Axe...How sharp?

FTR-14c

FTR-14c

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My son just gifted me a 3.5lb axe. Its nothing special but is perfect for my needs.
My question is how sharp to make it. Its has a rather blunt convex edge on it now.
It will be mostly used for splitting not chopping,
I'm thinking of keeping the steep factory grind and putting a nice edge on it. Or does the blunt edge somehow aid in splitting.
 
No, the blunt edge doesn't aid splitting. Sharpen that puppy. But keep it convex shaped or it will stick badly.
 
Yes sir!
That is the answer I wanted to hear.
Thanks for the help.
 
To each his own I guess! My splitters are intentionally dull. You mostly avoid surprise blade nicks and chips this way and you can confidently use the implement to chop roots too.
 
For splitting dull is fine, a sharp edge makes little difference. Felling axes are different and need to be sharp for the slicing action that takes place when cutting across the wood grain during the chop.
 
This year I sharpened my True Temper, double bit axe to 320 grit on my fine India stone. It can shave arm hair even though the bevel is still steep. I noticed it splits with ease. Requiring far less muscle than in past years. DM
 
I used to use dull splitters--but no more. If you have the right profile such as a convex edge and a smooth transition to high center to prevent binding; keeping it sharp will help cut the fibers and open the crack more quickly. Learning to split with a twist is also good with an axe.
 
300Six said:
To each his own I guess! My splitters are intentionally dull. You mostly avoid surprise blade nicks and chips this way and you can confidently use the implement to chop roots too.
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Bufford said:
For splitting dull is fine, a sharp edge makes little difference. Felling axes are different and need to be sharp for the slicing action that takes place when cutting across the wood grain during the chop.
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I respectfully but strongly disagree. A splitting tool should still be sharp, as it is the edge that opens the initial split and the edge may cut any cross-split wood fibers that get in the way when splitting stringy wood. The edge need not be thin, since a splitting tool is for wedging work, but performance is definitely increased when that edge, however thick, is kept keen.
 
It's OK to develop an obsession with razor sharp edges on everything you own! Practical folks tend to outgrow this over time, but then again garden spades, cold chisels, claw hammers, butter knives, crow bars and splitting axes/mauls don't actually suffer from being kept shaving-sharp either!
 
I never said that it had to be "razor sharp" just not dull. You don't need to labor over it with Japanese water stones or anything--just a file and maybe a light tough with a whetstone will do just fine. Garden spades should be sharp. Cold chisels should be sharp. Pry bars can sometimes benefit from being sharp depending on their intended application, but more from the standpoint of having an edge thin enough to get into whatever you're trying to pry, as they're not cutting tools--they're merely beveled tools.

A sharp edge need not be "razor sharp" or be obsessed over. It just should be sharp--not blunt. :p
 
Okay, after a few well placed passes on the belt sander the edge sharpened right up. It didn't take much to get it scary.
I can now understand why these axes don't come razor sharp from the factory. There would be much blood spilled from the store shelves to their final destination.
 
FTR-14c said:
Okay, after a few well placed passes on the belt sander the edge sharpened right up. It didn't take much to get it scary.
I can now understand why these axes don't come razor sharp from the factory. There would be much blood spilled from the store shelves to their final destination.
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Yup. The cost of properly packaging a properly sharp axe is WAY above the cost of safely packaging ones with a "courtesy grind" on them and it keeps people from venting their arteries in the hardware stores. :D It's the same reason why Tramontina machetes ship with completely unground and slightly rounded points--you can pack them in relatively thin cardboard boxes that way and they won't jab through it and it still doesn't take much work for the end customer to put a fine point and sharp edge on the tip. Keeps the cost of the item down and the store displays dry. :p
 
I like my splitting axes sharp though they really don't need to be shaving sharp. I like the mauls sharp also ... From things I learned here and from personal experience with profiling mauls, I seldom need wedges any more.
 
Back in my energetic youth I proudly brought out a very sharp chopping axe for splitting some elm firewood. It sliced beautifully into the wood and got thoroughly stuck every time. Rather than get smart and switch over to a duller axe (they don't go in so far to get stuck as easily) I ultimately managed to bury the head without causing the wood to part at all. We had to use a chain saw to retrieve it. You really don't want a splitting axe that easily 'cuts' into ornery pieces of wood, you want to maximize the wedging action in order to force rounds to 'split' apart.

