hello, fan of your videos. ive been sharpening for over 12 years and would only add one tip. you never mention a burr at all and for me that was what made me so effective. with the coarse stone, if you havnt established a burr after the sharpie is gone, do it again untill you can feel the rough fuzzy sensation on the opposite side. this cant happen untill the thickness of your edge is the same as your abrasive causing it to get pushed over from hitting it head on. once that is established, use light strokes and make sure that edge is straightened. you can feel sharpness by sliding a thumbprint over the edge from edge to spine, this is a strop motion instead that goes at a steeper angle from spine to edge to feel the burr. repeat at each step to ensure maximum sharpness has been reached with each stone. i can get hairs popping at 220 and whittling at 360. which are coarse. then use a strop to again straighten the existing edge that if it is a burr, it is just bent a tiny bit. but make sure it is smooth first before stropping, if it scratches the strop us very light ceramic stage strokes. ive been able to whittle hair since i was 16 doing this :) the rocks will cry out his praise even a lansky puck
The sharpie is a great aid it shows rather quickly that your staying at the correct angle I got it to shaving sharp in no time I did the handle refinish and the grip and appearance is much better
I sharpen from top to bottom , basically horizontal to the way you have. I can see the stone against the axe. I believe just as with an axe as my knives , if you take care of it after every use , you really don't need a very course stone. Just my way , not wrong , not right , it's sharp at the end of the day and ready for next use.
Hello... and Help Help Help I have a serious question on hangin an axe head onto a 51 year old axe head. My fathers' old axe finally succumbed and the axe handle broke. Mistakes were made in drilling out the old wood from the eye of the axe. I forgot to take not of which was the top and bottom of the axe. In the eye of the axe head one of the eye holes is larger than the other. 1. How do I set the axe? Is the smaller eye the top and the larger eye on the bottom? The cutting edge of the axe is symmetrical, hard to tell which is top and bottom. I've since followed videos to come to a point to sharpen & shape the axe. I will do a final sharpening when I find answers. 2. The new handle does not fill the eye completely, other handles at various hardware stores are also smaller. The various available handles do not completely fill the eye lengthwise. 3. I will have to search for some good wedge wood to lock the handle. The wedge supplied with the replacement handle is 1.5" wide and .5" thick. The new axe handle is 2" long, 5/8th's " thick at the widest point. 4. I found a piece of wood that was perfect in shape. But may be too soft as I found a flat wooden spatula in a kitchen store. Sir... This is what I have to work with.... Please please help. James
I see you used spyderco sharp maker ceramic rods. I wonder if it would be possible to sharpen an axe as you would sharpen a knife on a sharp maker angle system.
Hi Eugene - First, thank you for the wonderful reviews and videos! I'll be buying the Husqvarna Multi-Purpose Axe later today and want to make sure I have what I need. You linked to the Lansky stone, but I can't find the other 2 stones you're using (square flat water/wet stone and the ceramic stone). Any chance you have more info on the other 2 stones? Thank you, sir!
+yelir p , thank you for the compliments, and question. I have added links in the description for what you are asking about here. The square stone I have is an antique Pike Sapphire stone, and hard to find, but I've linked the most comparable i've found. It might even be a bit of overkill. Blessings.
I just got this axe today and it has a tiny chip on the edge. Could I use this method to remove the chip or do I need to use a bastard file first to work the edge down to remove the chip, and then go with the sharpening method you use here? Thanks.
Hi Eugene. I have a new Grandfors Bruk Small Forest Axe and somehow after medium duty use I have found that ther are some knicks in the blade steel (maybe 1/10mm) but visible and can be felt with running your finger over it. This means to me (I think) that in order to fix this it may need to be re-grinded and a new edge created. I'm not sure though - what are your thoughts? It's a bit disappointing buying a quality tool only for it to get quickly dull and for burrs to arrive. I agree that if it was used inappropriately I could expect this, but the use was very 'medium' in my opinion. Do you think I should attempt a repair or send it back to Factory for analysis?
Hmm..that's quite surprising to me. Did you chop any roots or ever hit the dirt with the axe? I would not expect the GFB to get nicks from chopping wood.
Thanks for the super fast reply mate! No none of those for me - a friend of mine did use it to chop a log and there was some dirt on the head afterwards so that's probably it. In terms of correcting this, what are your thoughts? Much appreciated!
