inkspot

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How do you sharpen your ax? If i use the grinder I burn the edge a file dont seem to be able to do the job. I have a old keen kutter wish it was as easy to get a edge on it as it is to get it dull
 
I start off with a grinder as in bench then go to a big wet stone I have. I have 2 double edge axes in my shop that are shape enough to use to skin a deer I know I use one that way last fall
 
The best way is with an old grindstone whether a newer motor driven one or an old pedal type. That's how I do it.
 
Well, there's as many different ways to sharpen an axe as there are people to sharpen them, but if you have an hour to spare, I'm linking a USFS documentary that's pretty good and covers lots of important axe tips beside sharpening. Personally, I take out large nicks with a file (yes, it's slow work but much safer for the axe than more aggressive methods), then work my way through 3 or 4 grits of stone and finish on a leather strop. A belt sander turned upside-down and run through several grits from 60 or so up to 320 or so then finished with a fine stone or two and stropping also works. Take out all your nicks and shape your edge with the coarsest belt you have--the coarser the abrasive the cooler it runs and the faster it will go. Either way will produce a shaving-sharp edge which, if properly beveled, won't be too fragile for a bit of rough work such as frozen wood or the occasional knot. If you go the belt sander route, keep the blade cool--dipping it freqently in water and using a lube like WD-40. A bench grinder is usually a bad idea--too easy to burn the temper out of the blade and it produces a concave edge, which is not what you want on an axe. If you were in NY I'd be happy to do it-I enjoy axe sharpening and often get "volunteered" to do it for friends.
USFS axe video
 
You can use a belt sander, a motorized wet stone, or make a grinder using a motor that turns 1750 rpms, so it doesn't burn the ax.

I turned my wet stone in to a planer blade sharpner. What you see has been improved on. It turns very slow and doesn't burn the blades.
a122106.jpg
 
No need to use a grinder.My axes are sharpened with an axe stone.Coarse grit one side, fine grit on the other.No oil, just spit on the stone.The old sand stone wheel is good but no one has one these days.
 
I still have my g-g-granddads axe that he brought west in the covered wagon. It has had 6 handles and 3 new heads...
 
Every Boy Scout knows a file is the correct tool with which to sharpen an axe, followed by a whetstone to remove the wire edge.
 
I don't know anything about using an ax as a razor, or a skinning knife, but in terms of just using it as an ax how much difference does it actually make whether it's as sharp as it's possible to get it, or less than perfectly sharp? I really don't know. I know that it makes a huge difference to use the sharpest possible chisels, block planes (when I used to use one of those), razor knife, kitchen knife, etc. But does it make so much difference to sharpen an ax using a seven step process and finishing up with a leather strop, as opposed to, say, just a careful session at a bench grinder and a final polish at a belt sander with 320 grit? Would I notice a distinct difference in performance if I was using it to chop wood or tree roots, but not using it to shave?

Stan
 
I use a flap wheel on my 4 1/2 inch grinder. A flap wheel looks like a bunch of emery cloth stacked around a circle like lunch meat on a deli plate. The flap wheels cut slower and polish more than cut. So it takes longer but it works well. Here is a picture of some axes I sharpened last month with a flap wheel.
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a122133.jpg
 
Stan: yes, you would notice a considerable difference--an axe that has been properly sharpened will need much less effort to do the same amount of work, it will re-sharpen easier, and it will be less susceptible to damage. Also, when you say "chop wood or tree roots", please note that those are typically two distinct uses for an axe. Traditionally, a double-bit axe has the two sides sharpened in two distinct fashions--one side "keen", or shaving-sharp, and the other side "stunt", or with a blunter bevel and not to the same level of sharpness. The keen side is used for felling trees or chopping clear wood, and the stunt side is used for chopping roots, limbing, occasionally splitting kindling, and other tasks where it's more susceptible to damage. Most axes today come with very poor edges, incorrectly formed bevels, second-rate steel, and in general are just not very good tools. Of course, in today's world, most work that was once done with an axe is now done with power tools, and even then the average person in an average day has little use for an axe, unlike the days when wood was the primary fuel and building material, and so the knowledge and appreciation of that knowledge has slowly dwindled. Trust me, if you have a good axe and a poor axe and spend an hour using each of them, it will become immediately apparent what the extra time spent doing the sharpening will gain you--there's no comparison between a good axe properly sharpened and a poor one poorly done, and even a poor axe can be considerably improved by properly shaping the bevel and edge to reflect the type of work you plan on doing with it.
 
