A Beginner’s Guide to Basic Axe Care and Maintenance

Over the past few months I have written a good amount about doing work and restoration projects on axes. I will have a guest post on the subject this Friday as well. In this post however, I want to touch on a few things that the average person can do to simply maintain the axe they already have. I will assume that you have bought a good axe, and will focus on how to keep it in good shape.

In that context, there are three things to consider. The first is protecting the axe from the elements, the second is cleaning the axe, and the third is the all important sharpening of the axe.

Protecting the Axe

Assuming that you have an axe with a wooden handle, there are two parts of the axe that must be protected-the handle and the head. The key to protecting both parts will be to maintain a coat of oil on them. Different people have their own types of oils and waxes by which they swear. Some of the most popular ones are to use boiled linseed oil on the handle and gun oil on the head. I never wanted to bother buying special oils, so I’ve always used just what’s around the house.

What you see in the picture is olive oil, an unscented bees wax candle, and a container of Vaseline. I have been using them for many years now, and they have served me well.

The head of the axe is the easier part to protect. As with all carbon steel objects, the enemy here is moisture. If the head gets wet, it will start to rust. All that is required to protect it is to put a light coat of Vaseline on it and wipe it off. I find that the Vaseline is great at getting into all of the pores, and has good staying power. I have not found the need for any further treatment. The paint that you find on most axe heads is there to protect the metal from moisture. The more exposed metal you have, the more careful you will have to be.

The handle requires two separate considerations. The first one is similar to the head, in that you have to keep it away from water. If the handle stays wet, it will start to rot, particularly in the area of the eye (in the area protruding on top of the head) and on the bottom of the handle, as these tend to be the most porous parts of the handle. The additional consideration is that you also have to make sure the handle does not dry out. A dry handle will shrink, potentially causing the head to come loose.

You will notice that some wood handles come covered with a protective laquer or paint. This works well to protect the handle, but many people do not like the feel of it and sand it off. For bare wood handles, I like to do the following in order to protect them. First, I put a coat of olive oil on the handle and let it get absorbed. I repeat the process until the handle stops absorbing oil. I wipe off the excess. Then, I take the bees wax candle, and I rub it along the surface of the handle. The friction melts the wax enough to let it coat the handle. I use my hand to rub it in. I am sure there are better ways to apply bees wax, but this works well enough. Don’t forget to coat the top and bottom of the handle as well, since that is the easiest place for water to enter.

Cleaning the Axe

Since water is the enemy of the axe, you want to avoid using it to clean the axe. Soap is not a good idea, as it will remove a lot of the oils and wax that you have been applying. To clean my axe, I use the same materials I use for its maintenance.

To clean the head, I apply a good coat of Vaseline, I rub it in well with my fingers, and then I wipe it off with a towel. This removes a good amount of the dirt. Repeat as needed.

Sometimes, the chopping of wood will leave a resin residue on the bit of the axe, which is very hard to remove. To clean it, I just take a knife, and scrape it off. It is the easiest method I have found so far.

To clean the handle, I follow the same process using oil. I put a good coat of oil on it, I rub it in, and then wipe it off. With time, the handle will darken, but that should not be a big worry. If for some reason you want to get it extra clean, a light sanding of the handle will get the job done. Don’t forget to re-oil and re-wax after a sanding.

Sharpening the Axe

When I talk about sharpening, I am assuming that you have a well profiled axe, that is either dull or needs to be touched up. I have other posts on re-profiling the edge but here I am assuming you are starting with a good axe.

The tools you will see used here are a DC 4 sharpening stone (with a course and fine side) and a 8 inch, 200 mm file (I find that how fine a 200 mm file is varies between manufacturers. Anything in the 200 mm to 300 mm range should work.)

For the first step, I will assume that your axe is rather dull. To sharpen a dull axe, I do the following:

Take the head of the axe in your hand. Take the file in your other hand. Start at the edge of the axe, and applying very little pressure, push the file back along the bit. Do that along the whole edge. What you are trying to do here it to actually turn the edge. The result you are looking for is to force the edge away from the file, so that it curves down, creating an overhang or burr. If done properly, you should be able to feel the overhand with your nail or finger. The biggest error that people make is that they are afraid to ruin the edge when sharpening. As a result, they stay away from the edge itself, passing the stone or file over the bit, without actually touching the edge.

Once you have turned the edge and created the overhand, turn the head around, and repeat the process until the edge it turned the other way. Again you should be able to feel the overturned edge with your finger when you slide it over the bit.

If your axe is fairly sharp, you can skip the above step, and move directly to the sharpening stone. The process will be exactly the same.

To use the sharpening stone, I like to position the axe so that I can see the edge. I then take the stone (course side), place it so that it touches the edge, and proceed to move it along the edge in a circular motion (this is how I sharpen my knives as well). If you have used the file, in the above step, you want to use the stone to move the overhang/burr in the other direction. If you are starting with the stone, you want to create the overhang as described above. Do this several times on each side, alternating between sides.