Well, a 10th of a mm is quite small. I would say that you could file it down a bit (as you see being done in my new video "True Temper Kelly Perfect | Axe Restoration"). The other option is to keep grinding it down with a stone (keeping the same sharpening angle of course) until the nicks are removed and then honing it as usual. It is a good idea to fix this, because a dull axe gets more dull quicker than a sharp axe. In terms of dulling from dirt - you'd be surprised how quick a sharp tool (even high quality) will dull from hitting tiny stones in the dirt. Best of luck my friend.
hey how you doing my name is Dane and I'm looking into buying an Axe and I saw that you did a review on the Husqvarna Carpenters axe and the multi-purpose axe I'm slowly getting into Bushcraft and which one do you think would be a decent starter axe 4 Camp chores between those two unless you have something else I should look at thank you for your time
Honestly the Husqvarna 13 hatchet is a really good deal. It's very good quality, and not very expensive. You'd be hard pressed to find a deal as good as that out there. Pretty well suited for bushcrafting as well. If you want something better, you're looking at spending a lot more money on a Wetterlings or Gransfors Bruks axe.
+ReviewOutdoorGear the reason I was looking at those is that I found them by my house for around 60 bucks each so that's a little less than other places that I've seen quoted so if you're going to pick either the Carpenters axe or the multi-purpose axe which one would you go for
this is really helpful,right now i need to grow up my sharpening skill, cuz seems like, i did a wrong technique while sharpening my hatchet. thank you for the tutorial!
For chopping, the sharper the better - if it can slice paper or shave, you are set to go. A dull axe becomes "duller" faster, because the dull edge hits the wood and is destroyed more quickly. If it's s splitting axe, it can be more dull, but as sharp as you can get it.
Hello Eugene, In about a month in getting a hand forged axe from Ukraine. Will you be able to make a sheath for it and how much would it cost me? Thanks
ReviewOutdoorGear What's your method when it comes to knives? What do you use to sharpen? I have a small collection of small pocket knives that I use for whittling and they are dull enough now to where it's getting dangerous to use them. I have so many stones saved on Amazon that other UA-camrs have recommended and I already purchased this: www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00004WFTD/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1484107688&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=dmt+sharpening+diamond+stone&dpPl=1&dpID=51q7TG0-Z8L&ref=plSrch I tried the set on my Buck knife and it went well but they are pretty small so.....I don't know! Lack of technique may have hindered my results. I have now purchased this: www.amazon.com/Smiths-DFPK-Diamond-Precision-Sharpening/dp/B000O8OTKA I haven't tried it yet....and yes, I have watched every UA-cam video I could find on the set 😬. I'm just overwhelmed and I don't want to ruin my knives. So please, any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
My method for sharpening knives is fairly simple. First of all, i try to maintain the blade so that it doesn't get too dull, saving me from doing a lot of work if the blade was too dull. If a blade was very dull, with chips in it, for example, I would put a rough profile onto the blade with a file, or a coarse stone. From then I would use progressively finer stones until I got a sharp edge. You can do something very similar with the diamond whetstones that you got. When i have my desired sharpness, I strop the blade on leather to remove any burrs and polish the blade. To maintain my blade, I usually touch it up with a ceramic rod and leather strop, or if I want a more utility edge, I will touch it up with a diamond rod. Does that help? - Vlad
Thank you Vlad! Your way is similar to some of the videos that I've watched, but I trust and hold y'alls way of doing things at a higher level, so yes, this helped! One thing I've been avoiding and that everyone and their mother uses, is the leather strop. I've done online research as to why it's one of the best ways to finish or maintain a sharp edge, but I just wanted to do with out. Last night I viewed a UA-cam video about different DIY synthetic strops that I may look into making. I did find a highly reviewed synthetic strop online but it was pretty pricey and I also found one that is glued to a flat base on Amazon that I may purchase to try out. I just don't want to invest to much $ on this new hobby of mine...it adds up quick! Anyhow, last night I tried my Smith set and as intimidating as it looks, it was pretty fool proof and easy. Only issue I had was that the tool thingy that holds the blade in place is not meant for small blades, so it was a little tricky. I'll continue to practice on my cheaper knife (Old Timer) before I touch my nicer ones. Thank you again for taking the time to reply 😊
+Maribel Lakes Glad to help! Yes, practice is something that will help a lot. The more you do it, the better you'll get, and having an old blade that you're not squeamish to work on is great. I've never heard of synthetic strops before... interesting. Do you have a specific reason for not wanting to use a leather strop? It does not have to be any special contraption. You can actually just use the back (rough) side of a leather belt. It is not a necessary step, however, and you can still get a rather sharp edge with stones and ceramic. -Vlad
When you said "praise God" at the end... I thought about it, then I was like, "yeah, Amen, I'm subscribing". Hardly anyone says that anymore, people curse God more than they praise him. When I hear it outside of Church it startles me sometimes. God bless!
