Just got my first axe

[Bisamratte]

I have just bought a cheap axe and its blunt, all the axes in the shop were blunt!

Anyway I have sharpend it enough for splitting a nice beech log (the reason I got it in the first place) but I've not been able to get it realy sharp. It has a convex grind but I think I have already spoilt that by sharpening it incorrectly. So when I have split my log Im itending on doing up the axe. I want to remove the horrid blue paint and maybe reshape the head a bit. (I have been inspired by some threads on here )

If anybody has any tips on sharpening,reshaping, or just general axe advice ...I feel out of my depth...please help :sadwavey:

 

[Ed]

or just general axe advice ...

Increase your first aid kit to deal with some major wounds and know how to use it.... axe wounds are very nasty.

Ed

 

[British Red]

Bisamrette,

A tempered axe blade is hard! To do a quality job takes a long time. Have a look here (under "an axe to grind") for good instructions

Red


http://www.sctrails.net/Trails/LIBRARY/FSPubs/fspubs.html

 

[longshot]

the best advise i can give is to take your time with axe work, both in using the axe and in sharpening it, rushing can lead to accidents and rather serious wounds. i just finished reshaping the bit on my own axe using a flat mill file take your time and enjoy the rythm of file on steel and before you know it the bit will start to take the desired shape and contours that you want.

let us know how you get on.

dean

 

[sharp88]

Yeah I'd say use a coarse file to get back the desired shape and bevel angle, and then work your way down the grades of file and take it to a whetstone.

I used played around with my dad's old axes - well not play, just use and get a feel of them, but they never really lived up to the tasks given. My dad has always been strict with safety and so forth and when I got my Gransfors axe 2 years ago, from the Weald & Down open air museum, this was especially so. The most important thing to remember is: keep you limbs out of the way of the swing of the tool: so thats hands, shins (my worse nightmare would be to split my shins with an axe), feet, etc. My dad preached it so much to keep my limbs out of the way, every time i pick up my axe, i can hear his bellowing voice in my head (hes not dead btw).

 

[MartiniDave]

A very good friend of mine just got "an axe like Dave's" (Gransfors Small Forest) as a 40th birthday pressie from his wife. Like a lot of people he is used to using very old, blunt axes, usually inherited from grandfathers, for splitting firewood - these tend to glance off your hand rather than cut the skin.
Anyway, the first time he went out to use the GB he slipped, hit his left index finger slicing it open quite nastily. Luckily for him he was in his back yard and close to help. After 4 hours at A&E he had 4 stitches, 5 sterri-strips and a bandage.

Please , please be careful and keep a decent first aid kit with you.

Dave

 

[Bisamratte]

I dont think the head of my axe is very hard

I have split a few small beech logs with it and the not very sharp edge went very,well....flat

And whats more is I managed to miss the wood completely (and the chopping block) and burried it into the ground. Dont worry, all my limbs were safely out of harms way , but the point of the story is that the top point of the edge bent on a stone - is that supposed to happen? I thought it would be more brittle?

Have I wasted my money and bought a really bad axe?

 

[laurens ch]

Sounds like the steel is on the softer side thats all ,although my gransfors bent and chipped a little when I hit a stone.When you say the edge went flat do you mean dull.

 

[Bisamratte]

Sounds like the steel is on the softer side thats all.When you say the edge went flat do you mean dull.

I think its alot more than dull, after I had sharpend it it wasn't scary hairpopping sharp but it would cut wood. So I started off with some splitting then a bit of carving but it was getting more and more difficult to cut through the wood. Then I burried it in the ground and now you can run your finger down it as though it never had an edge on it.

Andy

 

[Shinken]

to be honest i think most axes would be dull if you hit a stone in the ground. So it may not be a bad axe.

 

[Bisamratte]

to be honest i think most axes would be dull if you hit a stone in the ground. So it may not be a bad axe.

As far as Im aware it was only the top corner of the blade that hit the stone. Im going to give it another sharpen and try it on some more wood. I still dont think its capable of holding an edge. I need to know this before I start working on it because otherwise I could spend months grinding an axe thats not very good

cheers for your suggestions

Andy

 

[Shinken]

If it's not very good grinding will probably be easier.

 

[Marts]

I have a personal rule with Axe work -- If i'm carrying an axe I always have a field dressing in my pocket. No exceptions.
At the moment i'm trying to work out a way to add a pouch to the axe sheath for the dressing so they're always together.

 

[gregorach]

The ground is one of the worst things you can hit with any edged tool. At least if you hit a stone you only damage a small area of the blade, but if you bury it in the ground you've effectively hit a large number of very, very small stones all the way along the edge. Result - blunt tool.

Still, at least you have a chance to make the mistakes and develop your axe skills on a cheap axe before you buy a Gransfors.