Axe restoration

[AndyJDickson]

Hi,

As a part of my spring projects I cleared out the garage and have found a wee axe. It looks in good nick although there is some slight damage to the handle it should be ok. But I was looking for some advice regarding rust and corrosion on the blade. Any tips for removing it? Or do I keep doing what I am doing ie using good old coarse paper. Hard work but making a decent dent in it. Any other handy tips would be most welcome.

Andy

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[Two Socks]

In this thread there are many answers, the most interesting one being electrolysis. There is a link to a video on how it is done in there too. Will you post the result? I really enjoy seeing tools brought back to life.

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=106217

 

[AndyJDickson]

thanks two socks. Will try the acid test... (vinegar/ coke one) and I will def send a pic of the finished article - hopefully with some better resolution than the above.

 

[Samon]

Soak the head in vinegar for a day, then wire brush it and use soapy water to clean it.

To stop the vinegar and metal solution (iron acetate) going into eye of the head/wood you can pour wax over it, or use glue to seal the wood.

Once you've done that, try some sand paper to start getting a better finish on the head, 100 grit and up will be fine, go through a feew grades and finish on about 600 for a normal finish or go higher for a more polished look.

Regarding the handle, providing it's solid and not loose or broken, give that a sand too. Something like 100 grit will be good to remove the old stain, then use oil (inseed, tung, oilive oil etc) to treat it and seal the grain from moisture.

You can also sharpen it with sand paper, however it might take too long if the edge has dents or scags in it. Use a file to remove those then go to the sand paper until it's as sharp as you want it.

That should sort it out

 

[vizsla]

I should re handle it mate from what I can tell in the pick, even when they look solid there's a good chance it's been dunked in water far too many times to cure a loose head which inevitably leads to rot where it can't be seen until its being worked hard and pops off!
beter safe than sorry