How Do You Sharpen Your Axe?

[Pelorus]

I wrapped some inner tube rubber on my maul and then wrapped some duct tape on it. Seemed to help it last quite well.

A piece of truck radiator hose works really well too.

 

[Cobleskill]

That is a good idea. Most people don't have tubes much anymore.

Handles have got out of hand on price. I like a straight maul handle for a splitting ax. They aren't that easy to find so when I see a nice one I grab it. Might as well buy a new ax from the prices I have seen lately.

 

[woodworkingboy]

I've made a few axe and maul handles. Pretty straight forward, especially if you have an old handle to use as a pattern and to give dimensions that you like. Fitting the steel heads can be a chore, some of the old cast jobs can be rather irregular in shape. Probably not a very much enthusiastic job to do when thinking about it, but one of those things where you would be glad you did with good results.

 

[Al Smith]

I've got two good axes and one not so good .The later is just more of a general purpose camp axe and can be filed .The two former ,my fathers double bit cruiser and one over 100 years old 5 pound hand forged splitter are so hard they have to be stoned .

Now handles are a study all their own .A good hickory handle needs to have the grain aligned with the axe eye hole like aligning an ash baseball bat with the trade mark .If it's not aligned I'll gaurantee it will not last long,same with any wooden handle,sledge ,claw hammer ,maul, shovel what ever .

 

[Ax-Man]

If you have some time check out" An Axe to Grind" by the U.S. Forest Service. They have in depth articles you can read about axe sharpening and installing new handles along with different kinds of axes. If you don't like reading they also have a series of video's over at U-Tube you can watch covering the same subject along with trail work and cabin restoration. Interesting stuff if your into different kinds of axes, hatchets and mauls.

Last year I got on a kick to to fix and sharpen all the old axes and hatchets and a couple of adze we had around here just to have some sort of collection. I found the Forest Service series on ax sharpening very helpful and some what entertaining.

 

[brendonv]

Justin...

Nice axe...

Whats up with them alcoas though...

Looks like paradise in the background. Killer.

 

[squisher]

Thanks Brendon. We like it here, even if we've been living in pea soup for a couple of weeks.

Alcoas, gotta look good. Lol

 

[brendonv]

Put some shine on em!

 

[squisher]

It's pretty tough around here in January. It'll be parade ready in the spring though.

 

[Cobleskill]

Jay, Do you split handles out of wood to get straight grain?

Al, I agree with aligning with the eye. Seems like most of the manufacturers don't though. Hard to find a good one. I like nice tight growth rings too but who knows, I could be wrong.

Larry, sounds like a good read. I will be sure to check that out. Thanks.

 

[Al Smith]

You can find good handles you just might need to go through a few until you do .I think the last few I bought were Ames .Growth rings are probabley in the same count as a ball bat ,14-18 per inch .

 

[woodworkingboy]

Tom, splitting the wood for handles would be a good way, but generally I use a straight grained material and have wide enough planks, so with some searching around to find a fit, am able to saw out with the grain pretty close following the shape I want. I made this handle for my adze way back in the dark ages. Generally striking the wood askew, i find that the chamfered edges keep the tool from turning in my hand, as opposed to an overall oval shape. Made from Ash, strong but still fairly light.

 

[MasterBlaster]

That is so cool! I'd chop my foot off...