AD - Try READLY for 2 months free of charge for access to over 7000 magazines and newspapers at readly.com/ragnbonebrown My friend found this vintage felling axe head in a garage when he moved in to his new home, and in this video, I restore it sympathetically and make it swing again! Leo's wax: www.hand-i-craft.com/store-1-2/p/style-03-g2rtt-swnxd Want to be a CONTENT CREATOR like me? I have an online Content Creator Course - featuring 2 hours of content covering video ideas, thumbnails and titles, monetisation, filming, editing, FAQs, sponsors, earnings and loads more! Includes exclusive access to a forum where you can share ideas or ask for help, advice or feedback from a community of other video creators. Available now at bit.ly/b_h_c_c_c 🔨 MY TOOLS 🔨 For links to the tools I use, plus some of my favourite consumables, finishes and more see links below. As an Amazon associate I may earn from qualifying purchases UK affiliate store: www.amazon.co.uk/shop/ragnbonebrown US affiliate store: www.amazon.com/shop/ragnbonebrown 🤝 HELP SUPPORT THE CHANNEL 🤝 Support with RU-vid channel membership: ru-vid.com/show-UCVyE_6jEtVZGmYGXtUOL5FQjoin Support with Patreon: www.patreon.com/ragnbonebrown Support with PayPal paypal.me/ragnbonebrown Shop With Amazon using my affiliate link: geni.us/iWD3K 💰 SHOP 💰 Etsy: www.etsy.com/uk/shop/KeithBrownMaker teespring.com/stores/rag-n-bone-brown-merch 🎧 WORKSHOP BANTER PODCAST 🎧 ru-vid.com Also available on Spotify, Apple, Google and most other podcast platforms 🔗 LINKS: 🔗 Website: www.ragnbonebrown.com Facebook: facebook.com/ragnbonebrown Instagram: @ragnbonebrown Email: ragnbonebrown@gmail.com Second RU-vid Channel (non woodwork videos): ru-vid.com
Very cool restoration! I saw a tip elsewhere on yt to make rasping easier - shove a T-bolt through one side at the end of the rasp and attach a star knob at the end of the bolt on the other side. Then your top hand can hold the knob, not the rasp itself. Cheers!
Thanks for the useful spokeshave tip, namely: set the blade at a slight angle, so one can take deep cuts from one side of the spokeshave, and thinner cuts from the other. Very nice idea. I'm going to give that a try.
Definitely one of my favourite videos that you've made. Would be really great if you could restore the etching and maybe infill with some black paint, would look nice.
I never realised before how much I love watching people restore tools. Cool axe and that handle you made is fabulous. Very interesting and I learned a lot from this. Thank you Keith. We've had a few good days here in Ireland - temp around 22C so I spent the other evening sharpening all my card scrapers out in the garden. Thoroughly enjoyed it and enjoyed even more using the newly sharpened card scrapers on a set of mid century dining chairs that I bought for €5 each on fb marketplace a few months back. The glue is shot on all on the joints and the finish is well and truly finished. I have one of them completely stripped and reglued and I have to say that I have never been as proud of a job as I have with this. It's gone from being wobbly af to solid as a rock. Just waiting on the rubio monocoat to arrive now so I can finish them all off and start to use them. Can't wait. There's a real joy to giving new life to something of age. Bit like meself!!
AWESOME. Another classic thing saved. All too often these things just get disguarded as people don't realize there worth or the heritage of where they were made & used... Thanks for sharing, Keith. Cheers Billy J.... Queensland, Australia. (long time viewer of your channel)
Beautiful Keith, I have an old axe head I found in my late father in laws shed, I’ve started the head restoration but never got around to making a new handle, you’ve inspired me. Thank you!
Thanks Keith, a nice sympathetic restoration, good to see you getting hands on with the hand tools, the combination of the spokeshave and Shinto rasp was perfect for the shaping ! Personally I would have like to hear you describe the roughing out work with the saw and chisel, particularly on grain direction and choice of bevel up / down for the chisel work. I appreciate this has been covered by many other makers, but it's part of the story and I'd always be interested to hear what you had to say !
