Restoration of Antique Axe - 1882

Video Description

Hello! Today, I’m restoring an antique axe dated 1882. This item belongs to me, so I’ll be making a handle that's comfortable and practical for personal use. The axe head is in fair condition — there's deep rust, and as I later discovered, the top cover of the axe eye is bent; there's a visible crack inside the axe eye. Still, I’m glad the maker’s mark has survived. The restoration begins. First, I removed the remains of the old handle and several nails that had been hammered into the eye. I then placed the axe head into a rust remover solution for over 24 hours. After that, I transferred it to warm water with baking soda to neutralize the acidic reaction. The next step was to correct the overall shape — the surface had many burrs and deformations from years of use. The most difficult part was straightening the bent upper side of the axe head. To do this, I heated the metal of the axe eye, inserted a railroad spike and an old vise shaft, and carefully forced the wall back into position. Then I welded the crack inside the eye, smoothed the weld, and moved on to making the new handle. By the way, I darkened the stamps to preserve and highlight them. Creating the handle. I used a dry piece of beech wood. After marking out the rough shape and cutting away the excess, I began forming the handle using a drawknife. Unfortunately, I made a mistake while working with the plane — I shaved off too much wood around the eye socket. To fix it, I glued two pieces of beech onto the axe eye area using epoxy, then shaped them down to restore the correct fit. Next, I sharpened the axe head and gave it a light polish. Then came the fitting process. I split the end of the handle to insert a wedge. My first wedge, made of oak, broke — so I carefully removed it and replaced it with a new beech wedge, which worked perfectly. Instead of traditional glue, I used a thick construction adhesive known as “liquid nails,” which sets quickly and holds well. Once everything dried, I cleaned the surface with a glass scraper and treated the handle with olive oil and wood wax for nourishment and protection. As usual, I also made a small test cut at the end — just for you. Please share this video if you enjoyed it. Thank you! Sincerely, Alex. Thanks for attention! Good luck and health to everyone! With best wishes, Alex! Please subscribe to my channel: @ScrewsAndTools 🍖 My New Cooking channel! @screwsandtoolscooking Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Screwsandtools Paypal: paypal.me/screwsandtools Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scresandtools/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/screwsandtools/ #screwsandtools #axe #restoration