Vintage Axes and Garden Equipment

[spudulike]

Getting these axes back up to scratch and using them is a decent and interesting pastime and you always wonder of their past life and hopefully are giving them another 50-100 years if you do a decent job on them.

I still use the Fiskars for splitting the big stuff but now have a decent collection of smaller axes for larger kindling.

Here is the latest project, another Brades...............

[david lawrence]

Once you have them buffed up do they just need a wipe with oily rag to keep rust away?

[Steven P]

or just use them regularly

 

[shavey]

5 hours ago, Steven P said:

For kindling I use a no-name DIY warehouse hatchet - great if you use them for that - wouldn't even consider going across the grain with it though - I need a better collection of axes I think, 

watch out axe collecting is like saws you could end up with a lot 

[sime42]

1 hour ago, david lawrence said:

Once you have them buffed up do they just need a wipe with oily rag to keep rust away?

 

Never found rust to be much of a problem, maybe as the old tools were quality, high carbon steel. I don't do anything to mine and they only ever suffer from very light surface rust. Which can be easily removed with wire wool, though I don't normally bother and they cut just fine if the edge is sound.

[Peasgood]

What are the edges of a Brades or Elwell like quality wise?

Spent many a day splitting logs with an old felling axe as that was all we ever had. A splitting maul was an absolute revelation.

Then when I became rich and famous (by that I mean I actually had some money in my pocket for once) I bought a Gransfors Bruk axe. I cut my finger on that and was absolutely amazed that you could even do that with an axe. The edge on that thing is something else.

Have I just been used to what would have been the equivalent of a B&Q axe back then and the Brades and Elwell would have been as sharp as a Grunsfors?

[sime42]

I don't have much experience with Elwell, but the edges on all the Brades tools I have are great. They easily take a razor sharp edge and hold it for ages.

 

Talking of sharpening, I use a Grunsfors "Axe Stone" for axes. They make easy, quick work of it as you can do a nice circular motion over the edge. Not cheap though, like anything Grunsfors, but worth it.

[Stere]

I have noticed some  axes will  rust fast while  others hardly  at all must be different steels.

 

For a splitting maul I don't think sharpness is that important but the the right blade profile is, whereas for  a felling axe both sharpness & blade profile is important.

 

 

I don't think there are many vintage axes &  UK axes   about  that are designed as   cleaving or   splitting  mauls/axes like the bruk maul?

 

Maybe they weren't a common thing until more recently  but im not sure  why as so many different  axe head patterns etc in the old catalogues....?

 

 

William Hunt & Sons, The Brades Ltd. : Export Catalogue : 1934 Edition : William Hunt & Sons, The Brades, Ltd. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

ARCHIVE.ORG

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110 p., illus., 27.2 cm, trade catalog

 

& only  one maul....

 

 

 

 

 

Ben Scott on youtube is good on axes:

 

https://www.youtube.com/@benscottwoodchopper/videos?view=0&sort=dd&shelf_id=0

Edited February 14 by Stere

[roys]

Look what I found in the woods today. No not the steel rule.

[spudulike]

Ah...a project....we look forward to a pic of the finished item!!