Posted: 10/2/2010 2:13:19 PM EDT
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I found this axe head in the dirt road that goes out to my new place. This road has been around for over 100 years, but I doubt this axe is anywhere near that old. A paper company used to own the place about 20 years ago, so it may have been from one of their loggers or something. I recently had some road work done, so this may have been uncovered by all of the grading.
My question...is this axe head worth doing anything with? The bit looks pretty worn down, and as you can see, it is really pitted. There s no edge to it at all. If I was to sharpen it, how should I do it? What should I use? I think I remember reading that using a grinding wheel would screw up the temper of the steel. Should I have at it with a file? Note: the hickory axe handle is a new purchase from the local Lowes. 
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id hang it on the wall.....Im betting its pretty old too This, but lose that new handle. Find a shitty old handle at a flea market or yardsale somewhere. I would just strip off the gloss finish on the new handle, sand it, then apply a darker stain & oil it..... then hang it on a wall. |
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I am going to go out on a limb here and hazard a guess that that head is at least 100 years old. Don't have any hard info but the style seems all wrong for a more modern type. Tag for better info I agree, the style is all wrong for something modern. That axe head is pretty old. As a matter of fact, it looks very similar to a hewing axe we have hanging on the wall (that is every bit of 100 years old). Hewing axes are pretty thin near the edge and it's very likely the edge would have rusted away completely, leaving you with the shape you now see. Just google "hewing axe" images and you'll see what I'm talking about. But I did some work and found a few that could have been similar designs to yours. 
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i think that one has more value as an ornament than as a user, and if you sharpen it, it would loose a bunch of that aesthetic value.
plenty of old, (but not as old as yours) axe heads on ebay if you want an old school user. some of them are very nice compared to a lot of the modern stuff. |
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Thanks for all of the info guys. Agreed that this is a wall hanger. The new axe handle doesn't fit the head very well, and lacks any character. I will try to find something locally at a flee market, etc. This will look great hanging in my barn. on the wall, in the den. 
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