my second axe (pic heavy)

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Peter_t

Native
Oct 13, 2007
1,353
3
East Sussex
found annother cheep axe from a car boot sale. it cost me £3 for the axe aswell as a bowsaw:D 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
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the profile is much thicker than my kent pattern axe, this will be far better for splitting wood
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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.
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thanks for looking, i will keep you posted:)
pete
 
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:rolleyes: lol so this axe project had been put aside and forgoten about until recently.

here is how it getting on now


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

Also I think neverblunts are quite good (my opinion)
 
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:o
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
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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.
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first side done:D one to go...
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the angel at its steepest, the shallowest is flush with the eye
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the finished result! well for now, i will do the secondary bevels and sharpen after i finish the handle
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i also cleaned up the poll which had some heavy burrs to remove. obviously the previous owner liked to use it as a hammer:o
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thanks
pete
 
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
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thanks
pete
 
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 :D .

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

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fitting the wedges
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the alignment and hang seem to be prety good:D
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hope you enjoyed :)
pete
 
Immensly satisfying, I would imagine.
I bet your smug-er than smuggy mc smugg the smug-est smuggle from smuggleville.
 

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