my second axe (pic heavy)

[Peter_t]

found annother cheep axe from a car boot sale. it cost me £3 for the axe aswell as a bowsaw it is another spear and jackson, i had a S&J neverblunt befor which was terrable but i think this one is much older, when they made good tools. unlike the neverblunt you can sharpen it with a file (the neverblunt was way too hard). it is 130mm long with a 75mm edge and weighs 1 1/4lbs.

heres the axe after i bought it next to a bit of ash i got from college. im sure that isnt the origenal handle

the profile is much thicker than my kent pattern axe, this will be far better for splitting wood

here it is so far, i have roughed out the basic shape. i used some oak wedges to split off a section and the axe for the rest.

thanks for looking, i will keep you posted
pete

 

[spamel]

Like the handle shape on the Kent pattern. Did you make that yourself? It's a good job if so!

 

[Peter_t]

thanks spamel heres a thread i posted a while back when i did the kent pattern if you want a look.
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38531

pete

 

[Peter_t]

ok time to re-open an old thread
since i last posted i have been very busy finishing college,work and generaly trying to sort my life out lol so this axe project had been put aside and forgoten about until recently.

here is how it getting on now

i keep hammering on the head, removing it and then shaving off excess wood. i found this to be the best way because when you hammer on the head the bottom of the eye dents the wood, showing you what to remove.

the head is a tight fit this time so im having to hammer the handle through with this wooden punch and a caveman club to take it off. i would use a hammer but im worried about missing and damaging the axe head.

thanks
pete

 

[bushwacker bob]

Looks good. The axehead looks like an Elwell.

 

[Twodogs]

Nice one ,
Twodogs

 

[Earlyturtle]

Looking good, but don't drop it on your toes!(pic 2)

 

[TJRoots]

...and a caveman club...

ah the old reliable multi purpose "ugg stick", where would we be without one?

TJ

 

[ickyan]

I love your kent pattern axe
It looks like the granford carving axe.
nice job

Also I think neverblunts are quite good (my opinion)

 

[SOAR]

Nice job there fella, nice Kent also.

 

[Peter_t]

first off thanks for the replies

Looks good. The axehead looks like an Elwell.

i have seen the same axe under the name spearwell (descendant company from Elwell and predecessor of spear and jackson) so it could well be an old elwell design.

I love your kent pattern axe
It looks like the granford carving axe.
nice job

Also I think neverblunts are quite good (my opinion)

thanks well i had a bad experience with the neverblunt i owned, well it was too hard to be sharpened with ordinary tools wasn't much use to me but maybe the quality and tempering varied over the years?


ok now for another update, i spent today working on the head.

i found this online book http://www.woodsmoke.uk.com/documents/files/woodsmanship_by_b_mason.pdf which has a good guide to sharpening these style of axes and i realised it had done it wrong
you are supposed to file the bit to a flattish convex profile with a small steeper convex secondary bevel. this allows for much deeper, efficient chopping. this also makes it less likely to glance so is safer to use.

this is how i did it before

half way there... it takes a while with all the metal to remove. luckily i got myself a b@stard file which was a great time saver compared to the smooth file i used last time.
for those who don't know im not trying to swear, files come in grades. rough, b@stard, second cut, smooth and dead smooth.

first side done one to go...

the angel at its steepest, the shallowest is flush with the eye

the finished result! well for now, i will do the secondary bevels and sharpen after i finish the handle

i also cleaned up the poll which had some heavy burrs to remove. obviously the previous owner liked to use it as a hammer

thanks
pete

 

[Peter_t]

ok for one reason or another its been put off again

now i have cleaned most of the rust off back to the remaining blackened steel. i mite take it all back to just steel and maby polish it but im undecided yet.
i have also been thinning the handle and have cut slots for the wedges.

iv been using my mora as a make shift draw knife

thanks
pete

 

[drewdunnrespect]

good on you pete keep up the good work looking good so far

 

[Tubbyfraser]

Looking good is this! I have a 1950 Gilpin axe needing some heavy restoration and a new handle - has a similiar shape to the one your currently doing. Also got an Elwell kent pattern in fairly good nick which needs a new handle and a and some work on the edge.

Really enjoyable thread and should hopefully prove a major inspiration!

Thanks .

Graeme

 

[Peter_t]

its finished! well bar a good sand down, soak in oil and sharpen

fitting the wedges

the alignment and hang seem to be prety good

hope you enjoyed
pete

 

[The Cumbrian]

Helluva nice looking axe there.

 

[launditch1]

That handle is kinda sexy!Very nice.

 

[y0dsa]

Nice work!

 

[mart]

Immensly satisfying, I would imagine.
I bet your smug-er than smuggy mc smugg the smug-est smuggle from smuggleville.