What did you rehang today?

Square_peg said:
What are the dimension on that Collins Homestead? I just noticed the poll is long like a rafting axe.
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Its 8 1/4" long 4 7/8 bit and its 4.75 lbs. I bought it because I thought it was a rafting axe, but I don't think the poll is hardened(which is what I wanted)the poll is 1 1/2" past the back of the handle
 
I hung that black Kelly Woodslasher that I posted the other day. I used a Tennessee Hickory haft which I slimmed from 1.03" to .81". I also re-cut the the fawn's foot to get rid of the flat end. I'm not usually one for paint but because this one had no patina under the old paint I repainted it with the pattern it had originally.

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Cross wedging filled the eye but caused another issue.

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The kerf I made for the cross wedge transferred down through the eye when I drove the wedge. I tested it and it's holding up fine. I'm not going to worry about it.

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I oiled up one of those Harry Epstein sheaths for it. First Huberds shoe grease then a coat of beeswax/BLO/turps mixture.

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Looks natural. Looks good and repels water.

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If it were me, I would have cursed that split up and down, but like you would have lived with it. I saw your post on buying those sheaths. I checked them out and like the prices. What was shipping like? I'll probably order a couple. They look nice and I will oil them up as well.
 
jblyttle said:
If it were me, I would have cursed that split up and down, but like you would have lived with it.
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Exactly what I did. Then I gave it a good workout to see if it would run. The axe eye seems to be containing it.

Shipping was around $8.50 for 3 sheaths. They got here quick. I was very pleased.
 
Square_peg said:
The kerf I made for the cross wedge transferred down through the eye when I drove the wedge. I tested it and it's holding up fine. I'm not going to worry about it.

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Great looking grind on the Wood Slasher. After fitting, planning the cross wedge and obvious time on the paint I would have been swearing at the split too. Bet that thing holds just fine with use though.

Thanks for the sheath shot. I recently ordered a Beaver Tooth sheath for my long time truck axe - no name cruiser with missing piece of handle swell. It's a struggle to get it closed - little short from toe to heel and my axe has wear. Now I know what to try out. The Harry Epsteins are true to size as listed?

Huberd's huh? I'll give that a try. Oh, beeswax. I can't seem to find any locally, recommendations would be appreciated.
 
Agent_H said:
The Harry Epsteins are true to size as listed?

Huberd's huh? I'll give that a try. Oh, beeswax. I can't seem to find any locally, recommendations would be appreciated.
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The sheath fits snugly with the haft extending thru the eye. I consider this a full sized boys axe since it has virtually no wear on the toe or heel.

Beeswax - I can't recall if I got mine off of ebay or Amazon. But I ordered it online. It seemed very reasonable. I ordered more than I needed at the time and should have plenty for several years.

Huberds has been my go to leather dressing for decades. I got nothing bad to say about Obenaufs. They are a little different and both excellent. Both use wax-based oils. Animal-based oils like mink oil contain fatty acids that break down the stitching in leather goods. Huberds or Obenaufs won't do that.
 
Agent_H said:
Oh, beeswax. I can't seem to find any locally, recommendations would be appreciated.
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I found some small cakes in my local ace hardware store for about $2 per cake. I think they were intended to coat screws before being driven into wood to prevent binding.
 
Dang Square_peg, add me to the list - there would have been some foul language involved in that deal. Not to rub it in, but I am kind of glad you tried it first. I have been going back and forth and back and forth on cross wedging an axe. I once made the mistake of driving a metal wedge perfectly perpendicular and I had the exact same split. I also once drove a wooden wedge clear through a hammer handle and split it out just like that. Well, these experiences made me gun-shy on the cross wedge for axes. Now your experience makes 3 and I dunno .... 3 is scary. :p

The wedges look great though. So did you do the cross wedge second?

In my brain, the theory is, an axe handle (compared to a hammer) is so much thicker in that dimension that it's harder to "bend" the wood during wedging. In fact, I'm almost inclined to do 2 cross wedges just so that there is less wood to bend. However, if you don't cut the kerf deep enough then the resistance is so high that the cross wedge might not accomplish anything. So it seems a deeper kerf is necessary and then you run the risk of a split. I dunno, it's all theory.

ETA: Or maybe a deeper kerf relieves the wood better so that it can bend without splitting? Possibly use a wedge that is shorter than the kerf on purpose?
 
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This was a case where the eye of the haft was just too short for the eye of the axe. I was pushing the boundaries a bit. I've had success on previous cross wedgings. I was just asking too much in this case. I should have stopped the cross wedge sooner and let the two main wedges fill the ends of the eye.

OTOH, the top of the eye is filled tightly now. And the haft held up to some seriously hard chopping with no additional splitting and no loosening. So while it's a disappointment visually, I believe it's still mechanically sound. Only time will tell.

I thought I should share it with you all to show that even an experienced hanger has problems sometimes. Stuff happens.
 
Agent_H said:
Great looking grind on the Wood Slasher. After fitting, planning the cross wedge and obvious time on the paint I would have been swearing at the split too. Bet that thing holds just fine with use though.

Thanks for the sheath shot. I recently ordered a Beaver Tooth sheath for my long time truck axe - no name cruiser with missing piece of handle swell. It's a struggle to get it closed - little short from toe to heel and my axe has wear. Now I know what to try out. The Harry Epsteins are true to size as listed?

Huberd's huh? I'll give that a try. Oh, beeswax. I can't seem to find any locally, recommendations would be appreciated.
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Check that auction site for beeswax. Hard pressed to find it cheaper in a retail store.
 
Square_peg said:
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Agent_H said:
Great looking grind on the Wood Slasher.
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I find there is no substitute for a hand filed grind. There is no better way to control the shape. Then finish with progressively finer stones. A good vise mounted at navel height is key. Of course the thckness of the cheeks will determine what the grind looks like in the end. It's different from axe to axe and also changes by the intended use of the axe. I'm finding half banana grinds to be most useful for me - combining good chopping with the durability needed for trail work (limbing & bucking).
 
I was messing around with a flea market find boys axe, I just didn't like the metal wedging so I re did it, and figured I would try my hand at a brass over strike shield.

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That metal wedge (and wood wedge) removal system is great. I will likely steal that idea for an old-school council axe I recently found.
 
357, it looks easy in the pictures. I don't know why it has never entered my mind to pull steel wedges like that.
Will for sure be giving that a go. Thank you for sharing that!
 
I can finally post here!! I did this by hand with no power tools because I'm poor.. this was 100% sand paper sweat blood and tears...
 
My neighbor has an angle grider... i think I'm gonna ask to borrow it..get the final shape it weighs too much right now.
 
JDeGraff89 said:
My neighbor has an angle grider... i think I'm gonna ask to borrow it..get the final shape it weighs too much right now.
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an angle grinder to work on a piece of wood? that would be a first one for me.. haha.
ask if he has a rasp instead, that would work better and with less chance of burning and ruining your wood!
 
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