Sam Cade
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http://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=6541
1055 is a simple carbon steel well suited for tools where toughness is the primary concern.
Estwing Hatchet Help
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http://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=6541
1055 is a simple carbon steel well suited for tools where toughness is the primary concern.
Sam Cade
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dagger dog
Member
I noticed the rostfrie on the blade , I would bet they use a lot of carbon, as they seem to hold an edge and easy to maintain.
Thanks
Thanks
Not too many have a foot powered grindstones to sharpen things with. I keep stumbling over some now and again, they are always cracked from being stored outdoors in the winter. Water drains down the stone to drip off the bottom, freezes, and a crack shows up. At that point they pretty quickly become a yard ornament.
The electric powered grinder that seems to be common these days is a 6 or 8" with a very rough stones - a grinder, not a sharpener. Big difference. That small diameter stone is ok for lawn mowers, it won't hollow grind the edge too shallow as it's thin in profile anyway. On a axe, hatchet or hawk, the working edge extends back three or four inches. No small stone can cover it all in one pass working the thickness down to the edge.
A belt sander will do better, but it flat grinds. You won't get a convex edge. The convex shape supports the edge with more material, and has an outward curve that reduces surface friction during the cut. It also accelerates the splitting action, which is something needed when chopping end grain. The better chopping blocks are end grain laid up for a cutting surface, as it's more abrasion resistant. Getting an accelerative wedging action with an axe or maul helps.
I'd say the introduction of the electric powered grinder is why axe and hatchet sales remain as high as they do. The filed or stoned axe lasted decades, which is why we still see so many available in second hand tool sales. Start looking for them made in the '60s on, many are short bitted and nearly ruined - all because of the electric grinder.
Don't take my word for it, the axe makers need your business.
The electric powered grinder that seems to be common these days is a 6 or 8" with a very rough stones - a grinder, not a sharpener. Big difference. That small diameter stone is ok for lawn mowers, it won't hollow grind the edge too shallow as it's thin in profile anyway. On a axe, hatchet or hawk, the working edge extends back three or four inches. No small stone can cover it all in one pass working the thickness down to the edge.
A belt sander will do better, but it flat grinds. You won't get a convex edge. The convex shape supports the edge with more material, and has an outward curve that reduces surface friction during the cut. It also accelerates the splitting action, which is something needed when chopping end grain. The better chopping blocks are end grain laid up for a cutting surface, as it's more abrasion resistant. Getting an accelerative wedging action with an axe or maul helps.
I'd say the introduction of the electric powered grinder is why axe and hatchet sales remain as high as they do. The filed or stoned axe lasted decades, which is why we still see so many available in second hand tool sales. Start looking for them made in the '60s on, many are short bitted and nearly ruined - all because of the electric grinder.
Don't take my word for it, the axe makers need your business.
Sam Cade
Member
Unless you use a platen, belt grinder/sanders give a convex edge.
The precise shape of the convex is determined by pressure, belt weight and belt tension.
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dagger dog
Member
Eastwing
As you can tell the Eastwing has had it's share of use, but you can shave with it, it's spooky sharp, the blade is a little thin and it slips through hard or soft wood limbs like it's greased.
The other Hudsons Bay is a polished Snow and Nealy , it is kept waxed, it will blow chips like a chain saw.
The rectangular stone is a Norton, I think the round palm stone is too, both of them are 2 sided fine-course.
The files do the majority of the primary sharpening then the final working edge is defined with the bench stone and the round one rides in the hip pocket when afield.
As you can tell the Eastwing has had it's share of use, but you can shave with it, it's spooky sharp, the blade is a little thin and it slips through hard or soft wood limbs like it's greased.
The other Hudsons Bay is a polished Snow and Nealy , it is kept waxed, it will blow chips like a chain saw.
The rectangular stone is a Norton, I think the round palm stone is too, both of them are 2 sided fine-course.
The files do the majority of the primary sharpening then the final working edge is defined with the bench stone and the round one rides in the hip pocket when afield.
Sam Cade
Member
If anyone is interested, here is a quick 5 min video on how estwing axes are made.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XmTY6-uL58Y
Also if anyone has an estwing with a blown out handle I'd love to fix one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XmTY6-uL58Y
Also if anyone has an estwing with a blown out handle I'd love to fix one.
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
Now that's cool, I don't care who ya are!!
Everyone keeps on about Estwing, and I'm gonna have to end up buying one.
All I need one for is to look at though!
But I was pretty impressed with the ones I looked at at Home Depot months ago!!
What I really really need & might use someday is an adz though.
And they don't make them.
rc
Everyone keeps on about Estwing, and I'm gonna have to end up buying one.
All I need one for is to look at though!
But I was pretty impressed with the ones I looked at at Home Depot months ago!!
What I really really need & might use someday is an adz though.
And they don't make them.
rc
Sam Cade
Member
Go big or go home
I've rehung and refurbed it, but I have no idea what I am going to do with the thing.
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rcmodel
Member in memoriam
Dang guy, that's what I have been haunting the junk shops looking for now for several years.
I have some pesky tree roots left over from some ill-advised hedge plantings along the back fence 40 years ago.
Hell on lawn mower blades, and hell on saws-all blades while trying to saw them out underground.