I've watched your channel for a few years now and greatly enjoy your content, but never really had a need to comment, but this warrants a comment. It is hands down the most beautiful piece you have produced. Just stunning!
Looks great! A note of caution though. I did almost exactly the same with some hickory, and added a little to the top of the handle to make it fit the axe head, even adding three dowels for strength, but it failed on me after not that much use. Hopefully yours will either see less use or have a more robust glue joint!
Great restoration. Thats a wicked looking axe head. Have you a tree in mind to give it full test? 08:45 keith learns seagull impersonation !! New friends at the beach
As commented by others, the markings look like Wednesbury Forge which makes that an Elwell axe. I've just restored a small 1lb Elwell axe head as a carving axe (main difference is that carving axes have a finer blade angle) and the best tool for rapidly rough shaping an axe handle is ironically a carving axe. Axe carving can quickly remove most lf the wight then refine with a spoke shave. I've seen recommendations to use softwood for the wedge, the theory being softwood can compress and expand if the handle swellls/shrinks due to humidity changes. Unfortunately, I'm concerned at how easily your file cleaned up the cutting edge. Typically felling axes have hardened steel cutting edges, and Elwell certainly used good quality cast steel. Your file should've just slid over the hardened steel, but the way it cut in suggests the blade has lost it's heat tempering and become softened. This can happen if the edge is overheated by aggressive sharpening on a grinding wheel, or the axe is put into a fire to burn out an old handle. If it has softened it will lose it's sharp edge very quicly when used, and the cutting edge might bend and squash down. The good news is a blacksmith could retemper the blade if needed, the bad news is the head will need to be removed to do this, which will probably destroy your beautifully shaped handle. Unless you need a good usable felling axe I'd suggest 'Enjoy it for what it is'
Nice job Keith axe looked great. Not sure I'd of had the patience to construct the whole handle by hand 😮 great job though mate hope your good 👍🏴
I might have missed the reasoning but wouldn't a jigsaw make the initial cutting out be a lot easier and remove the need to add another piece to the head? Never heard of adding epoxy to wedges before!
Lovely stuff, thanks for sharing! Definitely appreciate your approach keeping the patina. Completely different thing, but I'm into old computers, and don't like the approach some restorers take in bleaching the plastics. I like to keep mine tobacco-stain yellow :)
Try the old paper n scribble trick. Put a sheet of paper on the text and scribble a pencil across it. It may help you decipher it. A draw blade might have been a good tool to use.
That looks like an Elwell rounding axe. The markings should read ELWELL FORGE WEDNESBURY SOLID CAST STEEL WARRANTED. Rounding axes were used to chop back the root flare to allow the tree to be felled at ground level (to extract more timber than felling it above the flare). Because they were swung down at the root flare, they could be heavier than a felling axe, and were often 6 or 7 pounds. Yours looks like it has a pretty worn toe, which would be expected from a hard life of cutting at ground level.
For the history, this is a 7 lb Elwell English pattern felling axe head marked with the "Wednesbury Forge Solid Cast Steel Warranted" stamp - Lookup Edward Elwell Ltd
looks fantastic. I got a few left over log lap lengths a friend gave me after a summer house build, thought I'd ask the reclaimed master if there any small project you would recommend.
Love these videos. Off topic though, can I ask what that red trestle table with the clamp is? I need one in my life. I looked on your tools page but it wasn’t there. TIA 👍
looks amazing - what a worthwhile job! What file did you use on the axe for the cutting edge? I need to sharpen my axe, dont have any files so need to know which would be most appropriate for the job. Thanks!
Also, my grandpa used to get stuff like this from a fleamarket in Poland and fix them, No need getting something ne when you can fix it up and use it for years to come.
Any old tool blade that has cast steel stamped on it has "Warranted" next to it. Yours says " Solid Cast Steel Warranted" under whatever the makers name is.
If you want to read the text, try the old paper and crayon trick. If you rub a crayon onto the paper, which is over the text, it should reveal the text.
Boiled linseed oil on the handle once a day for a week, once a week for a month then once a month for a year is the "traditional" treatment for axe handles.
