Don't do it

Hickory n steel

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Don't Search YouTube for axe or hammer " resto " content !
It will make you cry.

I don't have as many axes or hammers as I'd like, and don't get to hang heads very often because if this I guess you could say I like to live vicariously through others and their " resto's ". The problem with YouTube is that probably 75% or more of the resto content is very cringe worthy.
The moment I see just a head and some vinegar or sanding device I turn off the video, if there's an original handle I may give it a minute in case the sanding is just for the wood.
Just as bad is when I hang in there while they do a proper job cleaning up the head , then they completely drop the ball when it comes to re-handling it.
Whether they decide to make their own handle and don't even attempt a proper traditional shape, or go with a proper shape but leave the sides flat. They may even make their handle from a 2x4.
Maybe they do make a proper handle or use a nice production handle with good grain, but when it comes time to hang it everything goes down hill.
They may hammer the head onto the haft, only put it on as far as it will go then fill the rest with epoxy, do minimal shaping then hammer the head on till its flush and just use only a steel step wedge. you name it, everything they do makes me cringe.

Maybe I'm just way too critical, but it's hard not to be when you see this stuff being posted on YouTube for others to copy.
 
Watching them use them can be just as bad. I find the two handed swings on hatchet reviews particularly appalling.
No shortage of poor content and many popular channels that I refuse to click on.
 
I watch them. There are some good ones, and you can learn from evaluating what not to do. ive picked up a few gems, had a few serious cringes and some real belly laughs!
 
Had a teacher tell us in class one time. People the MASSES are Asses. This statement has proven itself more times than not. The more I See of media, social networks and the like the less faith I have in People. Every day I get a little closer to selling everything I own and finding me a cabin in the woods, and disconnect from society.
 
I imagine, somewhere on the web, a similar discussion going on between members of some old school "straight razor only" shaving forum, horrified that some other mortals would use a Gillette and go on with their lives afterwards :). They may even decry the new hipster wave in the community polluting the once clear waters they "in the know" used to sail. Every one and then, one will swear that no modern razor comes close to grandpa's Eskilstuna-made one. There will be neverending discussions on how to properly hone one without ruining its temper; weekly debates over just how much better balanced a 50s US-made one feels, compared to the best ever Sheffield produced.

(Oh, and making fun about how those axe junkies can discuss over and over again the same boring topics regarding a sharpened piece of steel hanged at the end of a stick.)

Maybe not the best analogy, but I do find myself sometimes in your shoes and then I just smile thinking about the above.
 
yep, same here. i've been hanging axes and hatchets for a few years. did i know what i was doing when i started, ahh not really. experience taught me. yeah what i know about cleaning, sharpening and hanging heads i learned the hard way. making handles and hanging same same. i still have the first single bit axe i hung, lol its gotta lotta neck showing. i keep it to remind me.
if i'd had a video camera to record my learning curve oh man.
making handles is a lotta work. sourcing hickory trees, cutting sawing and drying the lumber ain't exactly a breeze, but doing all this gives me satisfaction. do i buy handles when i find them, yep!
i kick myself for passing up a nice single bit handle the other day.

oh well,
ps. a young friend of mine is working on a Hudson Bay pattern hatchet for his son, and he is making the handle from scratch using some of the hickory we've processed. his video will be posted sometime this summer on youtube. he knows what he is doing

buzz
 
There's nothing wrong with learning by doing, but I just wish they didn't video the horrible things they do to these axes or hammers for others to copy.
 
yep, same here. i've been hanging axes and hatchets for a few years. did i know what i was doing when i started, ahh not really. experience taught me. yeah what i know about cleaning, sharpening and hanging heads i learned the hard way. making handles and hanging same same. i still have the first single bit axe i hung, lol its gotta lotta neck showing. i keep it to remind me.
if i'd had a video camera to record my learning curve oh man.
making handles is a lotta work. sourcing hickory trees, cutting sawing and drying the lumber ain't exactly a breeze, but doing all this gives me satisfaction. do i buy handles when i find them, yep!
i kick myself for passing up a nice single bit handle the other day.

oh well,
ps. a young friend of mine is working on a Hudson Bay pattern hatchet for his son, and he is making the handle from scratch using some of the hickory we've processed. his video will be posted sometime this summer on youtube. he knows what he is doing

buzz
I'll look for it at some point, I just hope I don't have to search through bad content to find it.
 
I keep checking this forum in hopes of finding a "best practice" recommendation regarding rust removal, so called "restoration, sharpening and hanging. It is really easy to get conflicting opinions. I'm hoping there will be a clarifying post of the best methods soon.

Probably wishful thinking. but if anyone has a useful link, or a "stickie" thread as a reference that would be nice.
 
I keep checking this forum in hopes of finding a "best practice" recommendation regarding rust removal, so called "restoration, sharpening and hanging. It is really easy to get conflicting opinions. I'm hoping there will be a clarifying post of the best methods soon.

Probably wishful thinking. but if anyone has a useful link, or a "stickie" thread as a reference that would be nice.
The fastest way to remove rust and leave a nice finish on your axe is with a soft wire cup brush on an angle grinder. If you don't have an angle grinder just use plane white vinegar, its cheap.

This video is the best one out there for hanging an axe and sharpening it.
 
