Genuine Plumb Carpenter's hatchet and shipping crate

The carpenter's hatchet continues to be my favorite "all season" sort of a tool

and

this Genuine Plumb is an excellent example of a striker that will serve the new owner amazingly.

Genuine Plumb carpenter's hatchet ready for the new owner

Just as a reminder, not all hatchets are made to hit with the poll. The carpenter's hatchet on the other hand is just begging to dish out some beatings (from the cutting edge and the hammering poll). This striker can play any role: from a diverse camping tool - to a truck tool - to a fine woodworking bench companion.

Genuine Plumb carpenter's hatchet and leather sheath ready for the new owner

To protect both the owner and the tool, I included a hand stitched my typical axe/hatchet sheath. I recommend keeping the sheath on when just using the hammer pole of the hatchet. After all, the swinger will be raising a blade toward themselves in every swing of the hammer side. If i had my own way I would put a sheath on everyone's bladed tool. 

Framed for viewing, the Genuine Plumb stamp.

Genuine Plumb logo

Pitting on a Plumb double bit axe: an example of texture

All marks on an old tool up for restoring act as a visual record of its history.

for outdoor tools, pitting from rust is a common mark maker.

 sometimes these marks show abuse and sometimes they just show a tool's life lived to the fullest.

if too deep then rust can be a killer for tools

 so 

it is important to make sure that if a tool is structurally sound before using (a vinegar bath is the system i employ to remove all of the rust, but there are other methods out there. the removal of all rust and debris exposes the tool for a complete obstacle free inspection). 

here is an example of a double bit axe that had a fair amount of rusting 

but

none of the rust was shallow enough to make it an excellent candidate for restoration.

Plumb double bit axe showing strong texture from rust but is completely sound and will make an excellent striker.

this Plumb double bit will make an excellent striker: full of history, full of potential.

Hatchet handle treatment before hanging

Before I start the hanging process i make sure that any handle shaping and sanding is finished.

without the head on I am able to maneuver the handle better while shaping and sanding. not having to worry about the blade also makes the process go a bit faster.

sanding and shaping perform three important functions:

first, removes the factory applied finish. (the handles i use are only covered with a wax).

second, a well shaped and sanded handle is easier on the hands when using the tool. better to grip and wont grate the hands as easily.

third, the sanding will make the naturally coarse texture/open grain smoother and therefore will leave crisper lines if any paint is to be applied.

shaping and sanding the handle before hanging the hatchet hands

now i can start the hanging process.

Axe restoration pulling the double bit out of the vinegar bath

This vinegar bath started out with clear and clean fresh distilled vinegar.

3 days of soaking: 5 hatchets, 1 single bit and 2 double bits 

i ended up with this.

pulling out a double bit from the "rust lava"

amongst the lot was this plumb carpenter hatchet.

this is exactly what i want to see after the tool is removed and rinsed off.

exactly what a hatchet should look like after removing from a vinegar bath.

i want to see the strong dark tempering in the front and hammer poll and all the rust to be removed.

this striker will make an excellent tool for someone!

Stanley M boy's axe and the final packaging

Shipping of this Stanley M boy's axe to California.

restored Stanley M boy's axe

Before I started offering custom leather sheaths the final hone after the sale was my farewell to the tool.
after the hone came the packaging inside the crate
now, when given the opportunity to add a sheath to the tool i get to extend the farewell.

leather sheath for Stanley M boy's axe

the crate is first and foremost a shipping vehicle. we have all seen how the couriers deliver some of our packages at our front door and i refuse to let a new owner's striker get jiggered up because of a courier. tools are made to be used and get marks on them BUT it should be the owner's "user marks" on them.

Restored Stanley M boy's axe ready for shipping

my opinion stands that the marks we procure on a tool, through our personal use, will enhance our or relationship with it. the more marks there are the greater the relationship.

Circle wedges for mauls and sledge hammers

Circle wedges are a must for all heavy hitters.

there are a number of variables that make the handle-to-tool fit as secure as possible:

1.  using a riffler to fit the wood that will be in the tool's eye as form fitting as possible

2.  a good wood wedge that is driven as deep as possible

3.  using a white wood glue on the wood wedge so when cured become one with the helve's wood

4.  giving the wood in the eye a good soak in linseed oil to protect from drying and shrinking

5. when extra security is needed then a circle wedge finishes the job (done before the linseed soak)

the idea behind the circle wedge is to push the wood in all directions. this multi directional pressure is more secure the linear pressure delivered from a pick style metal wedge.

circle wedges usually come in large sizes 

and 

are perfect for tools that take more impact abuse: mauls, sledges, large double bits and so on.

