fatchap Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 (edited) Eddoakley on here asked me if I could have a rattle at refurbing his Estwing Sprtsmans Axe Firstly I have never done a full refurbishment on an Estwing Axe before so needed to consult the masters on YouTube, you can learn brain surgery on YouTube if you know where to look, there’s just about every tutorial on there for any subject or task you can think of. The handle was my biggest concern, the actual metal work was rusty but I can deal with that no problem. I needed to learn the exact way of cutting the leather for the stack as the handle curves so the holes in the leather have to be in a certain position for when it comes to shaping the handle, you don’t want to uncover any holes as you go. This is the condition of the Axe when it arrived, seems to have seen some action over the years.. The handle is pretty much beyond repair along with the spacers. When I removed all the leather fillets another problem presented itself, The handle bar which the leather fits onto had rusted badly at one end, where the leather is missing in the picture it had rusted away the metal rods that are peined over to hold the end cap on. This presented a problem, as I now have nothing to pein over when I replace the end cap. I decided to grind back the rust until good Then drill two 2mm holes in each side of the inner handle and tap a thread so if all goes well I can use a couple of round head hex bolts to do the job and they won’t look too out of place either. First however was to get rid of the rust and see if I can get a shine on the old girl. Its seems after all these years there is life left in that metal and it did indeed take a semi mirror polish. A few pitting marks remained I could have taken them out but they are character and add to the history. I got it from 80 grit all the way up to 3000 grit and it looks pretty good Now comes the part I have been dreading the stacked leather handle, I decided I would go for 1 inch by 5mm veg tanned leather In hindsight I should have gone for half inch wider, this would have given me more to “play with” when shaping the leather handle. I was originally going to replace the plastic spacers with some bone or antler, I decided against this after numerous failed attempts to get the antler fillet perfectly flat. As it was only 2mm thick this was causing me all sorts of problems, I eventually got it as good as. But upon returning next day my hours of work getting these four fillets as flat and as true as possible was ruined because they had “yellowed” over night something I should have taken into consideration, Antler yellows the ticker it is the longer it takes, obviously 2mm will take no time at all. And no matter how hard you polish it, it won’t go back to white. So I used 2mm white HDPE and 5mm black Perspex. So with all the leather cut and holes and slots punched out, the same with the liners, Time to mix up some hour working time 2pk epoxy and get sticking. But before I do that probably a good idea to do a dry fit to make sure all lines up good. Yep all looks good so lets get sticking. Not as easy as I thought it would be I had to stop half way up the handle to clamp it and then carry on from there once the epoxy had cured. So eventually have it all glued and end cap on. Give it 24 hours I think before I started sanding the hell out of it. Going better than I thought, got the basic shape into the handle. I decided it was a little on the fat side so shaved it down a bit. I didn’t want to go too far as I was unsure if I was going to uncover a hole or slot at some point I had to be getting close especially toward the bottom right. Any way got it to where I wanted with no accidents. So now its sand sand sand sand Then a light coat of my chosen dye colour, this helps to keep those fibres under control, for the final 1000 grit sand. upload And it looks like that. Tomorrow I will hit it with a few coats of carnauba wax and work on that scruffy end cap. Well It came out ok unfortunately when I was buffing the handle, the mop caught the metal and pulled it out of my hand, not sure what it hit on the way but whatever it was damaged my nice new leather stacked handle, I was gutted. I was able to tidy up the damage it was a lot worse than the picture shows, I looked at it and even considered starting again. A couple of other photo's The end cap I decided to give a satin shine to with a fine scotch wheel, Its engraved and due to the axes age some of the engraving was wearing so the less aggressive approach was needed. So after I had put a nice useable edge on it and a final polish I can cautiously say my first Estwing Sportsman Hatchet restoration was complete. Now just have to wait and see what its owner thinks. Got to admit and blow my own trumpet if I had one, if it was mine I would be well happy considering the condition it was in. So here is an “action shot” of the final finish. Edited July 30, 2020 by fatchap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konnie Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Many thanks for your time posting most interesting and well written, enjoyed that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave at kelton Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Fantastic work well done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalkedUp Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Wow, that is an impressive transformation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnphilip Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Beautiful work , well detailed explanation on the process and great picture story . I am sure its owner will use it with bride . Nice one . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 (edited) 20 minutes ago, johnphilip said: Beautiful work , well detailed explanation on the process and great picture story . I am sure its owner will use it with bride . Nice one . I hadn't got Eddoakley down as a wife killer 😁 Nice work on the axe, fatchap Edited July 30, 2020 by amateur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazb1967 Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Nice work. Many more years left in it now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Boggy Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Wonderful restoration and workmanship. Thanks for posting. OB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickeydredd Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Fantastic job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpmilo Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Very impressive workmanship 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
