Axe restoration thread

[MechanicMatt]

Y’all got me wanting to load the girls up tomorrow morning and head up to deer camp to go pick up my boys ax I brought up there 23 years ago. I’ll also be grabbing my grandpa’s ax outta the house. My grandma passed last fall and my mom and aunt will be putting the house up for sale this spring. I got dibs on all my gramps tools. I’ve used that old ax a few times there. Mainly when I’d pinch my saw bucking rounds......

 

[rarefish383]

My first restoration project is on the way[emoji847]. Unmarked but for my first one....no big deal.

What ya think?
Im on my cell so it looks small, but, in pretty good shape. Just wstch you dont get carried away and pay too much for them. I just ler a beautiful Kelly perfect go for $40.it still had the origin al handle with no chips, and never had a file to it.

Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

 

[U&A]

Well,

Guess I have to be careful placing bids on things. Another is on the way[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

 

[LondonNeil]

the double bit true temper looks good. the handle on the wedge pounder...isn't. the grain runs out along its length, makes it prone to splitting.

 

[lead farmer]

the double bit true temper looks good. the handle on the wedge pounder...isn't. the grain runs out along its length, makes it prone to splitting.

Yesp

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[U&A]

the double bit true temper looks good. the handle on the wedge pounder...isn't. the grain runs out along its length, makes it prone to splitting.

Thank you sir[emoji1303][emoji1303][emoji847]

Im hear to learn. It was a cheap on so it doesn’t bother me to much.

Were can i get some education on what the grain on a good handle looks like


Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

 

[dancan]

Skilcult has a good youtube channel
Grain like yours but 90* would have been perfect .

 

[rwoods]

Thank you sir[emoji1303][emoji1303][emoji847]

Im hear to learn. It was a cheap on so it doesn’t bother me to much.

Were can i get some education on what the grain on a good handle looks like


Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

The end grain should go up and down (vertical) instead of side to side (horizontal). Almost impossible in my market to find one. 1 in 10 seem to be more vertical than horizontal; the rest are horizontal. IME the prettiest and straightest handles with tight grains are almost always horizontal like yours so the strong ones are counterintuitive from an appearance viewpoint.

Ron

 

[U&A]

The end grain should go up and down (vertical) instead of side to side (horizontal). Almost impossible in my market to find one. 1 in 10 seem to be more vertical than horizontal; the rest are horizontal. IME the prettiest and straightest handles with tight grains are almost always horizontal like yours so the strong ones are counterintuitive from an appearance viewpoint.

Ron

Very helpful sir and it makes total sense! Thank you much for the explanation. [emoji4]


Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

 

[dancan]

Good grain

Not good grain

 

[U&A]

Good grain

Not good grain

Thanks [emoji1303]


Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

 

[U&A]

So in this photo. Is this ok to have? The axe head pealing the wood away some from seating it on the handle?

Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

 

[dancan]

Yup , tight fit and the final setting of the head before the wedge .
I clean the curl up when I finish .

 

[dancan]

When it's set like that you clean with a knife or chisel, you do not want it to butt up on a 90* shoulder .
This way if the head does become loose you can work that area of the haft and then jump the head down for a rewedge .

 

[dancan]

You will see this grain alot on Euro axes and mauls , the theory is that it acts kinda like a leaf spring giving it a bit of flex .
I've busted a fair amount of handles , grain not following down the full length of the haft (Grain runout) has been the most common reason for failure .

 

[Multifaceted]

And yet another joins the fray...

 

[rwoods]

Question for the axe men - would a tight vertical grain white oak make a good handle? I know hickory and ash are typical but don’t know if the value of white oak for other purposes keeps it off the handle market or it’s “splittability”.

Ron

 

[U&A]

Question for the axe men - would a tight vertical grain white oak make a good handle? I know hickory and ash are typical but don’t know if the value of white oak for other purposes keeps it off the handle market or it’s “splittability”.

Ron

Good question.




Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

 

[dancan]

No
Oak is an open pore grain.

 

[Multifaceted]

Question for the axe men - would a tight vertical grain white oak make a good handle? I know hickory and ash are typical but don’t know if the value of white oak for other purposes keeps it off the handle market or it’s “splittability”.

Ron

With percussion handles, it's not just about strength; instead it is about the balance of both strength and elasticity. Hickory is championed due to the fact that it has excellent properties of both. Not only is it a hard, dense wood that is strong, but it is also very elastic and has a lot of give without failure. In the preferred conditions, that is... Other woods have these properties, only that Hickory has been wide exported. Spotted Gum, Red Gum, Red Elm, European Beech, and Also North American and European Common Ash (Fraxinus genus) are all great percussion handles alongside Hickory. Personally, for an axe I would not use White Oak for a handle if you actually intend to use it do to the fact that it has little flexibility compared to other woods. It will certainly be strong, but with continued abuse, as most work axes endure, I feel that it would eventually fail. Just my $0.02

Now for a light axe or hatchet, White Oak might not be a bad choice, just make sure you have good grain orientation - but most importantly - good grain runout. If it were me, I'd not use oak. Make sure the steel is properly hung being wedged on the wood without creating a 'shelf' which will become a stress point. Curling of the wood is a good sign, but no so much as to where it starts to lift the grain out.