Restoring axes, the line up

While cleaning and organizing my cave

i made an effort to better organize heads that are awaiting restoration.

axe and hatchet heads waiting to be restored

i have them hanging on a simple stretcher with a wood fence in the front 

(to protect the young ones when they are with me).

i didn't realize what a line up i had.

time to do some restoring, NOW!!

Hatchet sheath design change - using chicago screw

Every now and then I come up with a VERY subtle design change that i believe will make a 

big impact. with my hatchet and axe sheaths i have made a very minor change that i am probably a little bit too excited about.

aesthetically i have kept the same:

1- "border" design of the leather body

2- single wrap around helve strap

3- 5 layers of 6-8 ounce leather on the top and bottom

4- 3 layers of 6-8 ounce leather in the front

5- cemented and hand stitched

6- copper penny rove with copper shingling nail in the apex of the border design

7- snap fastener for the front

restored carpenters hatchet with leather sheath

snap closure is fast and reliable, also very easy to replace. 

restored carpenters hatchet with leather sheath

THE CHANGE: i have replaced the back strap fastener 

from a copper penny rove & copper shingling nail to a copper penny and a chicago screw. 

this is the strap fastener that will allow the strap to pivot on the body, but not allow the strap to come undone. the only other variable not seen is that i used some teflon tape around the threads to keep from coming loose. i prefer teflon tape over thread lock because it is easier to remove 

and so readily available.

restored carpenters hatchet with chicago screw as the back fastener to the leather  sheath strap

this chicago screw has a larger flange than the copper shingling nail, both in width and thickness.

this will improve durability by greater stress relief and less biting into the leather.

an added side benefit is that if for some reason the strap does need to be replaced, then it will be much easier to do. 

Chronodex week 16 and passing along a restored tool

This week i was given the opportunity to sell an excellent Plumb carpenter's hatchet to a Californian. 

for someone who is dedicated to the passing along a quality restored tools to another, these transactions are pretty damn exciting. 

each tool should act as an extension of an individual's purpose or purposeful acts.

the better the tool, then the better the potential for a successful act. 

when i am able to restore a tool, i feel that i can share a bit in the success.

restored plumb carpenters hatchet

 for the desk, i found an old esterbrook ball bearing clip no.30. it just sort of surfaced in a parts bin that may have belonged to one of my grandfathers.

i did have to remove the rust and add a very small amount of silicon to the bearing.

clean and very smooth action.

chronodex 4.25.2014 collage

 found myself making 45 degree notes again.

chronodex 4.25.2014

chronodex 4.27.2014

Carpenter's hatchet and the rustic crate assembly

Along with the my need to restore tools is the need to present them in some kind of formal way to the new owner.

this form of presentation usually takes the form of some variation of a box.

the final presentation of the box will be rustic and simple. 

this is to reflect my preference to long ago shipping crates, those wooden vessels that were made to safely transport goods to the Great Plains. 

the wood on this crate has come from a salvaged cedar deck. with just a bit of resawing & rough sanding the pieces are ready for cutting.

the individual cut slats are assembled by both gluing and nailing. this crate will be perfect for shipping and surviving the courier. 

restored hatchet crate assembly

i make an effort to use reclaimed wood for these crates.

the use of reclaimed wood will: 

1-find another purpose for the scraps (being responsible to our resources)

2- support the rustic look

3- keep costs down

Hanging the carpenters hatchet head - all about the fine tuning

The next major transformation (after vinegar bath, initial polish and establishing the bits angle)             is giving the hatchet head a body. 

before i can even start the fitting, i first take off the mill's wax coating from the handle and smooth the entire helve with 3 grits of sand paper. i will be adding my own protective coating later on.

replacement handles come in only a limited number of dimensions

and 

i have NEVER had one that just fits perfectly into a tool i am fixing right away.

in fact, this usually takes a bit of time to get to fit perfectly. with a bit of patience the results will be very rewarding. both sides of this tool are usable so i need to use straight 18" American hickory handles.  my preference to an 18' handle versus a smaller one means greater versatility in reach and momentum. if ever a fine cut is needed just choke up.

the process follows these general steps:

1-reduce the handles eye wood so at least it can start to fit inside the head.

2-tap on the head a bit, remove the head and see where the rub on the eye wood is.

3-riffler the wood where the rub is and then do steps 1 & 2 again

tight fitting hanging on the restoration of this carpenters hatchet

4-eventually i will get close to the helve's shoulder. i really want the head to sit on the shoulders as much as possible. that thicker part of the handle will not only act a solid base to butt up against but will take the abuse of missed strikes better (when the handle hits the surface being struck). i also need to add here that carpenters hatchets are versatile strikers that are not one dimensional splitters. a bit of beef around the shoulders will be more beneficial.

sometimes i get handles that do not have pre-sawn wedge cuts. in this case i simply take a rip saw and make my own.

ripping a new home for the wedge in the hatchet handle

5-the final step is to wood glue in the softer wood wedge into the handle. i NEVER epoxy a handle in the head but i do add the wood glue for the wood to wood contact of the wedge and handle.

after at least 24 hours of curing time the head will go into its first linseed oil soak. this will condition the wood and help reduce wood shrinkage. 

as wood dries it shrinks and this will happen no matter what after time. it is necessary to periodically condition the eye wood in linseed oil to prevent this.

