Stihl Axe?

[16gauge]

jokers,

I very much appreciate that particular long-windedness.

Thank you.

Glen

Just what I was thinking...Jokers is some kind of athlete to do this comparison is one day. Many honors jokers.

 

[Monkeyhanger]

Keep the axe in a bucket of water (or even better the spare room toilet) and the head will never fly off. Also keep that sucker really sharp...

Hello,

so after being a passive member here for a couple of years here is my first post, so don't shoot me down if you don't like it!

First thing is NEVER keep an axe head in water or even wet! That is bad...

What I do to solve the problem of the head loosening (although with a good axe this should not really happen anyway) is to treat the handle with linseed oil. When I buy an axe a first sand off all paint and/lacquer until the handle is clean and smooth. Once the handle is clean I soak it overnight (including the head where the wedge is) in thinned linseed oil. Then I clean all the oil off again and let the axe dry for a couple of days. I repeat this again with normal linseed oil twice more and again once per year. This keeps the handle tight, waterproof and elastic! Water doesn't.

The axes I use are a Ochsenkopf Europa (a small felling axe with a narrow blade) and an Ochsenkopf double bitted axe (a little thicker than the Europa). Both will push cut through hanging paper or shave hairs off my arm and the edges are convex honed and polished, that is how sharp an axe must be.

The steel is also so hard that they can be a real pain to sharpen. However I only ever need to sharpen them once or twice a year anyway. The Europa also rings a little like a bell if you tap it on the side of the blade. Very nice!

I've also got the Gransfors splitting maul/hammer and the trekking hatchet. Also both treated this way.

Hope I didn't explain thing too complicated.

Bye

 

[Rotax Robert]

Heck and all I use is radiator coolant.

 

[mktest]

Once the handle is clean I soak it overnight (including the head where the wedge is) in thinned linseed oil. Then I clean all the oil off again and let the axe dry for a couple of days. I repeat this again with normal linseed oil twice more and again once per year. This keeps the handle tight, waterproof and elastic! Water doesn't.

Yeah, we use linseed oil too, for nearly all tools, both the wooden and metal parts. We use it for most farm equipment as well, ploughs, whatever.
I also find that when working in snowy conditions, the linseed oil makes the handles less slippery than pure wood (which go wet and freeze) or pure metal.

What do you use to thin the linseed oil? I use raw linseed oil which penetrates quite well, but if I can thin it I guess it would improve.

(BTW, anyone trying linseed oil should be aware that paper, cloth, can start burning, it should not be thrown into the trashcan without being soaked in water first. You know this of course Monkeyhanger, and most others here too, but it makes good sense to warn about it. I usually burn it in a bin )

 

[John Ellison]

I like to use a PVC pipe that is capped off on the bottom to soak the handles in. Boiled linseed oil seems to dry faster than raw to me. I started out with straight boiled l. o. in the pipe and later added leftover paint thinner and some kerosene. It seems to be good for the wood especially when the handle is out in the hot sun a lot. Let it soak for a week and the wood is almost black and very springy.

mktest, does that keep outside metal from rusting?

John

 

[Monkeyhanger]

What do you use to thin the linseed oil? I use raw linseed oil which penetrates quite well, but if I can thin it I guess it would improve.

(BTW, anyone trying linseed oil should be aware that paper, cloth, can start burning, it should not be thrown into the trashcan without being soaked in water first. You know this of course Monkeyhanger, and most others here too, but it makes good sense to warn about it. I usually burn it in a bin )

Hi,

I thin the linseed oil 50/50 with turpentine substitute for the first coating. From then on I also just pure linseed oil.

You're also quite right warning about being careful with cloths soaked in linseed oil. It is as you said obvious to me but very probably not for others. So sorry everyone for not mentioning that! I use paper towels and just throw them on my fire when I'm finished.

Bye

 

[bugfart]

That was fantastic.
Thats what makes this place special.

 

[mktest]

I like to use a PVC pipe that is capped off on the bottom to soak the handles in. Boiled linseed oil seems to dry faster than raw to me. []
mktest, does that keep outside metal from rusting?
John

Linseed is good at preventing rust, yeah. It is not 100% protective, but, at least it's not dangerous to use on farm equipment. Linseed oil was a base for many old lead-oxide primers (that ARE dangerous, at least if eaten...). I use it on my tools that I keep in my car all year round, and on tools we use outdoors much.

The linseed oil doesn't really "dry" the way I understand it, it oxidises and hardens. And boiled linseed oil oxidises faster than "raw" linseed oil. It doesn't penetrate as deep into the wood though. I could imagine that the boiled linseed oil can build a thicker layer, and thus protect better on the outside, but I don't really know that much about it.

It's the oxidation that creates heat and can start fires in rags, paper, cloth.

Monkeyhanger :thanks for the tip about terpentine (or substitute), I imagined that would work but haven't tried myself. I reckon my granddad used it though, I think I remember the smell.

 

[046]

last year home depot was clearing out all fiskar axes for cheap. full sized axes for $18, wood spliting axes for $23 and hatchet for $12.

first class axes! won't see those deals again...

 

[kraknstak]

I am n all of yore nawlige. Will my walmart ax nik my shinbone?

 

[Monkeyhanger]

I am n all of yore nawlige. Will my walmart ax nik my shinbone?

Hi Kraknstak

Possibly. Hold your axe in front of you with both hands as if you want to hit a log on the ground with your arms straight, when you lower it to the ground (imagine chopping an invisible log in slow motion) it should touch the ground somewhere in front of your feet. That would be ideal if you don't use an axe often.

The longer the handle the safer an axe is. When I use my Ochsenkopf Europa I'm very, very careful. I've seen what a sharp axe can do to a foot! It wasn't a pretty sight...

Hope that helps.

Bye

 

[bugfart]

I have fun with the hand tools. I have a coal shovel and sledge with "Old Holland" branded in them. I'm going to have to make a "New Homelite" axe and maul now.

The hat? "Antique Farm Equipment" I only wear it in the shed or garage when sharpening or maybe tipping one...

The action in your hips and knees are what generates a powerful swing. You bend at the knees and pull your hips straight down maintaining arm length from your body - driving through the entire swing. You should be aiming at a spot on the ground no less than three feet from your body. I prefer my 15# maul (has an iron pipe handle) but it needs sharpenned bad.
Gonna have to look at the new stuff now.