Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Restored Axes, Mallets, Etc

Yeah, copper would be cool. Competition choppers are required to pin their heads, and axes built for that purpose have pin holes. This usually occurs down south, as in AUS and NZ. I find pin holes in axes from time to time, including some their owners have bored. I'll use pins for my personal axes/hatchets. Have also installed a pin on a 2-lb sledgehammer head. One of the pics above shows a mosaic pin, which is completely for looks. It's a costume piece on a rosewood stick. Lead singer for a viking-themed rock band bought it. Fun build.

Nice work.
I am very impressed that you have resisted the urge to stripe the haft with a propane torch.

If my axe handles touch fire, it's due to a screwup that devoted them to the wood stove. Not a fan.

Nice work Talus - I dig it. I have a passion for restoring (and using) old tools, but certainly not to your talent level.

As luck would have it, a number of hand planes, braces, drawknives, and other old tools have crossed my desk. Most were restored for my own use. I have a big wooden plane with a cast iron that was made in London almost 150 years ago. Wait -- that's one I restored for a friend. I'm just 'holding' it.

Nice work!

What's the best finish for the haft/handle?

For general purpose where a slight yellow discoloration makes no dif, boiled linseed oil. I usually use a mix of linseed oil, tung oil, and General Finishes Arm-R-Seal. These finishes won't hurt the axe head a bit, and will help prevent rust.

At least 30 years ago, straight across the street from the King County Fair was a garage sale with a bunch of ironwood logs. Some were up to a foot in diameter and all were about three feet long. They were dirt cheap and I bought all of them. I only have a few left. I find lots of carved pieces of coco bola at garage sales. A while back I found a sailfish that weighed about 30 pounds, paid 10 bucks for it.

Your ability to find exotic wood in Anchorage astonishes. Regarding the sailfish, I'll give you $20 for it

I use a mix of BLO and Pine Tar

We have Northern Dave with cars, all the drooling foods down there, all the prutty riffles, and shotguns.

NOW THIS!!

Very cool. 👍

You are an artiste. I have cleaned up and rehafted [is that a word?] a few old axes and enjoy the process. I was gifted w/ a huge old broadaxe that appears to be quite old and getting ready to clean it up. It has a handle w/ the proper curves/offset that looks like a big round tree branch and is very hard. It is too thick to reduce w/ rasps and I have been thinking about a drawknife. Any guidance as to hand tools or techniques would be appreciated. We were past due for a good axe thread


mike r

Check out vintageaxeworks on Instagram. He’s the man...

Many thanks! I wouldn't invest in a drawknife for one broadax. You can thin down some slabs near the top of the haft using a handsaw, then smooth it with the rasp. Or just be patient with the rasp. There is some learning curve to drawknives, and some woods that do not drawknife well, although hickory does drawknife well. You can also use a bandsaw or table saw to thin down the top of the haft for a few inches, but this may take a jig or clamp arrangement. Care should be taken to avoid kickback if using a table saw and fence. If you have a vice, you can stand the haft up and take some meat off the top with a Sawzall. If you have a belt grinder you can clamp down the grinder upside down, turn it on, and hold the haft against it to remove some bulk. But you have to remove equal amounts on both sides, or whatever the shape of the eye requires. Broadaxes have weird eyes sometimes.

Thanks for the reply, you saved me from buying another tool that I don't have the skills, or patience, to utilize. I have a couple of jap drawsaws that I will use. You are right about the odd eye shape. I will use it as a guide as to how much material to remove. My only power tools are a drill, dremel and a palm sander. The offset of the broad axe handle is a challenge.


mike r

Godog 57, that is a great site, thanks.


mike r

Huberd's Shoe Grease for handles works better than anything else I've used.