 25, 2015

daizee said:
Hey Fellas, been awhile.I re-hung my shop-landlord's splitting maul yesterday:

Splendid move on your part to choose to leave the haft well proud (3/8-1/2") of the head. Looks 'bush' compared to factory jobs but in reality makes as good as 'lock' as you're ever gonna get (via the wedge and the protruding uncompressed haft), and if then all else fails the wedge can be withdrawn via sawing/chipping off the haft to expose the wedge. I really like this! I've been rehanging misused/abused axes and sledges for landscape and building contractors for many decades and next one I do will be just like this. Typically by the time the 'who could give a flying F" type workers have finished with pounding in keys, staples, screws and nails and then sent it on to me cannot enable keeping the hang nor saving the haft. This way there is always a generous bit of extra purchase to allow for removal of junk and wedges, and for possible reuse of the handle.