Sharpening an Axe with a Hardware Store Grind 

Mr Canterbury, thanks for the masterclass. I've sent myself blind watching tutorials; your advice is intuitive, simple, clear and practice based. A gift.

One of the best axe sharpening tutorials. Thanks Dave

Ordered Bushcraft 101 today, plan on using it with my old Boy Scout books to teach my kids while camping. Thank you for the wisdom you share through RU-vid.

I like this simple but not overly picky method.

i'm just lazy, I use a belt sander with a 400 grit worn down belt to make it a convex edge, it makes a very sharp axe in a couple of minutes

thanks Dave. I had a Marble's axe with fatter cheeks than Chris Christie. this did the trick! great instructions.

Did you just put a scandi grind on an axe??!? Awesome. It's a real pleasure watching you work with tools and the stuff you teach is always valuable and useful. I think part of what's wrong with the world today is the lack of fulfilling work for the majority of people and a lack of poetry to what we do. Thanks for putting some of it back into the world.

Dave, bring back journal of the yurt. I became a fan of that before the work you did for a network.

Thanks Dave, This is something I definitely needed to learn how to do.

Great video as always, Dave. Glad your channel has ben getting so much attention recently. Thanks for the tips!

Great video Dave, A good skill to know for sure!

Great video, and timely! I have a Collins hardware store hatchet with thick cheeks and I have been wanting to reprofile and sharpen it.Good stuff.

Well it's about time!!! I commented well over years ago that you never showed yourself spitting on a stone and wondered if you did. Now we know. Thanks Dave. Now you are human.

great video Dave, nice for people to know why they're axe does cut and how to fix it.

thank you for making this video. I have watched other videos about profiling and sharpening axes but yours is much more informative.

Thank you. That was much appreciated.

Really enjoyed your video bud, thanks 👍👍

Hey, it works and makes a nice edge. Good work Dave

First close up on your channel! YES! Do more close ups! It is all about the details.

I have to do that with two old axes that I just found so thanks for the lesson.

I just picked up the Council Tools 28" boys axe through Walmart, so this video is perfect timing for me. Thanks!!

That reminds me of the old Collins homestead boy's axe. Great video!

great vid as always dave and thanks for all you and the school does

thanks Dave, good video, loved the idea of measuring marks on the handle, never thought of that.

I prefer store axes to the 500 dollar handforged meme axes, personally

I just bought a Council Tool boys axe and it came in the mail today, thanks for making this video because the edge on that axe was really bad your video couldn't have come at a better time.

that is how I sharpened my double bit true temper in 1978. felled many trees in Jackson State Forest by Fort Bragg Ca

Good stuff , i just brought out two axes to refurbish and was gonna look for a good axe video, Ha ha ha the day after Valentines !

From the Discovery channel, RU-vid and being an "axe junkie" on FB, I feel like were neighbors... Lol. Thanks again.

I was hoping you would make a video like this. Thank you.

my axe junkie Artic puck is the best puck I've ever used! Great video and I love my council boys axe!

Excellent video Dave, very helpful! Sam

just in time Dave. just got a council Hudson Bay in the mail yesterday. haven't even opened the box yet.

Can you think of any issues with putting a shorter handle (24") on a #3.75 Council Pulaski? I would like to have a multi-use tool to use for grubbing (medicinal/edible roots, fire pits, fire lays, Dakota fire holes, trenching around tarp set ups, etc.), along with all the traditional camp axe chores. Do you think the axe would be too out of balance? If not, it would save me having to carry a separate trenching tool/shovel.

Great info Dave!

Nice video. For most beginners using an axe file as shown should get the axe sharp enough for general use.

Great video again, been trying to put a good edge on a fleamarket hatchet I found. This will definitely help. I was doing it all wrong. LOL Thanks

nice job Dave. Thanks for the info

Dave, long time follower, first time commenting...quick question: is there any reason why you chose to go with 30 degree instead of 20-25? Do you find 30 works better for splitting & smaller jobs with this size axe? Just curious why you chose 30. Thanks and keep up the great work!

What are your thoughts on sharpening shovels, Dave? Just curious, cause I got this AWESOME little shovel awhile back at a yard sale and I want to take really good care of it. I've heard about shovel sharpening before, but, in my rocky soil, I worry that it will weaken the edge of the shovel and start knocking chunks out of it as I use it in the soil.

great information sir as always brother!!! always stuff we can use foreal !! blessings

I have the 28" boys axe and I love it.

