Double Bladed Axe Restoration – Why Different Size Blades?

Video Description

Hi! Today we’re restoring a very strange double-bladed axe. I bought this item at a flea market. As I was told, it was used for splitting sugar or salt — which is strange in itself. And, of course, I bought it. Its condition was poor: a lot of rust. I understand that corrosion ate the metal, but it’s interesting. Let’s get started with the restoration. First, I cleaned the axe’s surface using a knife, because the layer of rust was very thick. After cleaning, the handle fell off by itself. I threw the handle away, and placed the axe head in a rust remover for 2.5 days. After cleaning, it was clear that the rust was deep. The old rivets holding the axe blades had rotted. I drilled out the old rivets and moved on to surface treatment — that is, each of the two blades separately. After cleaning, I treated the blade surfaces and parts with a soft wire brush. I didn’t polish to a mirror finish, because the axe would lose too much metal and weight. Instead, I decided to decorate the surface by etching patterns onto the metal. For etching, I used a film printed at a regular print shop. First, I applied a solvent to the axe surface, cleaned it, degreased it, and only then applied the sticker. Then I coated the axe surface with several layers of paint to protect individual parts during etching. For the etching process, I used salt, baking soda, and electricity. The etching turned out average, because I spent no more than 3–4 minutes on each pattern. More time would have made the design deeper, but I was afraid of damaging the parts, as they were already thin. After this, I cleaned the surface, applied oil, and wiped it dry. To rivet the axe blades to the main body, I used new steel rivets. Then, using a engraver, I highlighted the patterns and moved on to bluing the metal to prevent rust. I used a 10% nitric acid solution and iron bluing agents. After that, I lightly sanded everything with fine sandpaper and moved on to making the handle. For the axe handle, I used dry beech wood. I shaped it with a plane and put it on the axe head. To secure it, I used brass strips on both sides, soldered them with silver, and put two rings — one at the bottom and one at the top. Additionally, I added one ring at the bottom of the handle, an iron pendant, and a leather wrap. And, as always, I tested the axe. My opinion: the axe is strange, it’s unclear what it was for, but it cuts. Thank you all! Be sure to share this video. Sincerely, Alex. Thanks for attention! Good luck and health to everyone! With best wishes, Alex! Please subscribe to my channel: @ScrewsAndTools 🍖 My New Cooking channel! @screwsandtoolscooking Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Screwsandtools Paypal: paypal.me/screwsandtools Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scresandtools/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/screwsandtools/ #screwsandtools #axe #restoration