Establishing a new bit angle on a carpenter's hatchet restoration

After the first visual transformation from removing the layers of corrosion to the initial polishing 

comes the first steps of actually modifying the blade. this is when we start to establish a more optimal cutting edge, the angle from the cutting bit to the tools cheeks.

before i continue on, i would like to step back to the last step and quickly give some words as to why it is important to immediately polish the tool after removing from the vinegar bath.

 that caustic soak has two purposes: to remove corrosion and to test the temper. when the old corrosion is removed then the surface area is increased, therefore the tool can quickly degrade again.

the images of that craftsman after just one week shows the process in action and that was when it was cold and very low humidity!

 in the summer the acceleration would be alarmingly fast. allowing this to happen would be counter productive to our attempts to move this tool forward. the polishing will afford us the time to continue the restoration process without any steps backwards, even if life gets busy and there is alot of time between being able to work on the tool.

with that said, lets put this head in the jig and remove some metal!

this is a chance to do some more forceful work on the tool without the handle getting in the way or even doing damage to the handle while laying down a heavy hand. 

this is the time to: 1= decrease the angle from the bit to the cheeks 2= remove any chips 3= improve on the profile the bit (fix the asymmetrical sharpening from past owners).

now there are a few times when i am lucky enough to acquire a tool that needs no jig work, but in all honesty that is more of a rarity. mostly that happens when someone comes to me with a project to restore a tool already in pretty good shape, minus a chip or two. BUT because i do this out of an obsession, i really like the challenge of bring back to life quality tools that have the potential to be great but are in a current state of disfunction.

below is an old hatchet that has very good quality steel. although the tool was not overly misused it was definitely in need of some jig work.  my goals for this session were to symmetrically decrease the angle from the cutting edge to the sides of the hatchet. this will make it a more efficient cutter.  while doing this i will also be able to give that edge some point too. this tool was so dull it was visually rounded on the bit. this simply could NOT have been safe. a sharp tool is a safe tool and this striker was as dangerous as it gets (probably couldn't even strike warm butter without glancing off).

a detail of the carpenters hatchet getting some symmetrical adjustment to the business end

in the jig, the tool is worked by switching sides over and over again. By the end this jig work the angle was looking symmetrically efficient.  

i would like to stress here that when i am finished on the jig i am by NO means finished with the shaping nor the sharpening. i will still need to create an optimal edge by turning this flatter transition to a more convex style grind with diamond files and sharpening stones.

the last item to mention is that although this tool will make a perfect striker when finished, i do leave enough steel still intact so the new owner can have the chance to do his or her own modification. it is all about what is best for the new owner.

Transformation from the vinegar bath to the initial polish of the craftsman carpenter's hatchet restoration

There are some steps of the hatchet restoration that have a greater visual impact.

for example: when the hatchet comes out of the vinegar bath and then when the initial polish is done.

these two images show the transformation from matte poly-chromatic texture to higher gloss momo-chromoatic texture.

the matte version was taken about one week after pulling the head out of the vinegar bath. the temper looks very good on both the bit and the poll. when first pulled out the tool was a solid matte grey, but one week later had all of these great colors that moved around the surface marks.  

craftsman carpenter's hatchet one week after the vinegar bath

the gloss version was taken after the initial polishing. 

this step dramatically decreases the surface area and inhibits rust. this will provide better protection for the new owner. 

i have stated many times before that i do not want to remove all of the history, but i do need to establish a new beginning for the tools future owner. 

from this redefined state the new owner can create a more personal relationship of work and history

(plus the tool will be more functionally sound). 

craftsman carpenter's hatchet after initial polishing

the next step will be to establish a new angle from the bit to the cheek for better cutting performance. 

