Anyone hang and axe before?

[elky McElkerson]

Trying to give my brother a cool gift. Bought this older Swedish axe head. Now I need to enter uncharted territory.

You know that cartoon where the axe head comes off and clunks the villian, stooge, coyote.......?

Sent via Jedi mind trick.

 

[cnelk]

Whats your question Cliff?

 

[elky McElkerson]

Whats your question Cliff?

gah!! sorry. i forgot my questions.

i\'m ordering a handle. from House Handles. AA grade for sure.

how EXACT do i need to be on measuring the axe eye? (<-----edit..this might be a moot point, since all handles seem to be the same size) and how to you judge what is the best handle length? (the main question). and do i need to glue that wooden wedge in? internet is all over the place on this topic. and will i need to use that metal secondary wedge?

the axe head is marked 3 1/2 which i assume is a 3.5lb head.

 

[elkmtngear]

Here ya go, Cliff:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0aC6xOppio[/youtube]

 

[cnelk]

I\'m not sure if your axe will be used or not but I will never put a wooden handle on an axe again.
I use an axe for its intended purpose and those yellow plastic are darn near indestructible.
If the axe is gonna hang on the wall, any old hickory handle will do.

You may have to rasp the handle to get a good fit to the head with either option.
It get pretty dry here in CO and there have been times I have to soak the wooden handle of my hatchet in some water for a day or so to swell the wood.

 

[Swede]

I would never soak a handle before I put it on the head. When it dries, it will shrink and be loose. I do not do it exactly like the video, but the video is perfect. I just never bother with the glue, and sometimes hit the handle with a 2 pound hammer. I don\'t take the time to make a good wood club. If you use a steel hammer, the handle must fit very well, because it will flair your handle and you will need to reshape it. If you are not careful, and hit too much, or too hard you can more seriously damage the wood handle. If you take your axe head to Ace Hardware or other supplier, you can probably find a handle that is a close fit and then you can easily go from there.

 

[bowhunter]

I would never soak a handle before I put it on the head. When it dries, it will shrink and be loose. .

I think Brad was refering to making the handle tight again to use it. Soak it in linseed oil. It will swell it up and condition the wood all in one. I like the poly handles too. I have a good sharp double blade axe that I take with me hunting just for the problems Brad has. You never know when you might get blocked out or into your spot. I have split a lot of wood with that axe.

 

[Swede]

Terry, you are probably right. I was thinking about how to hang, or properly seat a handle in a head. Still, it has been my observation that soaking a axe handle is a temporary solution to a long term problem.

 

[elky McElkerson]

really? there is no denying the strength of man-made synthetic handles.

but i LOVE wood. i cant even get over not having a wood gun stock on my rifles. i dont own a synthetic stock. crazy i know..

but axe handles, wood all the way. i love how it \"resonates\"..i love seeing the perfect oriented wood grain. my hatchets and axe are both swedish and wood. love the rich history and the heritage behind the tools.

i\'ll get a synthetic stock before a fiberglass handle axe..i think. i dont axe that much..i bet my tools last my lifetime.

 

[elky McElkerson]

okay. sharpening the thing was fun for about 10 minutes. then, it sucked. pretty mundane.

 

[elky McElkerson]

i have NEVER taken a butter knife dull axe back to sharp. the head was so chipped i elected to lay the file on the edge flat and grind them away and put the profile back. it was so awful feeling grinding way material essentially making it dull as eff.

then i started working on the bevel. i have no clue, so i cheated and kept painting the bevel edge with a sharpie marker. i sucked, so put it away.

today, took out the files..i was doing it wrong. i was being too gentle. the files would just glide and i wouldnt get the nice \"rumbly grinding\" sound. i cannot believe how sharp it is!! i got it super sharp with the files, and took ceramic rods to it to polish. i bumped into it and almost cut myself good.

if i could do anything over again, i think i would have seated the head deeper onto the handle. i think i am a quarter inch short. sucks, but it is super strong and solid feeling. i know i can do better next time.

this is an axe gift for my brother. Vintage swedish axe by Wetterlings. i can shave my face with it. no kidding. poor trees..poor poor trees.

(i have never felt so manly...argh!)

now i need to make a sheath. more UNCHARTED territory for this city boy.

 

[cohunter14]

Looks awesome Cliff, nice job!

 

[cnelk]

Good job Cliff!
Nothing like a good file to edge up an axe.
Beautiful handle too