GB Axe File / Stone and alternatives

[underground]

Evening all and a Happy Christmas! I've been a tad busy since the spring so you probably won't remeber me!

I have a numpty question, following a numpty incident with my SFA.....

I dinged it on a concrete path trying to chop wood on holiday with nothing to rest on and only my bare hands to hold the timber (I know, very stupid )... I need to take out the ding and haven't done it before, I'm pretty rubbish at sharpening though. Planning to make myself a Five Pound sharpening kit for the edge stage, but what to use to take out the ding?

It's like a small 'bend' in the fine edge, so probably needs filing or doing on a stone at first, but i can't face shelling out for a custom tool at present, as i suspect that a proprietry device will suffice. I have a two sided stone of some kind that came from a cheapo pack of throwaway wood chisels, or I can use a steel file.

Does anyone have any helpful advice, e.g. will the stone do, or what cut and whatnot of file will be the right one?

Thanks in advance folks

 

[spamel]

Without seeing the axe itself, it would be diifficult to give you an exact answer. The methods described by Mears and Kochanski is to take the axe and run the edge on the stone, following its' pre-ground curvature. Do this until the nick is taken out and you have a flush surface. This will be flat and blunt, so now you have to resharpen the axe by filing the axes' cutting edge. You could do it with a sharpening stone, but god knows how long that would take.

Use a fine double cut file, go steady and stop and check your work very often. You can take metal off, it's a bit more difficult to put it back on. Once you have the profile desired, you will need to sharpen the axe back to a keen edge, either using a sharpening stone, or wet and dry as described in the 5 quid sharpening kit thread.

Obviously, the profile of the axe when you file is where it could go wrong, so think about what you want to do before you start. Do you want a splitting or chopping profile? I am not an expert in profiling axes, so Old Jimbo is probably your man for that. I wish you luck in sorting your axe out, it can be a frustrating thing when your kit gets damaged. Whatever you do though, don't put it on a revolving grinding wheel, you will create even more problems for yourself.

And last but not least, next time use a chopping block. You've learnt that lesson the hard way, but you say you were holding the wood with your hand aswell, it could have been worse and made typing your post even harder if you had chopped a finger or two off! We all make mistakes though, that's natural, but if you learn from them, the mistake then wasn't a complete waste of time!!

Good luck!

 

[underground]

Thanks Spamel - is 'double cut' what I'd know as 'Second Cut'?

Yes, your last point is taken as a first rule normally - this was a silly thing to do, on our summer holidays (tarmac melting in Wales), been busy with work so not done any bushy things for months, and i just *had* to have a wood fire lit to keep the evening chill off, and the axe was in the car...... I was probably a little tipsy, and wearing shorts and sandals too, if you want to make things much worse....

Anyone with so little sense as I, don't do it. I was lucky to get away with a chipped edge, could have lost a digit or copious amounts of blood..

 

[British Red]

Underground,

If you have a photograph of the damage in question and can put it up here, I'd be happy to talk you through the process of re-profiling the edge with hand tools if you like. Dependant on how much edge you need to take off, I'd use a b**tard file and a finer one. A vice is helpful, as is a diamond file or DC4 type diamond stone. The different type of file and finish just cut the work down as moving between progressive grades minimise the work on the next step.

In a nut shell, wrap the poll to the eye of the axe in some scap leather and clamp the head upright in a vice. take the handle of your coarsest file in your right hand (assuming you are right handed) and take the flat tip of your file in your left hand (holding the tip between the finger tip of your middle finger and palm so your left hand is wrapped over the end of the file). Now you need to file up and over the bit. Remember an axe is generally convex ground so you must follow the roll of the grind. Push with your left hand and lift with your right so you roll the file over the grind. A slight diagonal is useful - you can then reverse the angle on the next step to remove file marks.

File both. sides of the bit evenly irrespective of where its bend over. Look at the "selecting an axe" thread and ensure you keep the bit in line with the haft.

When you are with 1mm of grinding out the ding switch to a fine metal file and file in the opposite diagonal. When the ding diasappears, switch to a diamond hone (DC4 type or diamond file) and change to a "straight down" (away from cutting edge) motion and remove all file marks and ensure the curve is spot on.

Then switch to your £5 sharpening kit (glue some mouse pad on the blocks to use it with convex grind so that you don't flatten the grind out). Work from 240 to 400 to 600.

Slice paper

If you struggle, post it to me and I'll sort it out for you mate (no charge)

Red

 

[underground]

Excellent advice Red, and many thanks for the kind offer to sort things out if I fail! I will do my best to solve it myself as i sorely need the practice... I rechecked the ding last night and the actual 'bend' is much less pronounced than I remebered, but the damage is more like several tiny notches right out of the edge near the top.... clearly the edge will need taking back to accomodate this but it sounds like the method you describe is still the right one.... must invest in a diamond stone of some kind.

I'll take a photo for clarity when I get a moment, in case that changes the prognosis

 

[British Red]

No problems mate, loads of people have given me advice!

Don't worry too much if you haven't got a diamond hone - its just that they speed up the process of removing file marks. Coarse to fine wet and dry will work just as well just take a little longer. From what you describe its probably only an hour or two of hard work to tidy it up and as you say - its good practice. I took a horrific ding out of an axe once when I encountered a nail in a log. But if Ididn't sort it was a new axe anyway so I figured I'd give it a go. My only advice is to use a good file on the early work - not having something "agressive" enough really does lengthen the job.

Red

Red

 

[Longstrider]

Hi Underground, I do remember you When I saw this thread I thought to myself "If Red can't sort it out, then probably no-one here can." Sure enough, he's here with the best advice as usual. The only things I would add to his advice are these.. If filing the file with it held upright in the vice is difficult for you, try wrapping the helve really well to protect it and clamp it so the head is horizontal. I find it easier to do this even though it does mean having to swap the thing over to change sides and to check that you are keeping the grind even on both sides of the face.
If you are loking to invest in diamond hones my advice would be to buy decent ones from the start. I use DMT diafolds for almost everything I ever want to sharpen from my largest felling axe down to little tiny whittling blades. The Extra Coarse really strips steel away and is almost as effective as B8stard file. 3/4 of an hour or less saw a complete re-profile job done on Jon Pickets axe at the BushMoot last Summer and he went away with the thing being able to shave his arm after I'd worked my way down the grits from Extra Coarse to Extra fine then finished it off with loaded strop.

It doesn't sound as if your axe is too badly damaged for it to be up and running again with an hour or two's work. Good luck with it.

 

[underground]

Hey longstrider, sent you a PM...

Here's a picture, and the damage is far more minor than it seemed when it was fresh, but still looks like it'll need a bit of work along the whole edge (sorry about the pun!)

 

[British Red]

Thats not too bad - it'll take a good couple of hours filing though. BTW - don't listen to Longstrider - he knows lots more than me

Easily fixable though. One bit of advice - don't forger to "maintain the angle". Its tempting to go the asy way and not take back the "cheek". This will lead to too obtuse an angle and poor penetration o). You will need to go back 4" from there mate

Red