this is really helpful,right now i need to grow up my sharpening skill, cuz seems like, i did a wrong technique while sharpening my hatchet. thank you for the tutorial!
hello, fan of your videos. ive been sharpening for over 12 years and would only add one tip. you never mention a burr at all and for me that was what made me so effective. with the coarse stone, if you havnt established a burr after the sharpie is gone, do it again untill you can feel the rough fuzzy sensation on the opposite side. this cant happen untill the thickness of your edge is the same as your abrasive causing it to get pushed over from hitting it head on. once that is established, use light strokes and make sure that edge is straightened. you can feel sharpness by sliding a thumbprint over the edge from edge to spine, this is a strop motion instead that goes at a steeper angle from spine to edge to feel the burr. repeat at each step to ensure maximum sharpness has been reached with each stone. i can get hairs popping at 220 and whittling at 360. which are coarse. then use a strop to again straighten the existing edge that if it is a burr, it is just bent a tiny bit. but make sure it is smooth first before stropping, if it scratches the strop us very light ceramic stage strokes. ive been able to whittle hair since i was 16 doing this :) the rocks will cry out his praise even a lansky puck
nice tips! Thanks Derek.
Hey my friend, what a simple, straight forward technique. Thanks for sharing.
The sharpie is a great aid it shows rather quickly that your staying at the correct angle I got it to shaving sharp in no time I did the handle refinish and the grip and appearance is much better
Great video, I also used Boiled Linseed Oil on my hatchet handle, I got mine from Ace Hardware.
I sharpen from top to bottom , basically horizontal to the way you have. I can see the stone against the axe. I believe just as with an axe as my knives , if you take care of it after every use , you really don't need a very course stone. Just my way , not wrong , not right , it's sharp at the end of the day and ready for next use.
Nice! Ordered both stone and ceramic rod. How do you clean the stone and rod?
Hello... and Help Help Help
I have a serious question on hangin an axe head onto a 51 year old axe head.
My fathers' old axe finally succumbed and the axe handle broke.
Mistakes were made in drilling out the old wood from the eye of the axe.
I forgot to take not of which was the top and bottom of the axe.
In the eye of the axe head one of the eye holes is larger than the other.
1. How do I set the axe?
Is the smaller eye the top and the larger eye on the bottom?
The cutting edge of the axe is symmetrical, hard to tell which is top and bottom.
I've since followed videos to come to a point to sharpen & shape the axe.
I will do a final sharpening when I find answers.
2. The new handle does not fill the eye completely, other handles at various hardware stores are also smaller.
The various available handles do not completely fill the eye lengthwise.
3. I will have to search for some good wedge wood to lock the handle.
The wedge supplied with the replacement handle is 1.5" wide and .5" thick.
The new axe handle is 2" long, 5/8th's " thick at the widest point.
4. I found a piece of wood that was perfect in shape.
But may be too soft as I found a flat wooden spatula in a kitchen store.
Sir... This is what I have to work with....
Please please help. James
I see you used spyderco sharp maker ceramic rods. I wonder if it would be possible to sharpen an axe as you would sharpen a knife on a sharp maker angle system.
Where do you get your whetstones?
Hi Eugene - First, thank you for the wonderful reviews and videos! I'll be buying the Husqvarna Multi-Purpose Axe later today and want to make sure I have what I need. You linked to the Lansky stone, but I can't find the other 2 stones you're using (square flat water/wet stone and the ceramic stone). Any chance you have more info on the other 2 stones? Thank you, sir!
+yelir p , thank you for the compliments, and question. I have added links in the description for what you are asking about here. The square stone I have is an antique Pike Sapphire stone, and hard to find, but I've linked the most comparable i've found. It might even be a bit of overkill. Blessings.
Were you taking metal off the larger bevel (not just the cutting edge) because you were trying to keep the convex shape of the the axe?
yes, trying to preserve the original sharpening curve of the axe
where do you get your flat stones from ? i have the lansky puck.
I just got this axe today and it has a tiny chip on the edge. Could I use this method to remove the chip or do I need to use a bastard file first to work the edge down to remove the chip, and then go with the sharpening method you use here? Thanks.
