I rescued this old, rusty axe head at a barn sale for $1 in rural Ohio, USA. It weighed about 3.5 lbs and the only marking was a stamped '9' on one face of the axe. After some research, my best guess is this an XLCR single bit axe produced by the W. Bingham Company in Cleveland, Ohio sometime between the 1920's and 1950's.

This was my first axe restoration and even after weeks of research it still turned out to be quite the challenge. I learned a lot along the way and there are several things I would do differently next time. The electrolysis setup actually needed fewer anodes so the amperage could be higher. I was only pulling about 2 mA when ideally it should be closer to 200 mA. (For my current electrolysis setup, watch this video:    • Infinite Rust Removal? DIY Electrolys...  ). I removed some of the rebar and the amperage drastically improved. My slow rust bluing technique needs refinement if I want to obtain a completely black finish on future projects. Buy a bench top vise (achieved). I would buy a more premium axe handle instead of one from a big box hardware store, or build one from hickory stock so it fits the axe head better. And finally, I would spend more time rasping the handle to better seat on the axe head so less hammering was required.

Timestamps:
0:000:49 Overview
0:502:11 Initial cleaning
2:123:49 Rust removal via electrolysis
3:508:15 Grinding and sanding
8:1613:14 Slow Rust Bluing the axe head
13:1516:38 Rasping, sanding, and attaching the handle
16:3918:03 Sharpening
18:0418:25 Boiled linseed finish on handle
18:2619:01 Before/After
19:0219:51 Testing
19:5219:58 Thanks and please consider subscribing!



Some of the tools and equipment I used in this video:
(I may receive a portion of the sale of these items, but they do not cost you any extra. These are a great way to support my channel without any increased cost to you!)

Wire brush set: https://amzn.to/3o6jO74
Camera: https://amzn.to/3EbiQfo
Angle Grinder: https://amzn.to/3loMFSp
Flap disc sandpaper for angle grinder: https://amzn.to/3dkKTNX



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