Alright, I know this is an axe sub, and it should stay that way! But since you guys have been waaaay more supportive of my work than the knife subs, I figured I'd share this with you.

These two pictures are probably the best representation of what I do as a toolmaker and bladesmith.

P.S. Mods, if this isn't axe-y enough, just shoot me a DM and I'll take it down!

Handmade by Kadiç / Greetings from Turkey.

It was sold as a 'Viking Hammer-Axe'. I knew that was a long-shot; Rus if real. I figured that under all that rust was a much later, rather inefficient, farm tool. (If actually old.)

So... what I ended up with is odd.

Definitely checked immediately: yep, it's magnetic, and the rust has that "solidity" to it, but isn't flaking, and none of the pitting seemed crumbly... It seemed 'strong'. It was worth seeing closer.

I debated the perfectionism of electrolysis, but ultimately was too lazy and went with 'special soak'/wash/ scrub. But what turned out seems to have only counterintuitive possibilities:

A "something" that still doesn't make a lot of sense. As shown, there are spots where it looks golden or silver, rather than iron (and at certain spots you can see it's a coating.) So it's been plated? (Good thing I didn't go with electrolysis!) And then the weathering and damage (or acid?)...

Thinking....

1) A fake that was gone to a ton of work & trouble & additional cost for - but sold as a cheaper type item; or

2) A real "something" that still doesn't make a lot of sense? As shown, there are spots where it looks golden or silver, rather than iron (and at certain spots you can see it's a coating.) And then the weathering and use/damage (or acid?) Who would plate such a relatively trivial piece? Was it plated for/by a/an idiot but later put to work?

But it was sold as just a regular old thing,... If it was plated wouldn't you find a way to point that out? Because obviously the value just changed immensely, if real.

I don't know. What do you think?

For reference, it was a seller in the Ukraine who had sold legit articles previously, an established good record and such.

I don't like the circular neck. Looks wrong.... I just researched it. Duh. They never used round sockets - it prevents blades from twisting as easily when used for weapons, Buuuut... Could be a farm implement, or one of those commendment pieces commandeered, if real, and not fake on top of fake....? Or just, but...

What do you think makes most sense?

(Edit to add, but still before posting: I'm going to try and get one more pic that shows a silver underlay where it wore down to between the gold color and the iron - could it be a thin layer of silver that the gold plate/gilt {or however they did it then} was attached to?)

Found this at an auction the other day! Never seen anything like it before!
A special axe manufactured by Raadvad in danmark circa 1890 for the Russian market. Logo stap is in old imperial Russian/Cyrillic writing (Rodvad - Denmark).

I had to regrind the bevel on my makeshift beltgrinder and give it a new handle!

Recently got this Walters axe from my parents. Cleaned it up and putting a new handle on it. Came with a 14” so I’m using one that long. I assume I need to keep going and get a tighter fit at the top still before putting a wedge in correct?

I also have had this Norlund for several years, but only today thought to look it up and apparently it’s a legit cool old tool. It only has a 12” handle though. Measured from the very top of the head to the bottom of the handle. It’s a bit old and loose, so might get another handle for it too.

Any tips or suggestions on what to do to put these to use?

After grinding and dinging off most of the pretty black forgescale on my project axe,
I was curious if theres any rust preventing, wear proof axe head coatings that are popular, maybe even something that blends well with forge scale, of if its just not a thing people do. (if so, why?)
Obviously the red/green/blue paint dips on most axes that somehow instantly rub off on everything are no good, but maybe some of you have favorites?

Hi y’all, I’m reaching out to see if anyone has experience with Øyo axes. I was researching Banko aces for fun because I have a Banko sweden and a Mustad Banko Norway and wanted to know the correlation. Apparently Banko sweden was bought out in 1966 and moved to Norway becoming Mustad Banko. After that it became Øyo axes who are still active today (theg trasintioned to the current around the late 70’s). Im looking at their website and I’m seeing stuff a lot different from other old brands like HB and GFB… I’m wondering ehat people think about it!

https://oeyo.no/en/p/sportsoksa

I don’t have the craftsmanship to make a new handle, any good suggestions of what will fit it

A box full of those axes was found in a old railway warehouse here in Brazil. It was auctioned and the axes sold over the years. I finally managed to get one.
Original finish, just some rust, you can see the temper line on the fifth picture. 4 pounder with a incredible 15 degrees bit angle.
How old is it? I didn’t find any other Warren with a similar stamp.

I have some suspicion that those axes were headed to the “Southern Brazilian Lumber and Colonization Company”, an American company responsible for lumber extraction and railroads expansion here in South Brazil.

Can't figure out what this says

It took me longer to process the small bit of coast live oak (at the front) than the two large redwood logs. That shit splits so easy.

When working with a super hard/stringy wood is there a different profile vs my Fiskars that works easier? Something sharper/narrower to bite more? I have access to quite a bit of each wood.

I bought this no name vintage axe from auction and am really happy with the result. From the beltsander I can tell it was a high carbon steel from the sparks… but without a brand it’s hard to tell where it’s from. Looks a lot like a Sandvik pattern I posted a while ago….
It’s keeping its edge well and will serve its purpose for many years to come for the lucky person that buys it from me :)

I wonder the maker of the head. There was some green paint left on it and the handle is probably not the original

Hello, I am looking for a Plumb boys axe for my nephew because he is getting old enough to swing an axe, I don’t got much so I was just wondering how much I should give for one if I do fine one.

I saw this as a collectable Axe. Do you have any experience with it?

I have a query. I live in the tropics, and I do not have access to a lot of the typical axe handle woods, hickory, ash, maple. I can get those, but they can be pretty pricey. What is readily available are ironwoods and ebony. Are these woods good for axe handles?

The only other woods I can find are Shorea Astylosa, Guava, Molave, Merbau, and Tamarind. What properties should I look for when making both long-handled and short handled axes?

Hey all, I hope you are well. I have inherited my great grandfathers axe. It has a sideways curved handle, not sure why, and is still tight on the handle. There are unfortunately no markings on it, besides a “J M” which appear to be hammered in with a nail or awl. I have never seen one like this before. If anybody has an idea about it, I would love to hear about it.