+ReviewOutdoorGear Tjack1966 Did you ever find an answer to this question? I have the same problem and need to remove a chip on the edge of my axe.
great video I like this method over using a file always learning
Hi Eugene. I have a new Grandfors Bruk Small Forest Axe and somehow after medium duty use I have found that ther are some knicks in the blade steel (maybe 1/10mm) but visible and can be felt with running your finger over it. This means to me (I think) that in order to fix this it may need to be re-grinded and a new edge created.
I'm not sure though - what are your thoughts?
It's a bit disappointing buying a quality tool only for it to get quickly dull and for burrs to arrive. I agree that if it was used inappropriately I could expect this, but the use was very 'medium' in my opinion.
Do you think I should attempt a repair or send it back to Factory for analysis?
Hmm..that's quite surprising to me. Did you chop any roots or ever hit the dirt with the axe? I would not expect the GFB to get nicks from chopping wood.
Thanks for the super fast reply mate! No none of those for me - a friend of mine did use it to chop a log and there was some dirt on the head afterwards so that's probably it.
In terms of correcting this, what are your thoughts?
Much appreciated!
Well, a 10th of a mm is quite small. I would say that you could file it down a bit (as you see being done in my new video "True Temper Kelly Perfect | Axe Restoration"). The other option is to keep grinding it down with a stone (keeping the same sharpening angle of course) until the nicks are removed and then honing it as usual. It is a good idea to fix this, because a dull axe gets more dull quicker than a sharp axe. In terms of dulling from dirt - you'd be surprised how quick a sharp tool (even high quality) will dull from hitting tiny stones in the dirt.
Best of luck my friend.
Thanks very much! I'll watch your axe restoration video - much appreciated!
What about the sanding paper?
hey how you doing my name is Dane and I'm looking into buying an Axe and I saw that you did a review on the Husqvarna Carpenters axe and the multi-purpose axe I'm slowly getting into Bushcraft and which one do you think would be a decent starter axe 4 Camp chores between those two unless you have something else I should look at thank you for your time
Honestly the Husqvarna 13 hatchet is a really good deal. It's very good quality, and not very expensive. You'd be hard pressed to find a deal as good as that out there. Pretty well suited for bushcrafting as well. If you want something better, you're looking at spending a lot more money on a Wetterlings or Gransfors Bruks axe.
+ReviewOutdoorGear the reason I was looking at those is that I found them by my house for around 60 bucks each so that's a little less than other places that I've seen quoted so if you're going to pick either the Carpenters axe or the multi-purpose axe which one would you go for
Go with the multipurpose axe. Carpenters axe is pretty specific to carpentry.
this is really helpful,right now i need to grow up my sharpening skill, cuz seems like, i did a wrong technique while sharpening my hatchet. thank you for the tutorial!
+dungokunyet glad to help!
your welcome! :)
Is that water stone dual sided? Curious what grit?
Yes
thanks again. i will try this with my old axe.
very helpful -thankyou
Is is safe to use belt sander to sharpe these axes?
It creates too much heat, will ruin the temper.
Nice job!
How would you know if your Axe is Sharp enough to cut wood?
For chopping, the sharper the better - if it can slice paper or shave, you are set to go. A dull axe becomes "duller" faster, because the dull edge hits the wood and is destroyed more quickly. If it's s splitting axe, it can be more dull, but as sharp as you can get it.
What brand ceramic triangle sharpening is that...I need one thanks.
sure: Spyderco Ultra Fine Triangle Stone (ceramic Rod): amzn.to/1Qtby6H
Oh thanks a million, I sure appreciate it....did you see my question on your oiling he ax handle? Thanks again.
AuRebel yes, looking into it now.
Thank you.
what type of Steel are the, Husqvarna axes? 1060? 1095? 1055? 5160? 1070?
No one officially knows.
Hello Eugene,
In about a month in getting a hand forged axe from Ukraine.
Will you be able to make a sheath for it and how much would it cost me?
Thanks
+Dmitriy Gula , well, somewhere under $60.
I use Kerosene, Instead of any Oil,? As Oil clogs the Stone up.?
+MyREDTAIL you can use kerosene. However, honing oil is made for the purpose of sharpening.
Could u use a leather strop
Yes.
put a block of wood underneath it to support it not hold it in your hands
can i sharpen my axe with edgepro apex?
+MAAAH1581 Yes, it is possible.
