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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 2,278
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 2,278 |
What's the best way to touch up the edge on a single bit axe? I have a bench grinder and an angle grinder but I was wondering if those might get it too hot. It's just dull. not really beat up. Thanks Doug I have ruined edges on machetes, knives, bayonets, etc. as a boy before I learned not to use bench grinders. I wish that I had my grandfather's big old foot-pumped grindstone with a can trickling water. That was slow and cool. They are out there, but cost a bit these days,
Norman Solberg International lawyer, lately for 25 years in Japan, now working on trusts in the US, the 3rd greatest tax haven. NRA Life Member for over 50 years, NRA Endowment (2014), Patron (2016).
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 10,972
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 10,972 |
I would slack belt sharpen on a 2X72 grinder but that's no help if you don't have one around. I prefer a convex grind on the edge but as long as it's sharp I can live with it.
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Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 8,263 Likes: 6
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 8,263 Likes: 6 |
Good grief...... The OP said 'grind'. Not file, not bastard, not diamond, not puck.
PUCK me, I'm the only one that answered correctly. What do I win? I got the impression he was leanin more towards the electrical plug n play remedy. If he's bustin wood off the back porch you got the cure for sure. On the side of a ridge a 1/2 mile from the truck maybe not so much.
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Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 2,357
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 2,357 |
Sanding pad of 120 grit on a 4.5" hand held grinder does a very good job.
Fück Joe byron
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 53,303
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 53,303 |
Sanding pad of 120 grit on a 4.5" hand held grinder does a very good job. This quench oftenI have to deal with Mesquite stumps, below grade, on a pretty regular basis. ......all of the traditional niceties are reserved for a Norlund I bought in Canada in 1975 (that still wears it's original handle) and a coupla' favorite hawks. ......a WORKING axe, that's used almost daily ? ....Hand grinder and a bucket of ice water,....maybe finish on the belt sander. GTC
Member, Clan of the Border Rats -- “Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.”- Mark Twain
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 918
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 918 |
Yep, got this ax back in the 70's, held up well. Changed the head once and two handles, its hung in there real well. (smartass emoticon)
No fear, no doubt, all in, balls out.
"America"
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 39,301
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 39,301 |
The first time I shot myself in the head...
Meniere's Sucks Big Time!!!
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 32,174 Likes: 4
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 32,174 Likes: 4 |
I've got to be careful with this one. I bought it at an estate sale on Old Town Alexandria Va. The lady said it was the one George Washington used to chop down his old man's cherry tree! I paid the three bucks and split! Sell you the original albino moose....
The only true cost of having a dog is its death.
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Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 3,923
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 3,923 |
After a file (Grobet are best I've found) I turn the belt on a sander inside out and put some lapping compound on it and use the slack section for a smooth nice cutting finish. Same with a Dynabrade if one is handy. Lord I am lazy.
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Joined: Sep 2012
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 18,243 |
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 24,239
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 24,239 |
Handy hint, use water not oil and your stone will be a lot easier to carry around." I carry mine slipped into an old white cotton sock.Because I like oil.
Never holler whoa or look back in a tight place
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,901 Likes: 2
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,901 Likes: 2 |
+1 for the belt sander method. Get a scarey sharp convex edge on it. Much more durable.
"...why, land is the only thing in the world worth working for, worth fighting for, worth dying for,... because it is the only thing that lasts."
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 39,301
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 39,301 |
Handy hint, use water not oil and your stone will be a lot easier to carry around." I carry mine slipped into an old white cotton sock.Because I like oil. I always used oil but decided to try water when I got a new stone for my axes from Amazon. For the difference in mess I will keep using just water on this stone. So far it is working great.
The first time I shot myself in the head...
Meniere's Sucks Big Time!!!
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,302
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,302 |
Why not a WorkSharp with the tool attachment? Work Sharp
“You never need fear a man, no matter what his size. When danger threatens, call on me, and I will equalize.” Samuel Colt.
�Common sense is genius dressed up in work clothes.� - Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 86,309 Likes: 29
Campfire Oracle
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Campfire Oracle
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 86,309 Likes: 29 |
I always used oil but decided to try water when I got a new stone for my axes from Amazon. For the difference in mess I will keep using just water on this stone. So far it is working great.
I started using water on the stone years ago. A little liquid dish soap helps to keep the stone's pores open.
If you take the time it takes, it takes less time. --Pat Parelli
American by birth; Alaskan by choice. --ironbender
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Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,466
Campfire Regular
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OP
Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,466 |
Thanks for the replies. I went the file and stone route. I got it pretty sharp. With a little more stone work it'll shave hair offa me arm! Why not a WorkSharp with the tool attachment? Work Sharp Cause I don't want to spend a buck thirty iffin I ain't gotta. And I needed it sharp yesterday!
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 16,554
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 16,554 |
The trick in all this is once you get it sharp, keep it that way. Sort of like a professional meat cutter steeling a knife all the time. Keep one of those round stones in your pocket. When you feel the edge starting to dull, spit on the stone and touch up the edge. You won't have to grind/file so often.
Dull axes are much more dangerous than you might think. My grandfather was a lumberjack and you could just about shave with his limbing axes.
The key elements in human thinking are not numbers but labels of fuzzy sets. -- L. Zadeh
Which explains a lot.
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 39,301
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 39,301 |
The first time I shot myself in the head...
Meniere's Sucks Big Time!!!
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 13,860
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 13,860 |
Why not a WorkSharp with the tool attachment? Work Sharp Works like a champ on a hatchet. Might be a tad unwieldy on a full-sized axe. Sharpens scissor/shears etc like new as well.
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