Then, repeat the same process with the fine side of the stone. If your axe is already sharp, but you just want to touch up the edge, skip directly to this part.

What you are doing is to keep that burr/overhand moving back and forth, while progressively making it finer and finer by using finer tools-file, coarse stone, fine stone.

When ready to finish, pass the stone quickly a few times on each side to align the burr in the center. You should now have a shaving sharp axe. At this point you may want to strop the edge, so that any hanging pieces of the burr get snapped off. People like to do that by moving the edge back and forth over a piece of leather. I just do it on my pants.

There are finer ways to sharpen an axe, but I like to do it with the tool I have available with me in the field. That way I am always working with a consistent level of sharpness.

The above steps should keep your axe in good, functioning condition for a long time. A good place to see the sharpening and maintenance process I outlined above is in the video An Ax to Grind, released by the USDA.

Mora Bushcraft Survival Knife Video

Earlier I posted about the new Mora Bushcraft Survival Knife. You can see some of the specifications here. This is a video released by Mora of Sweden showing some of the features of the knife.



It looks like a perfectly good design, but lately I’m starting to get that ”gimmicky” feeling from Mora. Seems like they discovered the bushcraft market, and are now milking it for all it’s worth. First it was a $30 line of “bushcraft” knives with only marginal change in utility from the $10 line of knives we’ve been using to decades. Now it is a super combo sharpener/fire steel sheath. What’s next; a hollow handle containing a sutchering needle for when I get shot by the sheriff?

Again, there is nothing wrong with the design, but I am really starting to get the feeling that Mora is putting out products and branding based on what they think will sell, rather than based on adherence to their traditions of knife making. Instead of putting out all these “bushcraft” knives, how about bringing back the Mora 510? How about that?

Grasfors Bruks Outdoor Axe Review

You guys have seen me mention Omaha Knife before, primarily because they carry good quality handles, along with the full line of Gransfors Bruks replacement handles. Well, they also carry the whole line of Grasfors Bruks axes. When I was dealing with them with respect to handles, the owner told me that if I was interested in reviewing any of the harder to come by Gransfors Bruks models, he would be happy to lend me some of them from his collection. Of course I jumped at this incredibly generous offer, and a week later ended up with this axe in the mail. Please go check out the store. The guy who runs it is a great person, and genuinely cares about the community. So, without further delay, here is the Gransfors Bruks Outdoor Axe:

Specifications:
Manufacturer: Gransfors Bruks AB
Axe Head Weight: Total axe weight is 1lb 2oz. Head weight is about 3/4 lb.
Axe Length: 14.5 inches
Axe Head Material: Unknown carbon steel
Handle Material: Hickory
Cost: $174.00

The hatchet is clearly an expensive one. It is designed to be a specialty tool, and under other circumstances, I would not have been able to spend this type of money on it. Its closest relative is the Gransfors Bruks Wildlife Hatchet, so I’ve taken some pictures of them side by side.

The handle of the Outdoor Axe is a bit longer, and a little thinner than that of the Wildlife Hatchet. It is also made of hickory, and had adequate grain orientation. The one distinctive feature of the Outdoor Axe handle is that it has a metal collar hear the head. This is typically put on axes designed for splitting wood, to prevent damage to the handle. It appears that his small hatchet was designed with the splitting of wood in mind.

The head of the Gransfors Bruks Outdoor Axe is also designed with the splitting of wood in mind. While smaller than that of the Wildlife Hatchet, it looks very much like a splitting maul. The bit is shorter, and the extra metal is used to expand the head fairly rapidly. Near the eye, the head is about as wide as that of the Wildlife Hatchet, even though it is a quarter of a pound lighter.

The axe came sharp, and even though the head was primarily designed for splitting, it does a fairly good job at chopping. Because the head is smaller, the angle of the bit is not that much wider than that of the Wildlife hatchet, even thought he angle of the head overall is significantly wider.

Overall, it is hard to evaluate this axe because it is designed so differently from all the other axes. All that aside however, it performs very well for what it is. It will function very well as a belt axe of hawk, and I’m sure any trapper of explorer of the 17th century would have been very happy to have it with him. It is great for making kindling and will also do an adequate job at chopping for the weight. If you already ow a Wildlife Hatchet, I don’t see sufficient value in buying the Outdoor Axe as well, but if you have been looking for a very lightweight belt axe, and have the money, this may be a good way to go.

A Beginner’s Guide to Hatchets (Link)

Last month I was approached by the editor and writer of Section Hiker to see if I would be interesting in writing a guest post. Section Hiker is a great site, and I have been following it for a while. At first I wasn’t sure what I would have to contribute, as the main focus of the site is on lightweight backpacking, but I gave it a shot. You can see the post here.

The article is aimed at beginners, who are just starting to look into selecting and using axes and hatchets. It briefly covers a fairly wide range of subjects. If you are interested, please check it out.