Axe restoration thread

[Gumneck]

Mounted another small headed axe or hatchet or whatever you want to call it. Its 1.5 pounds and has 26 inches of handle past the bottom of the tool. For some reason these have become more useful to me with a longer handle than just a hatchet handle. I guess I'll call them an axette.
First pic shows the 1.5 pound with taped hatchet handle when I got them.

 

[Be Stihl]

Well this is gonna be my handle for a Plumb 28” jersey/rock away I bought from eBay. The original red stained handle is warped or it has a bad rehang not sure till it shows up. I’ll keep posting pics as it progresses. Wish me luck.

 

[Be Stihl]

Well it showed up with a really bad rehang, I believe it should be a permabond axe due to the paper label. I drilled the wedge and removed the head it is surprisingly in great shape. I also stripped the red stain to saturate the handle in BLO. I placed it upside down in a cup of linseed and allowed it to soak up overnight. Found a couple poplar wedges and dropped the head about 1/2”.
Here is the best I could do on the hang, hope it stays put without a metal wedge.
I spent today working the bit with a file then a stone to get a good edge.
Her she is, I’m really loving this old girl.

Many more coats of BLO and all it needs is to be is used as a wedge banger/falling/splitting axe. If the handle breaks I will do my best to recreate this one cause it feels nice. Later fellers!

 

[Howsitgoineh]

Drooling all over the photos in this forum

Is there a good place you guys would recommend buying good vintage and antique axe heads? eBay is often overpriced. I check Kijiji, marketplace, and local antique shops.
Any good suggestions?

 

[Plowmaster]

Drooling all over the photos in this forum

Is there a good place you guys would recommend buying good vintage and antique axe heads? eBay is often overpriced. I check Kijiji, marketplace, and local antique shops.
Any good suggestions?

Not sure if you have them in Canada... A friend of mine is addicted to online farm auctions. Let's me know when there is something of interest...

 

[BeatCJ]

I was wondering the same thing. I suspect the local Craigslist and FB Marketplace. Probably have to look through a lot of chaff to get a good one.

 

[Howsitgoineh]

Not sure if you have them in Canada... A friend of mine is addicted to online farm auctions. Let's me know when there is something of interest...

Yeah we do! Thanks for the tip, I haven't checked in a while. But that is one way I have collected pallet loads of tools for real cheap

 

[pioneerguy600]

Great thread guys, I see where Dan has shown off a good deal of his axes, I read the whole thread start to finish, lots of very nice axes in here. I have a few including a couple that were made in a foundry in this, province, an old factory based in Oxford N.S. in its latter years where it was all hand forged far as the history I have on it. All through my younger years working in the woods the local lads all coveted a Blenkhorn double bit ax from Oxford, the most wanted was the BC model called the Blenkhorn Chief. I got mine passed on down to me from my grandfather and I have my dad`s as well. Dad was a handle maker and I carried many a butt stem of ash out of the woods for him to make handles for all hand held tools from peavy`s to axe and hammer handles he made a good many, same as oars for row boats. Dan had pics of my axe he was thinking of posting on here but maybe he never got around to it. When the weather clears up I will take some pics and post them but my axes are not refurbished or restored just as in used condition ,handmade handles and all.

 

[H-Ranch]

Had a buddy call a shop night at his place last week. He said that he was going to hang a new handle on an old roofing hatchet head he got from his brother's in-laws estate. Well I've had one around for years with a loose head and a broken screw in it, so no better time to rehang it. It has the original handle so I wanted to keep it. I cut less than 1/2" of and I thought it turned out pretty good with a HVBW wedge. Need to finish sharpening with a stone and put it to use now.