Recommendation? Double bit refurbishment

[scdub]

Hey Folks,

A couple of days ago I found an old Collins brand double bit head.

I’ve never owned a double bit so I’m excited to try it out.

I already got the old handle plug and the two metal wedges removed and have removed most of the rust with naval jelly and some fine steel wool. It’s just over 3 pounds with asymmetric bits, and based on some quick research it looks like this head is from the 60’s or earlier and therefore of good quality but nothing special. I plan to use it.

Here’s how it looked 5 minutes ago:





This is beside my only other full-sized axe for reference - an old Craftsman that I ALSO happened to find as just an axe head.

I’ve got a few questions that I’d like to pose here - I’m looking for both correct answers and pure opinions/speculation.

1) What’s a good source for a handle? I’ve checked a couple of local hardware stores but the 4 double-bit handles they had between them were all pretty bad re: grain orientation/runout. I’m hoping to avoid starting from scratch but not completely opposed to that either.

1.5) If I end up with a choice - how long a handle would you suggest?

2) How much should I worry about/address rust on the inside of the eye? I scrubbed much of it out with the naval jelly but haven’t started using sandpaper or anything…

3) Besides sharpening, I was planning to clean up the spine and bottom portion where the eye was scuffed when the handle was cut off with a saw sometime in the past. Is there anything else I should do before mounting the head?

4) The first pic shows the wedges that I removed. Should I just reuse them or get different/stainless ones? Should I use both of them initially or reserve one for future head tightening?

That’s what’s on my mind but there are likely other things I’m not thinking about so feel free to offer other advice that you might have.

Thanks!

 

[scdub]

Oh, also…

I was considering putting a higher convex edge on the more acute bevel using a light touch on a belt sander (I won’t let the edge get hot).

I’m thinking of taping up the head about 2” above the edge and starting the convex there (so the acute bevel would be about twice as wide as the obtuse bevel). Will that look funky or cause a problem I’m not seeing?

Edit to add: After looking more closely at the grind the above idea isn’t really an opinion anyway as there is a slight hollow in the cheeks. Also I kinda forgot how easy it is to remove axe steel with a file so no need for the grinder to thin out the blade…

 

[Square_peg]

Both good axes. Your Collins double bit was likely made by Mann Edge Tool after they bought Collins in 1966. The narrow cheeks tip you off that it is a later model. Older Collins axes have convex cheeks, sometimes referred to as a high centerline. There's no need to clean out the eye beyond removing any debris or remnants of the old handle. The double bit should be hung on a 36" handle.

As for handles, Tennessee Hickory Products has very high quality wood but their handles are overly thick and require some work to slim them to suit. They are a little hard to find but some local saw shops will carry them.

House Handle has a wide variety of decent handles for sale online. It's best to order Grade AA, handpicked with no lacquer.

Do It Best hardware stores often have some decent handles. I think they're sourced from O.P. Link, now a division of Seymour. You will need to pick through the stock but I almost always see a few good ones there.

The Craftsman is also likely made by Mann Edge Tool and of 70s or later vintage, again because of the flat cheeks. The older Craftsman axes had convex cheeks.

Both of your axes should be given convex not concave grinds. Concave grinds stick while convex bits release. You don't want your axe to get stuck with every blow. I like to sharpen before I hang an axe but I have a sturdy vise to hold the axe while I sharpen it.

Save the metal metal wedges for now. Hang the axe with just the wood wedge that comes with the handle. Leave the haft about 1/4" proud. Once wedged the protruding haft will open wider than the eye and retain the axe head. If it begins to loosen up then reset it and consider adding a metal wedge at that time. If you've done a good job of hanging it you may never need the metal wedge.

 

[catspa]

Hang the axe with just the wood wedge that comes with the handle. Leave the haft about 1/4" proud. Once wedged the protruding haft will open wider than the eye and retain the axe head. If it begins to loosen up then reset it and consider adding a metal wedge at that time. If you've done a good job of hanging it you may never need the metal wedge.

My regular practice as well, except I make the wedge from the same wood as the haft. Leaving it proud allows you to sink the winter hung wedge deeper when it dries out in the summer heat.

Parker

 

[rjdankert]

Where I live wood swells when the relative humidity increases during the warm summer months and shrinks when the relative humidity decreases during the winter months. The shrinkage during the dry winter months may cause an axe head to become loose. The head can be tightened by driving the wedge in deeper (assuming it's not bottomed out in the kerf or glued). A flush trimmed wedge will require some kind of a "drift".


Bob

 

[catspa]

Right, I should have said, if you hang it in your wet season, and it dries and shrinks in your dry season.

Warning: heresy to follow. If you are of fragile demeanor, read no further.

I tend to hang tight, like “beat it on there” tight. I don’t cut my kerf til I can seat the haft to its final position. Prior to that, while fitting, I’ll take the tool out and use it briefly, to verify that I like how it’s going on.

That said, the humidity swings here (delta H?) are such that I have a few hatchets and hammers that never got kerfed and wedged, just because they didn’t need it. It was dry when I hung them, and the humid season swelled them up a little and locked them tight.

These specimens have tended to be rather tall-eyed, not a HB or similar style, so lots of contact area. Sure surprised me to discover it, and I’ve thought about force-shrinking a haft, probably by baking, to accomplish the same result deliberately.

Parker

 

[Hickory n steel]

This is definitely a Mann era axe, probably 70's.
Did it have blue paint on it when you got it ?

This is what the Collins DB axes looked like later on in I believe the 80's (this one had the homestead silver foil sticker on it), a clearly more modern form of the Michigan pattern and from what I see in your axe they were getting much more uneven by the time mine was made.
Yours looks much more even and symmetrical than mine.

