Reprofiling Husqvarna Carpenter's Axe

[Imagedude]

I purchased a Husky Carpenter's axe a while back but never found it to be ideal for carving. After investing in a few good books on wood carving and reading the blogs of knowledgeable woods folk I decided to reprofile the axe giving it a steeper (longer) grind on the left side (I'm right handed) i.e. an asymetrical grind that aids the user when the axe is used almost parallel to the work piece.
I resisted the temptation to use my belt sander but didn't want to use a file because I hate the feeling of hardend steel on hardened steel. I don't have any large oilstones so that was another avenue I didn't explore. I have diamond sharpeners but I save those for Sunday best. To remove steel quickly and efficiently I glued some carborundum paper (from broken grinder belts) onto some plywood and added a couple of handles. I made one for some 3" wide course belts and another would utilise some scrap 2" belts which were much finer. Removing the metal was still hard work but abrasive paper/cloth feels so much nicer to use than a file. I got the blade so sharp that I wore Kevalr gloves when sharpening! After an hour or so of hard work I had an axe that can give very fine and smooth cuts in green sycamore. I still find the axe too heavy and I'm no lightweight but it is much improved tool for my needs.

20" inch sanding blocks

Elongating the LHS edge

Axe clamped to workbench for stability when sharpening

Tooltime...

 

[Samon]

Looks like a good job, nice one dude!

How come you didn't want to use the belt sander??

 

[Imagedude]

Because I have very little patience and would probably overheat the axe.

 

[petrochemicals]

You can use the sander or grinder for the bulk of the removal, but really the final finish of a few mm you do need to keep it cool.

Interested in different grinds, the full flat\scandi stops the blade snatching it, seems, the chisel would seem good as a spliter or carver, the asymmetrical seems like a mixture of the two. Very good keep up the good work .if you do a lot of sharpening a wet whet stone with a rig would seemlike a quick and easy option. Don't get one with a dry grinder the other end as the one stone can make the other wobble, get a dedicated one. Cheap as chips on ebay. And you'll save a fortune in new drill bits,

 

[Everything Mac]

How do you rate the axe in general Imagedude? I have always enjoyed my scandi equivalent.

Andy

 

[Imagedude]

How do you rate the axe in general Imagedude? I have always enjoyed my scandi equivalent.

Andy

The head shape is good but I find the handle is too wide making it difficult to do fine work when you are gripping the axe directly under the head. Perhaps I should try removing some wood from the front of the handle where it meets the head.