Bit of back story first - Tengu very graciously sent me an old hatchet in response to a question I posted a couple of weeks ago as a small swap. It became a bit of a project , so thought I'd let you all know how it went.
To be honest I've never done this before so when I saw the state it was in when it arrived I thought I'd got a lot of work ahead of me - however not to appear churlish I grabbed the task with both hands and set too. As it transpired my concerns were unfounded...
This is what it looked like to begin with (although looking closer I'm not entirely sure it's the same one - but it was in a similar condition)...
the axe head itself was pretty rust encrusted with some heavy rust at the shoulder part of the eye. The haft looked in pretty good nick apart from the actual wedge which had dissapeared and been replaced with two screws. The end of the haft in the axe had also split and looked as though it had been wet for a while as the grain was very loose.
Initially I tried to save the haft, but whilst unscrewing the rusting screws they both snapped off midway. Accepting the inevitable I grabbed a hacksaw and removed the good end of the haft (revealing a hairline split up the base of the haft).
I then chiselled out the remaining wood and left the axe head to steep in vinegar overnight after giving it a tertiary scrub with a wire brush. The next night I scrubbed it down with wire wool and repeated the vinegaring process several times. (turning heamatite to magnetite).
This revealed the axe's true Identity in full. It's a Brades Criterion 378 No 2 (Hunters axe according to the tinterweb)
I put a slight edge on it and removed most of the dings then went shopping for a haft.
This proved to be surprisingly difficult but eventually I tracked down one in Barnetts in york. Straight grained hickory with appropriate wedge. I whittled this down and fitted it as per the many you tube videos floating around.
Once done I finished the haft off with a Turks head knot (OK probably a safety hazzard) and I'm waiting to make an Axe guard before I sharpen it up anymore.
I've thoroughly enjoyed the project, learnt lot's of new things and ended up with a great piece of kit that I've invested my own time in.
Thank you Tengu!
To be honest I've never done this before so when I saw the state it was in when it arrived I thought I'd got a lot of work ahead of me - however not to appear churlish I grabbed the task with both hands and set too. As it transpired my concerns were unfounded...
This is what it looked like to begin with (although looking closer I'm not entirely sure it's the same one - but it was in a similar condition)...
the axe head itself was pretty rust encrusted with some heavy rust at the shoulder part of the eye. The haft looked in pretty good nick apart from the actual wedge which had dissapeared and been replaced with two screws. The end of the haft in the axe had also split and looked as though it had been wet for a while as the grain was very loose.
Initially I tried to save the haft, but whilst unscrewing the rusting screws they both snapped off midway. Accepting the inevitable I grabbed a hacksaw and removed the good end of the haft (revealing a hairline split up the base of the haft).
I then chiselled out the remaining wood and left the axe head to steep in vinegar overnight after giving it a tertiary scrub with a wire brush. The next night I scrubbed it down with wire wool and repeated the vinegaring process several times. (turning heamatite to magnetite).
This revealed the axe's true Identity in full. It's a Brades Criterion 378 No 2 (Hunters axe according to the tinterweb)
I put a slight edge on it and removed most of the dings then went shopping for a haft.
This proved to be surprisingly difficult but eventually I tracked down one in Barnetts in york. Straight grained hickory with appropriate wedge. I whittled this down and fitted it as per the many you tube videos floating around.
Once done I finished the haft off with a Turks head knot (OK probably a safety hazzard) and I'm waiting to make an Axe guard before I sharpen it up anymore.
I've thoroughly enjoyed the project, learnt lot's of new things and ended up with a great piece of kit that I've invested my own time in.
Thank you Tengu!
Last edited:
