Proper Way to Sharpen Axe Without Buck Rogers Equipment?

[John C Cox]

I will pile on and say “Depends on what you are doing with it”.....

Here is a critical thing that it sounds dumb to say out loud... but I will anyway...

Axes set up for chopping and limbing are push cutting - they don’t slice... As such - they need to be sharpened to achieve push cutting performance - not for slicing... why do I say this? Because 99% of “sharpening experience” most people have is knife sharpening.. and 98% of knife sharpening is geared for slicing not push cutting. And so there is a whole bunch of stuff that works awesome on knives that makes for an extremely short lived axe edge....

So for example - you may file or stone for the geometry and then polish the edge so it push cuts... Over-Stropping axes is super effective. They won’t slice worth a lick - but they will push cut like mad..... on the other hand - if you form a burr, then straighten it like you would on a knife - it breaks off the 1st chop and leaves a chipped, ragged edge behind which might slice fine but it won’t chop anything.

[Jim Koepke]

I will pile on and say “Depends on what you are doing with it”.....

[major edit]

For hewing, a slicing cut is good. For splitting a slightly convex bevel works well. For limbing, a hollow grind may be acceptable.

jtk

[Steve H Graham]

This is good information. What does a slicing profile look like?

[Steve H Graham]

I have a nice present for the board.

https://www.pcta.org/wp-content/uplo...x_to_grind.pdf

There is also a Youtube video that goes with it.



Not about sharpening, but still nice to have.

[Rob Luter]

I’ll echo the sentiment that it depends on the axe and depends on the job. My splitting maul gets sharpened every 5 years or so with a coarse file. My double head trimming axe sees a smooth file and occasionally a stone. My hatchet gets sharpened with progressively finer abrasives just like a plane iron. I can usually shave with it. It’s silly to do this but it makes me happy, so.....

[Wayne Cannon]

I'll second Jon's recommendation for an axe puck -- out slips easily into your pocket for fast repair in the field with the coarse side or quick touch up with the fine side. The puck is easy to maintain the angle of the edge.

As with turning tools, it really helps to touch up the edge frequently while working.

A file works great in the shop, but the puck is much easier to use in the field -- axe in one hand and puck in the other, without having to set down the axe to have a solid support for filing without rounding over the edge.

[bill tindall]

Agree on both points. I use an ax regularly and that is what I have used for decades.

[Jeff Ranck]

Like most have mentioned, a single cut mill bastard file and a round stone is all you really need. Check out any old Boy Scout handbook. Learned to sharpen an ax when I was around 12.

[Jim Koepke]

What does a slicing profile look like?

The hatchets/axes of mine used like this are for hewing. They have a single bevel so they are right and left handed. The bevel is pretty much flat but the better of my hewing hatchest has a slight curve to the back and the bevel. Kind of like a wide ~flat sweep gouge.

Hewing Hatchet Bevels.jpg

My favorite is on the left.

jtk

[john zulu]

I did not find sharpening an axe on a bench grinder easy. Can't achieve consistency. On a belt grinder more so.

[Pat Barry]

Really good video Steve! Thanks

[Steve H Graham]

Since starting this thread, I have gotten my hands on a single-bit Plumb axe head and also a double-bit Collins. I applied a file, and it bounced off both. I am wondering if the people here who recommend files are sharpening softer axes.

It doesn't matter, because I'm planning to use a belt sander. I only tried the file to find out how hard the steel was.

The Collins is going back to the Ebay seller. It turns out the eye is pushed in at the top. I guess someone hit something with the side of the axe. A new handle won't go in all the way unless I open the eye up first.

I ordered another axe which is SUPPOSEDLY a Mann. Hoping for the best.

[Tom M King]

I don't know who made this broadaxe, but most of my other axes, and broad hatchets are either Plumb or Collins. I've never used anything but a file on any of them out of the shop-usually an 8" Smooth Mill. This whole process, and what the beams were used for, is on the "Structural" page on my website.

[Peter Christensen]

You can buy axe files. They have a handle formed into them rather than the usual tang. They also do pretty good at sharpening a shovel too.

[Steve H Graham]

Today I hung my Plumb axe. I removed the old wood (not easy), cleaned up the eye, shaped the new handle, put it in the axe, removed the varnish from the handle, applied paste wax, and got everything ready for the wedge. I used the belt sander to sharpen it. It was a joke. Took two minutes and did a great job.

Unfortunately, after I did all this, I realized I hadn't checked the grain. The growth rings in my new handle run across it instead of parallel to the axe. I don't know if this really matters, but it's really annoying.

09 15 18 Plumb axe ready for wedges small.jpg09 15 18 Plumb axe head in vise with holes drilled small.jpg