And they show no signs of ever rotting away in my lifetime.
I long thought an Adz would take them out in one fell swoop.
If I still have enough energy left to swoop with one?
rc
I have some pesky tree roots left over from some ill-advised hedge plantings along the back fence 40 years ago.
Hell on lawn mower blades, and hell on saws-all blades while trying to saw them out underground.
And they show no signs of ever rotting away in my lifetime.
I long thought an Adz would take them out in one fell swoop.
If I still have enough energy left to swoop with one?
rc
Ohen Cepel
Member
You could likely fix the edge with a file. That is the way I would do it, slow and easy, sharp file will do it in no time and you won't need the extras.
However, if you want a reason to buy a belt sander and grinder you have one now. Even then, I would use the file.
However, if you want a reason to buy a belt sander and grinder you have one now. Even then, I would use the file.
Uh-oh, philosophy!
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
Even worse.
Old, rusty, beat to death, peened over steel handle wedges!!
They probably are not even up to todays low-grade steel standards for handle wedges I betcha!
The Horror!! Oh The Horror!
rc
Old, rusty, beat to death, peened over steel handle wedges!!
They probably are not even up to todays low-grade steel standards for handle wedges I betcha!
The Horror!! Oh The Horror!
rc
dagger dog
Member
Sam,
nice video ! I sure like the leather but I bought the blue plastic handle, it was 20 bucks cheaper !
rc,
What you need is a mattock, but if your like me you would have to hire some young buck to swing it !
nice video ! I sure like the leather but I bought the blue plastic handle, it was 20 bucks cheaper !
rc,
What you need is a mattock, but if your like me you would have to hire some young buck to swing it !
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
A Mattock is like a huge pick-ax, with the cutting edge mounted sideways.
Kinda like the adz in the photo Sam Cade posted in post #34, except with a pick on the other end of the head.
Most excellent for cutting through roots and digging up rocks underground.
Mattock:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattock
A digging & cutting tool.
Adz:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/6883/adz
A wood workers tool.
They were first used century's ago by ship-builders and such for smoothing logs into planks & timbers rather then digging.
rc
Kinda like the adz in the photo Sam Cade posted in post #34, except with a pick on the other end of the head.
Most excellent for cutting through roots and digging up rocks underground.
Mattock:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattock
A digging & cutting tool.
Adz:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/6883/adz
A wood workers tool.
They were first used century's ago by ship-builders and such for smoothing logs into planks & timbers rather then digging.
rc
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I have a new Collins pick mattock, it's great for the typically useless substance Ozarkers are fond of calling dirt. My little piece of it is about 50% rock once it have struggled down thru it to clay.
There's a reason the Army Engineer School is in the Missouri Ozarks, and the Infantry School is in sandy old Georgia. Engineers have heavy equipment and explosives, soldiers only have an entrenching tool, there's only so many hours in the day to teach something.
Thanks for the pic of the belt sander, yes, without the platen, it gets a convex edge nicely. They are rare in tool shops, however, most people seeing a belt sander have an electric powered hand tool in mind. I have a Bosch, runs great, I never sharpen anything on it. Upside down on a bench covered with tool drawer liner, it doesn't move around, but I have never figured out how to get the platen off it. Don't expect to, either.
Suggesting an expensive knifemakers shop grinder for the average guy is a bit pointless when most don't want to pony up the dollars for one. Harbor Freight's are $40 to 70, a Burr King $2,000. A good file is $10 and you can take it with you. Like filing a chain saw, you can stay ahead of it on your break. It's a bit harder to run a belt sander out in a woodlot, and I don't see the cost being a minimum 2X the tool as a positive. If you already have one, use it all you want.
Again, the axe makers need our support. Grind away.
There's a reason the Army Engineer School is in the Missouri Ozarks, and the Infantry School is in sandy old Georgia. Engineers have heavy equipment and explosives, soldiers only have an entrenching tool, there's only so many hours in the day to teach something.
Thanks for the pic of the belt sander, yes, without the platen, it gets a convex edge nicely. They are rare in tool shops, however, most people seeing a belt sander have an electric powered hand tool in mind. I have a Bosch, runs great, I never sharpen anything on it. Upside down on a bench covered with tool drawer liner, it doesn't move around, but I have never figured out how to get the platen off it. Don't expect to, either.
Suggesting an expensive knifemakers shop grinder for the average guy is a bit pointless when most don't want to pony up the dollars for one. Harbor Freight's are $40 to 70, a Burr King $2,000. A good file is $10 and you can take it with you. Like filing a chain saw, you can stay ahead of it on your break. It's a bit harder to run a belt sander out in a woodlot, and I don't see the cost being a minimum 2X the tool as a positive. If you already have one, use it all you want.
Again, the axe makers need our support. Grind away.
Sam Cade
Member
The 2x72 table mount belt grinder I use most was about $150 and was intended as a woodworking tool.
You are implying that sharpening an axe with a couple passes of flexible 320-400 grit belt at the end of the day before stropping is somehow more destructive to the bit than scratching at it with a bastard file?
The OP was making inquiries as to edging a totally blunt axe. In that instance a properly used belt grinder is the best possible tool...and the tool used in the factory, albeit one on a grand scale.
Moi said:
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