I have a question about sharpening knives.
What is your question?
ReviewOutdoorGear What's your method when it comes to knives? What do you use to sharpen? I have a small collection of small pocket knives that I use for whittling and they are dull enough now to where it's getting dangerous to use them. I have so many stones saved on Amazon that other UA-camrs have recommended and I already purchased this:
www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00004WFTD/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1484107688&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=dmt+sharpening+diamond+stone&dpPl=1&dpID=51q7TG0-Z8L&ref=plSrch
I tried the set on my Buck knife and it went well but they are pretty small so.....I don't know! Lack of technique may have hindered my results. I have now purchased this:
www.amazon.com/Smiths-DFPK-Diamond-Precision-Sharpening/dp/B000O8OTKA
I haven't tried it yet....and yes, I have watched every UA-cam video I could find on the set 😬. I'm just overwhelmed and I don't want to ruin my knives. So please, any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
My method for sharpening knives is fairly simple. First of all, i try to maintain the blade so that it doesn't get too dull, saving me from doing a lot of work if the blade was too dull. If a blade was very dull, with chips in it, for example, I would put a rough profile onto the blade with a file, or a coarse stone. From then I would use progressively finer stones until I got a sharp edge. You can do something very similar with the diamond whetstones that you got. When i have my desired sharpness, I strop the blade on leather to remove any burrs and polish the blade. To maintain my blade, I usually touch it up with a ceramic rod and leather strop, or if I want a more utility edge, I will touch it up with a diamond rod. Does that help?
- Vlad
Thank you Vlad! Your way is similar to some of the videos that I've watched, but I trust and hold y'alls way of doing things at a higher level, so yes, this helped! One thing I've been avoiding and that everyone and their mother uses, is the leather strop. I've done online research as to why it's one of the best ways to finish or maintain a sharp edge, but I just wanted to do with out. Last night I viewed a UA-cam video about different DIY synthetic strops that I may look into making. I did find a highly reviewed synthetic strop online but it was pretty pricey and I also found one that is glued to a flat base on Amazon that I may purchase to try out. I just don't want to invest to much $ on this new hobby of mine...it adds up quick! Anyhow, last night I tried my Smith set and as intimidating as it looks, it was pretty fool proof and easy. Only issue I had was that the tool thingy that holds the blade in place is not meant for small blades, so it was a little tricky. I'll continue to practice on my cheaper knife (Old Timer) before I touch my nicer ones. Thank you again for taking the time to reply 😊
+Maribel Lakes Glad to help! Yes, practice is something that will help a lot. The more you do it, the better you'll get, and having an old blade that you're not squeamish to work on is great. I've never heard of synthetic strops before... interesting. Do you have a specific reason for not wanting to use a leather strop? It does not have to be any special contraption. You can actually just use the back (rough) side of a leather belt. It is not a necessary step, however, and you can still get a rather sharp edge with stones and ceramic.
-Vlad
i keep a kerosene soaked rag when i sharpen to wipe the oil down easier (keroses is a degreaser)
Sounds like a good idea, thank you
I thought you are supposed to push the stones from the edge in, like with. Knife.
did you say you have paper towels to wipe your axe??
А я с болгаркой заморачивался что бы спуски сделать и заточить! Конечно у меня не было Лански и прочего заточил тем что было!
Sir, I think that when you are using the Puck, you should do your circular motions counter-clockwise.
Why, what difference does it make?
When you said "praise God" at the end... I thought about it, then I was like, "yeah, Amen, I'm subscribing". Hardly anyone says that anymore, people curse God more than they praise him. When I hear it outside of Church it startles me sometimes. God bless!
+Evan Brown, Amen brother.
I am so happy he youse plast glowes.
you might as well say praise the tooth fairy. equal evidence of both. which is zero.
47, take a good look around you and in the mirror; even the breath you are able to take. He created all of it. Praise Jesus my man.
Lucas McCain would be proud
Careful with that Axe Eugene! (Vintage Pink Floyd humor) I thoroughly enjoy your very informative Videos. Now, go help your Dad make more sheaths! ;)
+Paul Newton , haha! Glad to help! Sheaths are being made! :)
This way is very dangerous, you can easily cut your fingers. your fingers have to stay behind the edge, all the time.
My adventure with woodworking started with Woodglut.
this is really helpful,right now i need to grow up my sharpening skill, cuz seems like, i did a wrong technique while sharpening my hatchet. thank you for the tutorial!