Make Your Old Axe Feel Young Again

I found a brush axe during a hike. It looked like it never had any love. It still had the stickers on the handle, and the staple hanger in the butt. (Who could use it like that?!)

I am going to use this knife to scrape the old wood from the handle. It works better for me to scrape using a sharp edge, than using abrasive paper. Leaves a smoother finish, and is easier. The abrasive paper loads up with wood, and has to be refreshed often. The blade doesn't wear out, or clog up.

With light pressure it removes just the outer layer.

Old wood curls, and dust is abundant, along with the remnants of the label.

Using a 5/16 drill bit to drill the lanyard hole. Drilling slowly. (Take your time here.)

As soon as the point of the bit pokes through, I flip the handle over, and finish drilling from other side.

It makes a neater hole. Otherwise it will bust through leaving an ugly result.

With the knife, I chamfer the hole.

Last step, apply the oil of your choice to the handle. Boiled Linseed is traditional, and works very well.

This turned out well, considering my challenges. You ever have one of those days where everything goes wrong?... My drill battery was depleted, I could not find the boiled linseed oil, AND my camera decided to take the day off. But, I still got it done using what I did have.

This brush axe got the quick treatment. It is not an heirloom piece. All I wanted was to make it feel good in my hands while using it, and to make it look a bit more fetching. (I will work on the blade later.)

I use the lanyard hole to hang my wooden handled tools, from nails in my workshop. Hanging tools seems to keep the handles straight, and is good for organization.

[Thanks for visiting, and take care!]