Good video. I'm going to try it on my cheep car camping ax. One thing, my high school shop teacher (back when they had shop :-( ) taught us not to put our fingers on the surface we were filing. The oils on your fingers hindered the files ability to cut.

thanks it information to know I do appreciate you sharing you take care I'll see you next time

Thank you for the great lesson.

Looking at my Ace Hardware Collins axe endwise I see a bevel on one side and a flat or nearly flat grind on the other side. I thought it was a camp axe but maybe I was wrong. It's a pain to try and sharpen. I have a Plumb axe and hatchet that need handles plus two old fashioned shingling hatchets with wide blades that also need handles. They don't sell them in that size here. I need some resources. And, oh yeah, that axe file? They don't sell them here nor at the saw shops. I'll have to search for it. No logging backup tools either. Not even a mill bastard file.

Thank you for the excellent tutorial...

a treat to watch

For heavy reprofiling it wouldn't be a bad idea to get longer file, a nice one with a handle. It can be skewed across the cut with little or no forward movement. It sure is nice to see an American made axe that a file can cut, most if not all the Sweden axes are to hard for a file. As well, Snow and Nealey is a hard axe, either way at least 30 degrees. Nice video, Dave.

Hey Dave...Question: Why did you kinda avoid the center area when dressing the angle??🤔 Is that for maintaining more integrity towards the center of the head??🤔 Stability/Durability??🤔 Thx!!😉

that axe looks so nice thumbs up ;)

Great video, nice video.

Maybe you could make a file handle with a guard so that you don't cut your fingers.

Hey Dave I was wondering what happen to the little axe that Wranglerstar made for you

I'm working on a homemade wet grinder to reprofile my axes and other tools

Worked on it for an hour. This thing is a mess. Fleamarket find. Someone really messed it up. Try some more tomorrow. Need to pick up an angle gauge.

Very nice presentation. Should that be redone every so often. That is cheek reprofiling do to sharpening and removal of bit metal

Is a Craftsman sharpening puck a descent stone?

Nice job Dave. Where did you buy your earth tone shirt?

I just use a DA electric orbital sander for the rough shaping.

I wonder if the Lansky puck is as good as the one he's using here.

I have the Husqvarna hatchet. I just ran my puck over the edge when I got it. haven't done the linseed oil on the handle yet. what strop maker do you suggest?

Where can I get a case like yours for the sharpening puck?

Thank you!! Will this method also work on say a sog tomahawk, or just basic hardware axe?? Thank you again!!

Any vids on how to fix a loose axe head?

chopping good now

I hope you read this. We all make mistakes and I hope we all learn from our mistakes. I still like all your bush craft survival videos and I will continue watching them. Hope to watch more new videos soon.

Man I can tell you that chopping with one of these hardware store axes without sharpening it is a great workout but not very effective. Us city people don't know anything so we could use a sticker like "must be sharpened!". You sneer but I can't be the only one

Hi Dave. So doing this with the file do you end up with a flat grind rather than convex grind that most axes come with? Does it matter?

I enjoyed the video , and I'd like to ask a question. When I go into my local hardware store, and look for a file , I just am not seeing a 'ax file' , is this type of file a special order? I really would appreciate a reply , and thank you for all the great videos you provide :-)

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Dave as always thank you for your hard work, knowledge sharing, and content. I'm beyond curious as to why there is a large "swell" on the axe near the throat?

I generally use an 4" grinder with a flapper wheel ( sander wheel ) to reprofile and polish the blade.

So... I want to buy one of those Fiskars axes from Canadian Tire (i have heard good things about these as a starter bushcraft kind of axe) and i was wondering if I would have to do this kind of stuff to that axe as well?

🙂👍

Where can u buy that "puck"? inclusive the leather sheat?

That ended quite weirdly I hope Dave didn't cut himself

dave most likely has an iq in the 115 120 range hes a smart dude no doubt!

sup dave

You make a very good point. I understand Dave, you are quite familiar with your tools but for those without your skills, NEVER use a file without a handle until you think you are as good as Dave. You don't want to learn the hard way.

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Lost me at the spitting.