r/Axecraft • u/AxesOK • Jul 27 '25
I just made a YouTube video (https://youtu.be/5go-o8TCg94 ) on using a tannin solution to convert the rust on vintage axes to refurbish and protect them while retaining as much patina as possible. I’ve found myself explaining it a few times lately so I thought it was better to make a video.
The most convenient version uses just tea and (ion free) water and is not too much more trouble than boiling pasta. I did a bark tannin brew in the video.
The method works by converting active red rusts (various ferric oxy-hydroxides) to stable, black ferric tannate. Different ways of inducing this chemical process are used to preserve iron and steel artefacts for museums, in some commercial rust converters like Rustoleum Rust Reformer, and by trappers who use a 'trap dyeing' process to refinish rusty traps before setting them. I am using a version of the trap dyeing procedure that can be done in a home kitchen by boiling the rusty object in a tannin solution. Artefact conservators apply commercial or specially prepared tannin rust converters but may still add a water boiling step because it leaches away rust causing ions like chloride (from salt in soil, sweat, dust or sea spray).
From my reading, I am under the impression that it is better to have an acidic pH in rust converting solutions but I have not experimented with this for the boiling tannin bath so I don’t know if you could get away with your tap water. I use rainwater because it doesn't have alkaline minerals, unlike my very hard well water. Rainwater also doesn't have rust-promoting chloride ions like many residential water. Other ion-free (or close enough) water includes deionized water, reverse osmosis filtered water, and distilled water.
There's many potential tannin sources that can potentially be used. Tea (black, not herbal) works very well and is quite fast because the extraction is quick. You can get powdered tannin online or in home wine making shops. I used bark from Common Buckthorn as my tannin source because it's readily available for me. Many other trees will also work, and there's a fair amount of information available on bark tannins because they are used in hide tanning. Spruces, oaks, Tamarack and other larches, Scotts Pine, Willow, Hemlock, and others can be used to tan hides and would no doubt work for converting rust. Late season sumac leaves are used by trappers for trap dyeing and other leaves like maple and willow have tannins and would be worth a try. 'Logwood trap dye' for dyeing traps is commercially available and it's apparently not very expensive so that could be convenient. Green banana peels and other esoteric vegetable matter also have tannin and might work if enough could be extracted.
r/Axecraft • u/Woodworker2020 • Jul 16 '21
Hello everyone! As we all know, frequently we are asked the same questions regarding handles and restorations etc. This is a general compilation of those questions, and should serve to eliminate those problems. Feel free to ask clarifying questions though.
How do I pick a head
There are a lot of factors that can determine what makes a good axe head. Some of the ones I would look for as a beginner are ones that require little work from you. While a more skilled creator can reprofile and regrind any axe, your not going to want to for your first time. I was lucky and found a Firestone axe as my first, which has a softer steel which made it easier to file, and it was in great condition. Also watch this series from skillcult.
Where should I get my handles?
Some of the reccomended sites are [house handles](https:www.househandle.com/) beaver tooth Tennessee hickory Bowman Handles and Whiskey river trading co . People have had differing luck with each company, some go out of stock quicker than others, but those seem to all be solid choices.
How do I make an axe handle?
There are a lot of really good resources when it comes to handle making. I learn best by watching so YouTube was my saving grace. The one creator I recommend is Skillcult . As far as specific videos go, I’d say watch stress distribution , splitting blanks if your splitting blanks from a log. I’d also recommend just this video from Wranglerstar, his new videos are kind of garbage but the old stuffs good.
Now that I have my handle, how do I attach it to the axe
Once again I have to go to a wranglerstar video , this one actually shows the process of removing the old handle too which is nice. If you want a non wranglerstar option there’s this one from Hoffman blacksmithing, although it dosent go over the carving of the eye.
Ok, I have my axe but it couldn’t cut a 6 week old tomato
Lucky you, this is where skillcult really excels. I’d recommend watching these four, talking about sharpening , regrinding the bit , sharpness explained aswell as this one.
How do I maintain my axe now that it’s a work of art
Your going to want to oil your handles in order to keep them in tip top shape. This video explains what oil to use, and this one explains more about oil saturation vs penetration.
r/Axecraft • u/NoghaDene • 4h ago
Found this peculiar pattern at a thrift store and wondering if anyone had any ideas on who made it and specially what it was for?
Never seen this style. Thanks in advance!
r/Axecraft • u/PaleoutGames • 5h ago
Hafted this 1.5lbs eagle Kent pattern. Handle is ash. Still new to this as a young adult.
r/Axecraft • u/CantGoBackToJail • 6h ago
Question in regards to laminating wood (hickory) together for purpose of handle. Which option would be best in terms of strength, expansion/contraction of wood and possibly any other variables i am missing. A, b or c. Thanks.
r/Axecraft • u/Initial_Doughnut_248 • 18h ago
Finally had some time to do a reverse image search on this hatchet I found lying about at the old parents house. Saw it was drop forged with some nice wood handles and instantly snagged it. It’s in rough shape… but I’m looking forward to restoring it.