 

[EngrSorenson]

1) What’s a good source for a handle? I’ve checked a couple of local hardware stores but the 4 double-bit handles they had between them were all pretty bad re: grain orientation/runout. I’m hoping to avoid starting from scratch but not completely opposed to that either.

1.5) If I end up with a choice - how long a handle would you suggest?

2) How much should I worry about/address rust on the inside of the eye? I scrubbed much of it out with the naval jelly but haven’t started using sandpaper or anything…

3) Besides sharpening, I was planning to clean up the spine and bottom portion where the eye was scuffed when the handle was cut off with a saw sometime in the past. Is there anything else I should do before mounting the head?

4) The first pic shows the wedges that I removed. Should I just reuse them or get different/stainless ones? Should I use both of them initially or reserve one for future head tightening?

1) I recommend house handle company- spend the extra money for premium hand-picked. Be ready to slim it down with a spoke shave if you have one. I'd recommend 32-36 inches.

2) if you've spent that much time on it, just go ahead and knock as much out as you can. I'm sure it's not a big deal.

3) nope! I say hang it.

4) I wouldn't use any metal wedges. All my hafts have lasted years without them, and if they come loose I can snug them back up (and one has never come loose). A single wooden wedge is all that's required!

Great work- pleased to see someone putting the time in on this time-honored tool.

 

[scdub]

This is definitely a Mann era axe, probably 70's.
Did it have blue paint on it when you got it ?

Nice - thanks.

Yeah mine looks very similar to yours but no blue paint that I could see (but it could have just worn away with use).

 

[Hickory n steel]

Here's a couple of pre METCO Collins homesteads in contrast to that late post METCO Collins homestead I just posted.

This one I believe to be a very late Collins pre METCO ( mann edge tool co )
Because it does have convex cheeks but not much and the cheeks are on the flatter side.



This one I believe is earlier because it has convex cheeks with a much higher center line, and it has a weight stamp unlike my SB.
No clue how much earlier but certainly earlier.





This one clearly was yellow at some point, whether that was original I don't know.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Nice - thanks.

Yeah mine looks very similar to yours but no blue paint that I could see (but it could have just worn away with use).

I'm guessing it wasn't painted, there would have also been a label on it and with this little wear you would definitely have seen some evidence of both.

 

[Hickory n steel]

This is the only picture I have left of the axe with the label still on it.

I don't think even took any other pictures of it when I brought the haul home .

 

[Hickory n steel]

I originally thought this Homedtead swamper ( just rehung it ) was pre a METCO Collins, but I just found a picture online of one with a Lewiston Pa addressed Collins sticker. ( Collins, not Homestead, no red C )

So now I know it's definately a METCO Collins, but I'm thinking late 60's from just after they took over.
I would guess based on the stamp on my Homestead Michigan SB being the same that it is also probably from the same timeframe, however I have yet to see an example of one with a Lewiston Pa Collins sticker on it.

I'm betting your Michigan DB is mid to late 70's and my Michigan DB is probably late 70' to mid 80's.
My Michigan SB and this Swamping pattern probably mid -late 60's just after the takeover or shutdown of the Collins factory.

It's kind of funny that the METCO examples started with a Homestead stamp and Collins sticker, then ended with a Collins stamp and Homestead sticker.

 

[scdub]

I’ve been tinkering with/sharpening the axe head here and there, and gave it a nice vinegar bath, and today I had a block of time to go ahead and hang it.

Using some of the advice above, (and thanks to everyone that had suggestions - very much appreciated!), I didn’t use glue or metal wedges and left the wooden wedge proud of the top of the handle.

I did some YouTube research as well. While most people seemed to hang their axes “dry” and then apply linseed oil to the rest of the handle after the head was attached, one guy referenced the idea of oiling the top of the handle and wedge while hanging. That’s what I did but using 1:1 Tung oil and orange solvent, because I figured it would provide more waterproofing and act somewhat as glue and to swell the wood after installation.

Overall everything went pretty well but it took quite awhile to rasp the handle to fit the head.

Also, while I did thin and chamfer the wedge, I didn’t thin it enough so it didn’t seat as far as I wanted. I still have to trim it a bit.

Everything is quite tight and there’s good contact overall so I think I’m good to go. Will post a few more pics after I get some use with it.

Thanks again guys!!

 

[Square_peg]

That's a great hang! Really well done.

And I like your home made mallet or maul. I have very similar. Nice thing is that when you finally break it it's easy to replace. I learned that gradually tapering the head into the handle makes a stronger maul. An abrupt transition is a weak spot.

 

[catspa]

Agreed, good work except that it looks too clean. Take that thing out and get some pitch on it.

Parker

 

[scdub]

Made a quick blade guard today with kydex and shock cord so I could carry it safely, and added a wrap to protect against over strikes:

 

[scdub]

Then I took it out on the trail to find some trees. Works great.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[EngrSorenson]

Great job- I applaud you for resisting the urge to use glue or metal wedges. I like the simple kydex masks.

 

[scdub]

Great job- I applaud you for resisting the urge to use glue or metal wedges. I like the simple kydex masks.

Thanks!

The head is still tight after the first workout.

The handle finish still needs work - I failed to scrape enough to completely remove the varnish so the handle was a bit sticky after some use/sweat. I’ll probably thin the handle a bit too.

As a bonus, I found a short section of fire-road (pictured above) that has many hours of work waiting for me.

I resist chainsaws whenever possible so I can work solo and slowly (and with a phone, radio, quick-clot and tourniquet on my body).

Chopping wood, by myself, in the forest, is the best.