The fastest way to remove rust and leave a nice finish on your axe is with a soft wire cup brush on an angle grinder. If you don't have an angle grinder just use plane white vinegar, its cheap.

This video is the best one out there for hanging an axe and sharpening it.

A simple hand drill works as well. Smaller brush but still effective.
 
I keep checking this forum in hopes of finding a "best practice" recommendation regarding rust removal, so called "restoration, sharpening and hanging. It is really easy to get conflicting opinions. I'm hoping there will be a clarifying post of the best methods soon.

Probably wishful thinking. but if anyone has a useful link, or a "stickie" thread as a reference that would be nice.

I don't have a link but look up electrolysis rust removal. Simple to do with a battery charger and a few items. It does a good job.
 
Maybe just the beer and axes for me at this time - adding electricity seems like it would change my odds of survival.

A set-up description and getting the details/tips/tricks from someone who has successfully done it (maybe even does it regularly) might change my mind though.
I don't need a reason to learn something new.

As far as all the video how-to material? Eh, gives us something to talk about I guess lol. :)
 
Soaking a head in vinegar may be a simple set it and forget it rust removal method, but the head will look like crap afterwards and could eat into the Steel if left too long.
A wire wheel in a drill or bench grinder or a wire cup in an angle grinder work the best for removing rust without ruining the patina. Just make sure that you're removing the rust but the Steel you see underneath the rust is dark.
Most old axes are pitted and or have lots of character marks, and if you try to polish the head up it'll take a lot of work, you'll have to remove too much material if you want to get the dings...ect out, and most axes never came polished anyways.
If the axe has no patina it has no history and identity.
 
Maybe just the beer and axes for me at this time - adding electricity seems like it would change my odds of survival.

A set-up description and getting the details/tips/tricks from someone who has successfully done it (maybe even does it regularly) might change my mind though.
I don't need a reason to learn something new.

As far as all the video how-to material? Eh, gives us something to talk about I guess lol. :)

I've done it a couple of times... infrequently and long ago enough I don't remember the details. I just went to a bunch of sites to get the general consensus and followed directions off the net. It's well suited for things you can't use a wire wheel on like the inside of a gas tank.

I can say that you need a battery decent charger with some grunt behind it and bare steel flash rusts in a real hurry so you have to protect it PDQ. Personally I'd leave it for things you're going to coat with something like paint or phosphoric acid etch and stick with a wire wheel for axes and tools.
 
I use both an angle grinder and vinegar. If I get a really rusty head and don't want to deal with all the dust that an angle grinder will throw in the air it goes into vinegar first. Then it gets hit with the angle grinder. And it turns it dark again much like it never went into vinegar. So much for a wire cup bush preserving patina, because that's not what you are looking at after the cup brush.
For some reason this method doesn't work with the soft steel bodies of the two piece axes.
 
I use both an angle grinder and vinegar. If I get a really rusty head and don't want to deal with all the dust that an angle grinder will throw in the air it goes into vinegar first. Then it gets hit with the angle grinder. And it turns it dark again much like it never went into vinegar. So much for a wire cup bush preserving patina, because that's not what you are looking at after the cup brush.
For some reason this method doesn't work with the soft steel bodies of the two piece axes.
If you're not looking at patina after you're done with a wire wheel then you're probably using too stiff of a wire cup / wheel, going overboard with it,or using Steel when a brass one would be more appropriate.


If this isn't patina then i guess I don't know what is.
 
If you're not looking at patina after you're done with a wire wheel then you're probably using too stiff of a wire cup / wheel, going overboard with it,or using Steel when a brass one would be more appropriate.


If this isn't patina then i guess I don't know what is.
Its simply the way the brush leaves the surface. That is not what patina is.
patina

[pat-n-uh, puh-tee-nuh]
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
noun
1.
a film or incrustation, usually green, produced by oxidation on thesurface of old bronze and often esteemed as being of ornamentalvalue.
2.
a similar film or coloring appearing gradually on some othersubstance.
3.
a surface calcification of implements, usually indicating great age
 
Its simply the way the brush leaves the surface. That is not what patina is.
patina

[pat-n-uh, puh-tee-nuh]
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
noun
1.
a film or incrustation, usually green, produced by oxidation on thesurface of old bronze and often esteemed as being of ornamentalvalue.
2.
a similar film or coloring appearing gradually on some othersubstance.
3.
a surface calcification of implements, usually indicating great age
Take a carbon steel knife and cut a piece of chicken with it, it will turn blue which is known as patina.
Steel doesn't really calcify but it does patina and rust.
Patina is technically a form of rust, but it's not a corrosive red or brown rust and will actually protect the steel from said harmful rust.
When Steel changes color ( not from heat of course ) this is patina.
 
Take a carbon steel knife and cut a piece of chicken with it, it will turn blue which is known as patina.
Steel doesn't really calcify but it does patina and rust.
Patina is technically a form of rust, but it's not a corrosive red or brown rust and will actually protect the steel from said harmful rust.
When Steel changes color ( not from heat of course ) this is patina.
I would buy that.
And you can also judiciously use a wire brush, steel wool and probably other things and not remove all the patina from the surface, as you probably did on your hammer. The point I was trying to make though is that the blue or black colored surface that is left after taking a wire wheel on an angle grinder to a rusty axe head is not patina.
 
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