What did you rehang today?

jblyttle said:
I'm playing with hatchets for carving. I am no expert, but am trying different ones until I find what suits me. This one has promise.
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Great hatchet. I'm thinking it will carve better with a little thinner bit. But give it a go and tell us what you think.
 
So my son wanted a hatchet to carry in his backpack. I ordered two hatchet heads off eBay: A Collins and one from West Germany. He chose the one from West Germany (I would have chosen the Collins, so lucky me, I get to keep that one). The West German one is really nice, but the eye is larger than the helves on most hatchet handles. I had just taken the haft off of an old Smart's axe and decided to have a go at cutting it down and reshaping it for the hatchet. It turned out not too bad. I cut it down to 14 inches. He wanted a paracord wrap on the grip portion of the handle (I'm not a huge fan of paracord on axe handles, but it was his thing), so I took the photos before I wrapped the grip.

I'm not sure what kind of wood the handle is. It comes from Ontario, so it may be oak? I don't think its hickory or ash. I'd be grateful for any opinions you might have about the wood. It stunk as I was working on it. I suspect it was soaked in creosote at some point in its life, or maybe oil. In the 4th and 5th pictures you can see what the original wood looked like.
 
The "Made in West Germany" heads are pretty decent if not a little rough looking. I've acquired 3 and have one behind the seat in my truck. I bet your son gets a lot of use from his - neat gift from a dad. I usually end up with bungee cords from mine.
 
Agent_H said:
The "Made in West Germany" heads are pretty decent if not a little rough looking. I've acquired 3 and have one behind the seat in my truck. I bet your son gets a lot of use from his - neat gift from a dad. I usually end up with bungee cords from mine.
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LOL. My father liked to give watches. You can have too many watchers; but never too many bungee cords!
 
Agent_H said:
The "Made in West Germany" heads are pretty decent if not a little rough looking. I've acquired 3 and have one behind the seat in my truck. I bet your son gets a lot of use from his - neat gift from a dad. I usually end up with bungee cords from mine.
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They are decent hatchets. Better than average steel and thin bits. Don't really have a high centerline but they do have the beveled cheeks. A unique design. I would think the bushcrafters would really like them.
 
Re-hung this Artisan double bit last week. Still need to sharpen and BLO but pretty happy with it. This was my first attempt at making my own wedge. For some reason I decided to cut it out of a cherry limb that I harvested last fall and have been drying over the winter. I've never worked with cherry before and it was a beast. I would have had an easier time cutting it out of concrete.





 
Square_peg said:
Great hatchet. I'm thinking it will carve better with a little thinner bit. But give it a go and tell us what you think.
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Yeah, sharp as heck but you are right. I found and rehung a similar head that I think will be much better for my purposes. The head looked the same size at first glance, but is less think and a full half pound lighter. It's a P.S.W and I put it on a slighter 15" handle. I like them both but I'm keeping the smaller one. The big one weighs 2.5lbs, the smaller one 1.75lbs.




 
This is a head I got a little while ago and took my time putting it together. The head weighs 3lbs 4.5oz. Put her on a 32” House Handle octagonal.
Stock table shot. Port side
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Wedge shot. I am not a fan of the hole left from turning but it was so deep that it would have ruined the handle to cut it down to where you couldn’t see it.
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Stairs. Starboard

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Spent some time reprofiling the edge. I got out back and took a couple of swings at some downed Silver Maple. I like the 32” handle length at this point.
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Handle shot.

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I feel like it turned out to be a really nice user. Not a ribbon winner but well-weighted and sharp at least.
 
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Agent_H said:
Wedge shot. I am not a fan of the hole left from turning but it was so deep that it would have ruined the handle to cut it down to where you couldn’t see it.
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I hate those holes but in the end they probably don't hurt anything other than the appearance.

Judging by how much bit is left beyond the bevels your axe doesn't look like it was used or sharpened very much. Someone mostly used it as a hammer.
 
Square_peg said:
I hate those holes but in the end they probably don't hurt anything other than the appearance.

Judging by how much bit is left beyond the bevels your axe doesn't look like it was used or sharpened very much. Someone mostly used it as a hammer.
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The upside on the holes is that they are thirsty for BLO. The toe was slightly, and I mean Slightly more worn than the toe. It looks like steeper grinding there but I did my best to only profile what needed profiling. Is that normal? From a hand grinding standpoint? You can see 3 scrapes where I worked it more shallow.

My 3lb+ sharp hammer. :)
 
I think you're better off having a little steeper profile (fatter edge) at the heel and toe of an axe. Those area see the most damage. It pays to make them a little more durable.
 
Square_peg said:
I think you're better off having a little steeper profile (fatter edge) at the heel and toe of an axe. Those area see the most damage. It pays to make them a little more durable.
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Is that kind of what you see going on with where I have it so far? More material at a slightly steeper angle on the toe to match the already more properly shaped heel?

Making them pretty is fun and definitely rewarding, being properly sharpened is what gets me to use them.

Any input there is appreciated.

The octagonal handles are my favorite recently - decent order from HH. The "crooks" were a little thin but I've seen more recent handles posted here where there is more meat. Crisp corners are impressive looking but I find myself rounding them a bit. More of an oval shape, smooth in the right places but still enough flat to feel it and orient your grip.

Square_peg - A post of yours kind of what I was looking at for hang angle and grind - that is a great axe.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1032230-Plumb-Rockaway-pattern-axe
 
I rehung these today. A plumb hatchet that I found at a second hand store in st. george, ut, a double bit sager, and a lakeside boys axe. I was especially pleased with the plumb, I couldn't even tell what it was until I removed the rust

 
Ultrahesh - those are fine looking axes! I especially like the Lakeside boy's axe (have a thing for Lakesides lol). The hangs on all three look great! Another "starboard" marked Plumb, thank you for sharing those.
 
Three fine looking axes and great hangs. I like the look of those Plumb cedar pattern hatchets. All three of those are in good shape.
 
Agent_H said:
Ultrahesh - those are fine looking axes! I especially like the Lakeside boy's axe (have a thing for Lakesides lol). The hangs on all three look great! Another "starboard" marked Plumb, thank you for sharing those.
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I like the lakeside axes too. This one is for my dad. I was going to grind the mushrooming down, but he wanted it as is. Is it unusual that the plumb is stamped on that side?
 
Kelly works true temper flint edge Pulaski
it's in very good condition and looks to have little use
still need to sharpen it and make a leather cover
what is the year of this one with the kelly works true temper stamp?





 
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