Born Again Tools: Giving New Life to an Old Ax

by Todd Walker

A recent trip to the mountains of Georgia produced a good haul of old tools… namely, a new “old” True Temper Kelly Perfect ax.

 

Dirt Road Girl and I have a hobby of scavenging for old tools. We’re the dumpster divers of rust bins. We’ve found awesomeness in roadside shops, antiques stores, and yard sales. We almost missed this one. As we were literally exiting one shop, I caught the glint of rusty steel in my peripheral vision. Actually, it’s just a sixth sense I possess when old tools are nearby. The owner of the shop had returned from the woodpile with an ax in hand. I hit the brakes with my hand on the door knob!

“Hold on. I’m going to buy that ax!” I told DRG.

The owner handed the ax to me with a confused look and asked, “How am I going to cut kindling?”

Not my problem. This ax was in good overall condition. No deep chinks in the bit. The poll (butt) had minor mushrooming from a previous owner pounding it with a metal hammer like a splitting wedge. The hickory handle showed proper grain alignment with no cracks or splits. I began haggling.

Twenty bucks later I walked out with a rusty “old” ax!

Time to revive it…

Before buying old cutting tools, axes in particular, make sure the bit hasn’t been too abused. I buy old tools to use not set on shelves and collect dust. Rust and pitting are fine. That adds to the character of your tool. However, you’ll need enough metal on the bit to re-profile if necessary.

The stamp on my ax reads, “True Temper – Kelly Perfect”. Any True Temper ax with Kelly in the name was made after 1949. If you’re interested in more history on the Kelly Axe Mfg. Co., Wood Trekker has an interesting and thorough post on his site.

Born Again Tools

There are many ways to give new life to old cutting tools. For minor rust, I use sand paper, a wire brush, and my homemade Fixin’ Wax. Start sanding the tool with coarse grit and progress to higher grit. My progression was 80, 120, 220, 400, 800, 1,500 grit. Use a buffing compound to polish out sanding marks.

Other rust removal methods include:

• White Vinegar bath – soak for a few hours or up to 24
• Electrolysis (I’ve used this for cast iron cookware before with success)
• Limon/lime juice soak
• Wire brush attached to a drill motor or side grinder
•  Molasses and water mix – takes longer (week) but effective

Once the rust is gone, you need to take steps to prevent future rust. I apply my Fixin’ Wax, a mix of bees wax, tallow, shea butter, and essential oil, to all my high carbon steel blades, wooden handles, and knife scales.

Born again ax

Fortunately, the haft (handle) on this Kelly ax was in excellent shape. In case you need to re-haft your ax, here’s a tutorial I did to few months ago that may help. I applied boiled linseed oil to the new handle after a light sanding to preserve the wood and prevent cracking. Breaking a handle via operator error (miss hitting while splitting/chopping) is another matter all together.

The toe of the ax needed file work. Use a quality bastard file to remove metal from the bit. After you achieve the desired profile, sharpen the bit. I’ll post an ax sharpening article soon.

I look forward to many years of service from this born again ax. If you have an old cutting tool or hand tool you’ve given new life, we’d like to here you process.

My next new “old” tool in need of new life is a Lancaster Geared Blower – No. 40 for my blacksmith forge! Off to my shop…

Keep Doing the Stuff,

Todd

P.S. – You can also keep up with the Stuff we’re Doing on Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, and our Facebook page… and over on the Doing the Stuff Network on Pinterest, Google +, and Facebook.

P.P.S – If you find value in our blog, Dirt Road Girl and I would appreciate your vote on the Top Prepper Sites! You can vote daily by clicking here or on the image below. Check out all the other value-adding Prepper sites while you’re there…

Thanks for sharing the stuff!

Copyright Information: Content on this site (unless the work of a third-party) may be shared freely in digital form, in part or whole, for non-commercial use with a link back to this site crediting the author. All links in articles must remain intact as originally posted in order to be republished. If you are interested a rare third-party article, please contact the author directly for republishing information.