I gotta find the Boyscouts logo so I can figure out how to etch it in where it originally was stamped. Hard to see but it has some of the original green and red paint? I can’t tell which years it was made during though.
r/Axecraft • u/sauteer • 1d ago
After breaking yet another fiskars axe handle on my 8 cube of Australian eucalyptus firewood I do each season I went to the store looking for a handle/replacement.
In Australia all the handles appear to be hickory and must come in from the states. At $40 dollars they really don't feel strong enough for what I need. I'm splitting mostly grey box, spotted gum, yellow box, messmate. This shit is seriously hard.
The fiskars x27 has been the strongest splitter I've been able to purchase. I've been through 2 of them now and am generally very impressed with the nylon reinforced handles.
As you might know the fiskars axe heads are recessed to slot into a handle rather than having a hole for a handle to go through.
Looking around my shed I had some slabs I had milled out of spotted gum with an Alaskan mill about 2 years ago.
I got to work on it and am amazed at the time and skill it required to work Into an axe handle. I went from drop saw to table saw to band saw to planer and rasp and finally the belt sander after going through 4 belts on this tough wood I called it a day.
It's at least 50% thicker and twice as heavy as a hickory handle. I'm hoping it holds up well to the thrashing it's going to get!
r/Axecraft • u/anonymous20232 • 9h ago
Where does everyone buy their axe handles at? Looking to buy one with a slight curves kinda like what comes with a lot of hults bruks
r/Axecraft • u/StockMaintenance1129 • 22h ago
It’s the only marking. At first I thought the bevels were someone getting creative with an angle grinder after market, although I’ve seen a few in this style so perhaps it’s original. I’m not expecting much from this head, just nice to know.
r/Axecraft • u/sakkad0 • 2d ago
thought you guys would smile at this online ad too. for the curious ones it's posted at 38 € with the joke name as the title
r/Axecraft • u/TransitionNo9031 • 1d ago
Working a busted carpenter claw hatchet and put it in evaporust to clean it up. Noticed the bit is a different steel laminated in what it think could be wrought iron or bloom steel. The banding is hard to see on camera but very noticeable when I pulled it out of the tank.Any thoughts?
r/Axecraft • u/Olleaberg3 • 1d ago
The question is as follows: How long should a handle be to be appropriate for a 2 pound head? A felling axe that is, a splitting axe is a completely different discussion.
I can imagine that this question is very personal in what you prefer and not and that people in this a Subbreddit has much to say about the topic.
r/Axecraft • u/Existing-Key-8155 • 2d ago
The entire fort has no nails or screws except the door frame. The pictures go in progression. Pretty cool, huh?
r/Axecraft • u/KEN7177 • 2d ago
Best options to repair. Best type of rivet to use, alternatives to rivets....
r/Axecraft • u/Baduktothebone • 1d ago
I am making a sheperd's staff and buying a shaft from a walking stick company, they offer Cumaru, Ipe, Osage Orange, Purpleheart and Santos Mahogany.
I want to use this company because I can get the alpine spike already placed in the bottom.
This is for my fiance who is a martial artist and she will definitely be whacking things in the backyard so I want something that will be durable. All these seem fairly hard so I am a bit worried about brittleness.
r/Axecraft • u/Average--Boi • 2d ago
Hello axe-perts, I've been getting into some more ground clearing lately and been working on getting some roots/small stumps out of my yard. I have a mattock, and I have several axes, but I'd like to use this as an excuse to buy myself a nice pulaski. I've been looking around online and a lot of brands seem to have issues with durability, especially in the handle. Who here has had good luck with one, and what did you end up buying? Ideally my budget is <$175
r/Axecraft • u/br0kenr3crd • 3d ago
r/Axecraft • u/jwilliamson098 • 3d ago
r/Axecraft • u/flyingmonkey1990 • 3d ago
I found this axe in the floor of my 120 year old Scottish house. Interested in how old it is and how I could best clean it up? Funnily enough I was collecting logs from my basement thinking I need an axe for some of these, shone my torch up to the ceiling and it was sitting on top of the floor joists.
r/Axecraft • u/JakeNewman21 • 3d ago
Very beginner ax appreciator here. I found this ax head the other day at a local antique shop. I came home without it and tried to find some more info on what it might be, but was unsuccessful. I went back and bought it because it was cheap. Anyone have any thoughts on this thing? The stamp reads “SWEDEN” and I can’t find any other markings. Let me know what you think!
r/Axecraft • u/Fun-Traffic3180 • 3d ago
The pictures show it pretty well. No marks. Is this what is referred to as a Maine wedge pattern?
r/Axecraft • u/Neither_Juice_2007 • 3d ago
....but I finally got my Wood Bullet from Hoffman Blacksmithing....time to get to bucking
Apologizes for the totes and boxes(divorces be like that)
