blade sharpening

[ORhutner]

for my axes, I use an old Nickolson 12" bastard cut file ( 1968 era - made in USA)
keep it on the tractor so if I need to touch up an ax blade down in the woods
still carry an old double bladed ax
has dual edges on it - one for splitting wood and one for shaving

when we bought the property, I found an old Collins 5 lbs head ax leaning against a tree in my woods
made in USA back before the time of chain saws

View attachment 1212243

I have a couple old double bits myself. The one I primarily use has slightly different assignments for the bits. I use one bit for grubbing with a nice fat convex edge and the other bit is for all the other work that isn't down in the dirt and like your, shaving sharp. Mine happens to be a nice old Plumb.

 

[rjmt]

I have a couple old double bits myself. The one I primarily use has slightly different assignments for the bits. I use one bit for grubbing with a nice fat convex edge and the other bit is for all the other work that isn't down in the dirt and like your, shaving sharp. Mine happens to be a nice old Plumb.

double bits are a tradition from the NW
loggers were intimidated by the massive trees they found out here and their traditional Wisconsin and New England blades just wouldn't do

they call the double bladed ax a "back stabber"
I found out why when I was walking down to my woods with mine over my shoulder
caught my foot on a branch under the ferns and the ax slammed forward
it was so sharp, it cut through my Carhartt jacket, my plaid shirt and my undershirt
still have the scare

the old Plumb is a classic ax
mines an early Olympic, back when they were still made in USA

 

[rjmt]

I researched big timber logging in Humboldt Co, Cal
the largest trees harvested on the West Coast were cut down there with double bladed axes
a logging team consisted of the saw men and the ax men
but the highest paid men in a logging camp were the specialist who sharpened the axes every night and installed new handles if needed
the long handles double bladed ax was invented in Humboldt Co, the axe design from Michigan and Main just weren't sufficient on the West Coast
a Humboldt lumberjack could down a 5' diameter tree in 3 hrs with just his ax
REAL MEN

 

[Ura-Ki]

I researched big timber logging in Humboldt Co, Cal
the largest trees harvested on the West Coast were cut down there with double bladed axes
a logging team consisted of the saw men and the ax men
but the highest paid men in a logging camp were the specialist who sharpened the axes every night and installed new handles if needed
the long handles double bladed ax was invented in Humboldt Co, the axe design from Michigan and Main just weren't sufficient on the West Coast
a Humboldt lumberjack could down a 5' diameter tree in 3 hrs with just his ax
REAL MEN

Yup! Grand Dad and his brothers were all ax men loggers here in OryGun, and they all swore by their Double Bits! Gramps always had a pair of Olympics, one was a "Magnum" and the other a regular, the Magnum had larger beards to the blades while the regular was normal size and shaped! He custom stoned both right and left hand edges to his axes, so as to be able to switch hands with out having to switch axes! He and his older brother would spring board and between the pair, could out cut just about anyone on the mountain! They thought it was great, until the yard boss made it the new daily quota! I have all those axes now, treasures pieces that still get used, and boy do they work good!

 

[rjmt]

Yup! Grand Dad and his brothers were all ax men loggers here in OryGun, and they all swore by their Double Bits! Gramps always had a pair of Olympics, one was a "Magnum" and the other a regular, the Magnum had larger beards to the blades while the regular was normal size and shaped! He custom stoned both right and left hand edges to his axes, so as to be able to switch hands with out having to switch axes! He and his older brother would spring board and between the pair, could out cut just about anyone on the mountain! They thought it was great, until the yard boss made it the new daily quota! I have all those axes now, treasures pieces that still get used, and boy do they work good!

when we bought this property, there were still giant Cedar stumps from when this place was logged off by hand in the early 1900s
the stumps still had the cuts for the spring boards in them
most of the stumps were still 6' tall back then
I have that old Collins 5 lbs ax as a collectable - tried to cut down a dead tree with it once - I can swing a 5 'lbs head only so long
my 3.5 Collins is a much more manageable ax
but we only use it to clean out a back cut before we use the chain saw for the main cut

for cutting roots and grubbing, I use the German Mattock, an American mattock has a much shorter blade and handle

 

[ma96782]

I've used my "Work Sharp" (BTW, Made in OR) on the GF's kitchen knives.

For larger work/projects (example : axe sharpening).....I've used my electric 1/2" HF belt sander. BTW, I've also seen people sharpening tools with circular grinders/sanders. There are plenty of examples like the one here (start at 7:44 for the sharpening).

Aloha, Mark

 

[rjmt]

I've used my "Work Sharp" (BTW, Made in OR) on the GF's kitchen knives.

Aloha, Mark

I had a GF once, but 37 years latter, she still hasn't gone home
and her Gerber Presentation kitchen knives are still in my kitchen

 

[ma96782]

Aloha, Mark

 

[rjmt]

View attachment 1213646

Aloha, Mark

yup, back in the day, she told me if she ever moved out, she would take her Gerber set with her, so I let her stay

you have to compromise to keep a Gerber 8" chef's knife!!

 

[oremike]

My nephew is coming home on leave from the Navy this week so I'll finally be able to give him the WWII Mark 1 Navy deck knife I found for him at a gun show. I know sharpening a collector can decrease the value but this is a working mans knife and now is shaving sharp.