Working on the presenter

The next step in my entertainment:

 last week i had the idea to do some drawing and writing from the tools i restore. 

after that came that short little video of removing the axe head to expose a slightly ornate outline of the tool and some notes from the restoration process.  the video was a way for me to sort out some thoughts, so now from live video comes the move to try stop motion. 

i decided to create some VERY short stop motion scenes and a figure to present the tool being worked on. the initial idea is to make some sort of figure that can somewhat bridge the two tangents together, tool care and pen work. i thought it seemed fairly logical to have the figure made from materials used in restoration and in making the pen work. realistically i needed some other parts so i opened up the materials used to items that can be found inside the shop.

the materials used to make this fellow are items from the shop: 

1.  a retired double bit axe helve (all of the wood parts), 

2.  a deer antler (for textural variety and common in the shop), 

3.  a dip pen (to help bridge the two facets of tool and writing), 

4.  a handle from an old stanley block plane (such a great moveable head and brings in the shop motif), 5.  a manual counter (can not see, it is on the back. this will be to count the scenes),

6.  misc leather, copper and brass parts.

stop motion protagonist

the epoxy was added right before this image was taken. 

stop motion fellow made from parts inside the shop

next step will be the hands and the backbone. 

i think i can make the hands from old metal wedges extracted from restored axes.

i am still unsure about the backbone, maybe antler and brass pieces.

all the wood pieces are from the old axe helve

another variable to sort out is that the head moves up and down but i need a system for it to express side to side motion. 

despite the name being spelled out, this fellow will not be called stanley

after the body is done i will start fabricating the support for keeping this fellow upright.

even if nothing comes out of this project i have enjoyed the figure making process.

True temper kelly works flint edge "best axe made" hanging

Today had some great shop time and it started with another great hanging.

was able to spend some more time on the kelly works "best axe made".

true temper kelly works flint edge "best axe made" getting hung

spent a good amount of time sanding this handle. excellent grain orientation but was a bit course.

when the time came to actually hang the head, this happened to be one of those eyes that just about perfectly fit the helve without any rasping.

i would say that within 15 minutes i had it resting firmly on the helve's shoulders.

axe restoration mallet made from an extreme croquet mallet scrap and recycled hammer handle.
invaluable for hanging axe heads.

kelly works axe hanging, ready for the wedge.

the wedge went in perfectly.

very tight and after the white glue that was added to the wedge cures completely i will soak in the linseed bath. 

kelly works flint edge hung tightly

the owner requested that this striker will not have any flash added to it. 

with that in mind, the helve selection was extremely important. i spent almost a month looking for one with the best grain. cant deny that i was getting a bit anxious to get this project done.

this is going to be a VERY reliable striker!

True temper kelly works flint edge rubbing with a dixon no. 361 graphite stick and then some running images

I was having too much damn fun restoring that Kelly single bit with the "best made axe" graphic.

i frequently take photos of the tools i work on as remembrances and this time i though i would add another facet to such recording:
first, i went on to exercise the Dixon No. 361 graphite stick in a rubbing.

(side note: i have always been a fan of old tombstone rubbings)
the ghostly image on the tomoe river paper seems to relate well to the age and physical appearances of this tool.

after this rubbing i though that maybe i should find a way to include some other pen work into the tool restoration. i quickly made a test sketch and decided to make a short running image of it. this is a bit immature but wanted to show the process of putting together an idea.

after completing this test i had a number of ways to improve.

i am fairly confident that i will be expanding on this tangent.

True temper kelly works flint edge with graphics

Was presented with an excellent single kelly flint edge and a hewing hatchet from a local for restoring.

both tools have excellent steel and are a pleasure to work with. the single bit has not been used much but the edge was treated pretty poorly.  the image below was after initial reshaping. this included hand filing the chips out and some cheek reduction. 

true temper kelly works flint edge and a hewing hatchet initial shaping finished

there is stamping on both sides of single bit but there is one side that really is quite impressive. fortunately there has not been much corrosion so once the clean up and initial polishing was over the stamped man really became pronounced:

the stamped image on one side of the true temper kelly works flint edge "best made axe"

Pumice

All the pumice in the world will not be cleaning these hands:

dry hands, making it easier for the fortune teller

with winter comes the dry skin. 

the hands seem to become even more prone to staining from work in the shop.

i dont mind the stains so long the were the vehicle to a job well done.

The value of the riffler when hanging a hatchet

Restoring a hatchet for a local and just wanted to promote the use of the riffler for those fine adjustments for the best possible fit.

this particular hewing hatchet is a good example of when the detailing end of a riffler becomes invaluable. that pointed lug can create a bit of a challenge when using bulkier tools.

 one can use a dremel but the riffler offers excellent control and does a better job of smoothing out the transition between the fitted area and the unfitted area (at least for myself)

Back and forth, this week it is dyeing craftsman axe sheath

I often follow common threads, but rarely is there a need to only prescribe to one aesthetic.

for tool leather i find myself going back and forth from letting the leather color naturally 

and 

dyeing in the construction.

currently i am in the dyeing mode. one thing is for certain and that is dyed leather blends in better with the dirt and grime that it weathers through.

i have rehung my craftsman single bit and thought a new sheath was in order.

the dye has been applied before the rivets and snaps.

choosing to dye the sheath before rivets and snaps rather than going all natural.

i am looking forward to seeing the axe completely finished.

maybe by this weekend.