washerboy Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 I have an axe here if you want another project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjaferret Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Looks real good , gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatcatsplat Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 For the value and quality of those axes i would have said you were wasting your time, but that is indeed an excellent transformation to be very proud of. Was the handle huge blobs of epoxy and a while on the grinder? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B725 Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 That is remarkable and you have a true talent, it's always nice to bring it back to that condition instead of throwing stuff away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddoakley Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Fantastic job and I'm very grateful. The hatchet belonged to my grandfather, he gave it to me years ago and it was kept in my van and used occasionally in work. It had been lost for years but a few months after my grandfather died (last year) I found it in a pretty poor state. I posted on here and good old PW came good again with the offer to restore it. A lot of work and a great job and not only that, no charge! I stuck some money in a charity box as agreed and ordered a few knives too. I'll post pics when I remember. Once again I'd like to say what a great job and how grateful I am. Get ordering you Fatchap Blades Stickleback knives, you won't be disappointed. Edd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatchap Posted July 30, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 4 hours ago, Fatcatsplat said: 4 hours ago, Fatcatsplat said: Was the handle huge blobs of epoxy and a while on the grinder? It certainly took a while to shape on the grinder, tried rasps first but they just made a mess of the leather. 1 hour ago, eddoakley said: Fantastic job and I'm very grateful. The hatchet belonged to my grandfather, he gave it to me years ago and it was kept in my van and used occasionally in work. It had been lost for years but a few months after my grandfather died (last year) I found it in a pretty poor state. I posted on here and good old PW came good again with the offer to restore it. A lot of work and a great job and not only that, no charge! I stuck some money in a charity box as agreed and ordered a few knives too. I'll post pics when I remember. Once again I'd like to say what a great job and how grateful I am. Get ordering you Fatchap Blades Stickleback knives, you won't be disappointed. Edd It was a very interesting project, like I said never done an Axe before, quite a few Estwing hammers, they are relatively easy as the handle is straight. Glad your happy with it mate and also that your happy with the Sticklebacks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnphilip Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 9 hours ago, amateur said: I hadn't got Eddoakley down as a wife killer Nice work on the axe, fatchap That bleeding auto typing thonk ollways cothes mo uut .🙃🙃 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatchap Posted July 30, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Thanks for the reply's people.👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel b3 Posted July 31, 2020 Report Share Posted July 31, 2020 What an amazing job , well done mate 👍. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickeydredd Posted July 31, 2020 Report Share Posted July 31, 2020 How do you sand down the leather? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatchap Posted July 31, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2020 5 hours ago, Mickeydredd said: How do you sand down the leather? The 2pk Epoxy glue not only sticks the stack together it also stabilizes the leather as it soaks in making it almost like wood when its cured so its just a matter of shaping it on the belt grinder then through the grades on the sandpaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickeydredd Posted August 1, 2020 Report Share Posted August 1, 2020 cheers, I assumed so. Great job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon R Posted August 2, 2020 Report Share Posted August 2, 2020 Excellent. In among my collection of hammers is a leather handle Estwing. A friend of mine replaced his handle with wood. I am not the most creative person in the world, but I can copy with a bit of talent. I restored my handle with wood and made a decent job of it. I too left the odd mark, but decided it added a bit of character to the handle and left it. Having seen this, I was tempted to remove the wood and have a go at the leather. On reflection, I have decided to wait for a battered Estwing which you can find on a car boot - cheap battered leather handles are not that rare - the vinyl handles make decent money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoBodyImportant Posted August 3, 2020 Report Share Posted August 3, 2020 Illinois steel forged from the finest ore Canada has to offer. Doesn’t get any better then that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatchap Posted August 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, NoBodyImportant said: Illinois steel forged from the finest ore Canada has to offer. Doesn’t get any better then that. I was told Estwing axes and hammers where made by the inmates of prisons. mate of mine told me a few years ago, he said thats why they are called Eastwing Axes obviously the eastwing of the prison. I thought sounds feasible, Estwing tools was actually founded by an imigrant buisness man something Estwing, nothing to do with prisons at all, The bloke who told me swaore it was true. Chippy since school I thought he must know his hammers..... Put him straight on the matter a while back and he was having none of it, even showed him on google, still not having it. He said "My dad was a chippy man and boy, he told me, I'm a chippy of 25 years, if my dad says thats the truth then thats the truth **** what a phone says" Edited August 3, 2020 by fatchap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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