Tim,

Thanks for your interesting and informative response. When you say "if you have a good axe and a poor axe and spend an hour using each of them", I guess that gets to the heart of the matter. I'm not sure I've ever spent a whole hour using an axe, and if I have, it's been more than 40 years ago. I have several axes which I'm beginning to realize fall into the category of tools which I like and respect, but actually have little or no use for. Others I own which also fall in that category include a peavey, a brush hook, several draw knives, hand planes, braces and bits, and probably a dozen or more others which I can't think of right now. All I can say is that I'll be pretty well set up for hand tools if we ever go back to pre-industrial conditions.

Thanks,

Stan
 
If you're trying to split wood, a sharp ax is the last thing you want- needs to be blunt enough not to stick in the wood. That's about all most folks use an ax for these days (even limbing is better done with a chain saw). Splitting maul is better suited to bigger and tougher splitting, but I'd still rather have a dull ax for easy-splitting wood- not so much weight to swing around.

Even better is my neighbor's wood splitter. . .
 
Agreed and understood--that's why I mentioned it. I, on the other hand, tend to use hand tools, including most of the ones you mention, quite frequently, as in many cases I prefer them to the modern equivalent. It's often quicker to grab a hand tool for a short job than round up a power tool, find gas/oil/extension cords/etc., set everything up and then take it apart and put it away afterward. Examples include a hatchet with a homemade handle and sheath that stays behind the seat of the truck and gets used frequently to brush out the rural roads and trails I travel and a bit brace with a countersinking tip that stays permanently in it and hangs on my shop wall for quick one-or-two-hole jobs. To each their own, but I find considerable enjoyment in using and maintaining older tools, and in keeping the knowledge of their use and care alive.
 
You should sharpen your axe before it gets so dull that you need a grinder, but if you use a bench grinder, keep a bucket of water close to dip the head I. You're probably using too much pressure against the grinding wheel, and that's causing the edge to burn.
 
Not mentioned is that, sooner or later a dull axe will glance off the wood instead of biting in, and probably bite your leg.

Frustration at the dull axe will make this more likely to happen.
 
(quoted from post at 20:09:10 07/16/13) I still have my g-g-granddads axe that he brought west in the covered wagon. It has had 6 handles and 3 new heads...

:lol: :lol:
 
Tim,

I thought I was old school for still using power tools with an extension cord.

I still use non-power hand tools, too, just maybe not to the extent you do. I commonly use handsaws, coping saws, keyhole saws, miter saws, etc. rather than the equivalent power tool---particularly for a small job. I've probably used a small, sharp bow saw for hundreds of jobs where another person would probably use (misguidedly, in my estimation) a chain saw. It's easy to take up a tree or ladder with me, can almost always be used with one hand, starts every time, doesn't kick back, and it's wonderfully quiet. I still nail things together when that's faster than using a nailer, and sometimes when it isn't. However, I feel that the knowledge of how to use those kinds of tools is going to die with us.

Stan
 
A flap disc is good to take off the rough stuff and shape the profile... but you're going to finish it with a file or whet stone. You just don't get a real sharp edge with a grinder.

Rod
 
TimV -USFS video is fantastic. I regularly use a couple of Fiskars but this makes me want to dig out my old Belknap/Bluegrass axes and "tune" them up some rainy day. Thanks for the link!
 
No problem--here's another similar link with much of the same material in written form rather than video. I'm always on the lookout for old axe heads to re-hang and sharpen--they make, in my estimation, wonderful gifts, and as I always pass them along with a lesson on their care and feeding to people I think will appreciate both the gift and the knowledge, I like to think I'm doing my small part to keep these traditions alive. The fact that a decent axe, properly used and cared for, can be a lifelong helper and companion, is an added bonus, as is the fact that as a rule the $2.00 axe with the old broken handle you find at a garage sale is often better raw material for a good axe than the vast majority of new ones sold today, and you can sharpen and handle it to suit your preferences and match what you plan on doing with it.
USFS axe manual
 

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