Is was around this same time that I used a compressor-driven concrete breaker at work. The bits for these were always blunt/dulled to the extreme so I sharpened one up with a grinder one day. I figured it would go through concrete like gangbusters as a result. Rather, the concrete didn't break away, it immediately 'swallowed' the bit and we couldn't get it out! That was the one and only time I ever tried sharpening concrete breaker bits and when I realized that there is quite a difference between 'cutting' things and 'splitting' things.
 
300Six said:
Back in my energetic youth I proudly brought out a very sharp chopping axe for splitting some elm firewood. It sliced beautifully into the wood and got thoroughly stuck every time. Rather than get smart and switch over to a duller axe (they don't go in so far to get stuck as easily) I ultimately managed to bury the head without causing the wood to part at all. We had to use a chain saw to retrieve it. You really don't want a splitting axe that easily 'cuts' into ornery pieces of wood, you want to maximize the wedging action in order to force rounds to 'split' apart.

Is was around this same time that I used a compressor-driven concrete breaker at work. The bits for these were always blunt/dulled to the extreme so I sharpened one up with a grinder one day. I figured it would go through concrete like gangbusters as a result. Rather, the concrete didn't break away, it immediately 'swallowed' the bit and we couldn't get it out! That was the one and only time I ever tried sharpening concrete breaker bits and when I realized that there is quite a difference between 'cutting' things and 'splitting' things.
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This is why I posted this thread and asked the question. I love to hear everyone's input and experience. Somewhere in the back of my mind, my reasoning told me that a blunt axe with enough force behind it may be better at separating material by brutal force if nothing else.

Honestly, I am not using this axe to heat my home. It is for occasional use on larger pieces of fatwood. Sharp or blunt, its going right through everything I will throw at it.

I am happy with my decision to sharpen the axe because I like sharp things. Armed with the information I have gathered in this thread, I will let it get dull and will be be looking for an increase or decrease in performance as the edge becomes blunt. I'll let you all know how it turns out in a few years.
 
300Six said:
Back in my energetic youth I proudly brought out a very sharp chopping axe for splitting some elm firewood. It sliced beautifully into the wood and got thoroughly stuck every time. Rather than get smart and switch over to a duller axe (they don't go in so far to get stuck as easily) I ultimately managed to bury the head without causing the wood to part at all. We had to use a chain saw to retrieve it. You really don't want a splitting axe that easily 'cuts' into ornery pieces of wood, you want to maximize the wedging action in order to force rounds to 'split' apart.

Is was around this same time that I used a compressor-driven concrete breaker at work. The bits for these were always blunt/dulled to the extreme so I sharpened one up with a grinder one day. I figured it would go through concrete like gangbusters as a result. Rather, the concrete didn't break away, it immediately 'swallowed' the bit and we couldn't get it out! That was the one and only time I ever tried sharpening concrete breaker bits and when I realized that there is quite a difference between 'cutting' things and 'splitting' things.
Click to expand...

I think you're maybe confusing sharpness and bevel angle. You still want a relatively thick geometry to a splitting tool. A blunt edge isn't going to enhance your splitting ability, but it sure will enhance your crushing ability. However, when sharpening tools that are intended to have thick edges it's fairly common for people to actually grind or sharpen them too thinly. After the edge of a splitting axe or maul enters the wood the edge itself usually isn't actually engaged in any sort of cutting action as it's the bevel behind the edge that's doing the splitting...which is why it's always funny to me when folks baton a big pile of wood with a knife and then proudly proclaim how sharp it still is. If you were batoning cross-grain then it might be more impressive because then you're cutting like a chisel, but when splitting wood the edge is only responsible for the initial cut and perhaps cutting through connective strings of wood or the very rare circumstance when you have to cut through a knot. If anything, the act of sharpening will thicken your total geometry as you work your way further back into the bit.
 
It seems that 'dull is fine' comes from splitting maul use. It's sort of true since the weight of the maul is basically punching the round of wood and forcing it apart. This requires fairly straight grain, and quite a bit of force. A sharp edge still allows you to cut into the wood and begin the split much easier. If you're chipping an edge just make it steeper.
 
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