Thanks for the information. I rather like an axe that does not require a second mortgage to purchase.
Inside the Viewfinder - My photography blog
A Proper Canoeing Axe - Gransfors Bruks, Wetterlings and Snow & Neally
(34 posts) (10 voices) Started 5 months ago by James Latest reply from jpj6780
-
Posted 2 months ago #
-
avgfan
MemberDennis -
Don't get me wrong - restoring a vintage ax or bringing a modern American ax up to snuff could cost nearly as much as a Wetterlings unless you have the tools and the skill to do it yourself. The less you have to pay for the ax the better. The problem with all vintage and current American axes is that the heads weren't thinned down by the factory but left to the user to grind the way they desired. One person may need a splitting ax, one a limbing ax etc. The same generally holds today for modern American axes. The buyer was and is expected to grind the head profile according to their needs. That was great back in the day when every community had at least one craftsman who had a water-cooled grindstone. Sadly, the axes sold in America today are made the same way but the fellow with the grindstone no longer exists.
Most old axes have been abused and aren't worth the work or expense to restore. The good ones I've gotten were essentially NOS heads that had never been mounted on a handle or were never used. Either way, they also weren't properly ground. I've had those ground, properly convexed and honed by Bark River Knife and Tool. I usually ask them to do a "speed grind". This grind is dished in the cheeks but has a wide convexed bit and throws chips like no other. They also hone the edge razor sharp. I also ask them to give the head a satin finish. This work usually runs around $40.00. If it's an old ax, I never trust the handle. It could be dry rotted in the eye and you wouldn't know it. Handles are inexpensive but getting a good one is difficult. I've ordered direct from O.P. Link. They aren't set up to do this but if you call their customer service they'll send you one. I ask for their premium "02" grade handles (American Hickory with a wax finish) that are as straight-grained as possible. I've also had Highlands Vintage Axeworks do custom octagonal handles for me but the owner Bill Coates has sadly closed the business down. He restored a 1940s or 50s vintage Collins Hudson Bay ax for me that is beautiful. If I remember correctly, it ran me $75.00.
I have a modern Counci Tool Hudson Bay ax with a 28" handle that was ground by BRKT. This ax is hard to find online. Direct from the company it runs $53.00. I found it locally for $41.00. The work on the head was $40.00. There's $81.00. Then I had to sand the handle down, refinish with raw linseed oil and seal the ends of the handle with hard oil (coachmakers varnish) to prevent checking. Still, if you haunt swap meets you can find REAL bargains - and sometimes on eBay as well though that's getting harder. A few years ago I found a historic Marble's No. 10 Camp Ax head on eBay for less than $25.00. This is my holy grail of axes. Restored, they're worth about $350.00. I had BRKT do their magic for $40.00, rehung it and finished the handle - all in all a GREAT ax for around $65.00 and some labor.
Here's a blog I posted about axe prep and care: http://www.campersindex.com/profiles/blogs/ax-prep-amp-care.
Posted 2 months ago # -
PaddledinSwamp
MemberHello James and other paddling wood chopers.
So far as I know Keen Kutter axes were not made by Keen Kutter but were made for them by the large axe mfg. of the day. Namely Plumb, and Kelly to the best of my understanding. There may have been others too.
The Knot Klipper one poster talked about was as high of quality as the rest of the axes back in the day, but true not as fancy of a name. It was made by the Mann Edge tool company. Which eventually owned the Collins axe company from 1966 until it sold out to Truper Tools in mexico a few years ago. Mann was in the axe business since at least the mid 1800's or so. They bought up other companys over the years and when the got Collins they woud have also taken the rights to Warren Axe and Tool which was then under collins. E.O. Norlund axes were also made by the Mann Edge Tool Co. so with their passing to Mexico a few years ago much of the great axe making history of the USA went south of the boarder.
So far as axe handles go I kind of like them. I do not want to put this in the wrong area of the forum (some are really picky) but I do sell a lot of them. I have an ebay store full of them at: http://www.hickoryhandlestore.com. Of course I do sell them outside of ebay but I do not have a seperate website set up at this time. I do not have any of those handles it looks like James had to use on the Kelly that you might find in lows or HD that are just shaped little boards. (which will work if can't find the real thing). All the handles you find on my site are shaped from blanks and turned on lathes.
I would love to go back in time and enter a hardware store say in 1910 and see all of the "real" axes and all the other "real" stuff.
Posted 1 month ago # -
jpj6780
MemberSo James - great pics by the way - is that the GB Small Splitting Axe in the pictures?
Although I haven't used it - in my opinion - that could make a mighty handy camp axe - or just one you keep in the shed to split kindling or smaller logs. What's your take on it? Would you recommend it? How does it do chopping (and splitting for that matter?)
Thanks,
JJ
Posted 1 week ago #
Tweet This | RSS feed for this topic