How To Transform Any Axe Into A Laser Beam

How To Transform A Crappy Axe Into A Laser Beam. How I re-profile and sharpen my axes for extreme cutting performance.
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[@OUTDOORS55]

Check the description for things mentioned in the video. Thanks for watching!

[@HomeImProveMentHow]

*Excellent information once again, I just watched your Chisel Sharpening video.* I left your comment there look forward to hear from you keep up the great work by for now God-bless..

[@ragecharacter4743]

Holy crap that's a sharp axe. Hope u are doing well.

[@saidulmondal8839]

Please explain the proper technique to use an axe

[@SkillCult]

Its good to see that there is finally more axe content coming out that doesn't suck and that there is hope that reprofiling axes to actually chop might become normal instead of the exception. I would add though, that any axe that is not harder than it should be can be filed easily enough with a good file. I basically almost never use power tools to set up an axe. A good sized double cut file, like a 14 inch mill bastard will make removing the majority of the steel go fairly quick. It takes longer, but it is safer, especially for people not used to grinding tempered tools on a machine. It is also harder to make mistakes in the grind. I have a belt grinder, I just mostly prefer the file. I hope no one thinks they need to go buy a power grinder to set up a tool that predates power tools. For info on filing axes, people can see my videos, ben scott's, or Kevin's disobedience.

[@otobotrecords]

Top fella there! I actually learned to reprofile axes via your very good videos. I also use a file for it. Takes some time, but the outcome justifies it. Cheers

[@stauffap]

I can confirm that. I reprofiled my axe with a course metal file. It didn't take too long. Of course you want some kind of work-holding to make the job easier (as always when using hand tools).

[@NavajoNinja]

This is one subject i know tons about. Living on the navajo reservation means using wood stoves every winter. Its 6800ft elv. and i didnt use(or own) a chainsaw till i was 20. But luckily the 2 main wood for use around here is pine and red cedar. So its pretty soft for axes, sledges and wedges. Great video. 👍

[@joecoastie99]

Careful with creasote buildup in your chimney. Burning sappy wood like pine is a good way to get a chimney fire.

[@wonderweasle2212]

@@joecoastie99 you know so much more then the native Americans. Good for you

[@FT4Freedom]

Flagstaff here Bro. I'm a tree worker. Lot's our wood goes to the reservation. Happy winter to you.

[@joecoastie99]

@@wonderweasle2212 you’re a wanker. Good for you.

[@wonderweasle2212]

@@joecoastie99 hahahhaahahahahahahahahaha

[@Jonathan.D]

Definitely one of KZbin's most underrated channels! Production and the commentary are great. Plus your humor always gets a laugh out of me.

[@OUTDOORS55]

Appreciate that!👍👊👊👊

[@Nickporter17]

Your Mars joke followed by the macro shots of the belt was pretty awesome!

[@unknown-ql1fk]

The same can be done with care and and angle grinder with flap wheels. Its pretty easy as long as you go slow

[@OUTDOORS55]

For sure! Ive done several with a grinder. Forgot to mention it in the video. Thanks for the comment 👍

[@johanneswerner1140]

I used a file. No, it was not fun.

[@longshanks5531]

@@johanneswerner1140 I was thinking about doing the same thing a file, how long did it take?

[@Zyczu55]

@@johanneswerner1140 you either had a bad quality file or too fine

[@dereinzigwahreRichi]

I did something similar (reprofiling a big chip in the blade) with a Dremel. It worked ok but you need a steady hand as the tool is small. The best tool is sometimes just the one you have.

[@johnduffy6546]

LOVED the slo-mo splitting sequence! I find splitting wood to be very good for mental health & physical health...I just can't get my wife to do it :( Just cuz you're retired doesn't mean ya can't split firewood

[@Aleksandrums]

Ok, so now we need 10 hr. version of you just cutting a wood, very satisfying)

[@randmayfield5695]

I worked on a trail crew in idaho where we couldn't use anything mechanized in the wilderness area so hand tools had to be as sharp as possible. Taking the 'cheeks' off of brush axes was done with a file and did take some time. Saftey awareness was imperative because a missed strike or a glanced throw had the potential to cause massive serious injuries and being three or four days to pack out was always in the back of my mind.

[@kniferewiewscool2646]

Yeah a missed strike fucked up my foot with a misstrike. gotta be carefull

[@spvillano]

@@kniferewiewscool2646 yeah, because "ya got a spare" just ain't cutting it when you have to hoof it back on one foot. As I well learned when I crushed some toes moving some pipes. Rained like an SOB after that dance! Downside, now I know the weather in advance from a few toes advice. :/

[@j1166240]

I have learned more about sharpening and function of cutting tools from you than anywhere else. Some I figured out through experience and perseverance. But you confirmed my theories and taught me a lot more with your videos! Thank you! I still get a good laugh every time your $24.99 knife video comes up! Love the humor and time you put into your videos! Jeff

[@johnduffy6546]

The sound of that sharp edge cutting cleanly through the paper is music to my ears! Nicely done.

[@helenarusso]

Hello how are you doing 😊

[@MegaChickenPunch]

@@helenarusso bot

[@changingground]

I’m impressed with the performance you got out of your grind, to be sure. But I have seen similar results with a mill bastard file and a lot of dedicated filing on my Plumb and Collins axes. It’s all about the grind (or filing) angle. Love your channel, I turn to you for tech on knives quite frequently. Carry on.

[@OUTDOORS55]

Ive done two or three with a file and finally said screw that😂 Thanks for the comment really appreciate it👍👊

[@changingground]

Oh, I know. I maintain cutting tools for a municipal forestry department, as well as my own equipment, and will take the mechanical advantage when I can. I just wanted folks to know that it’s possible with hand tools.

[@alsaunders7805]

@@OUTDOORS55 I use a handheld angle grinder, it does take a bit of finesse with the tool but I have a LOT of experience with one. 🤓🍻

[@skoatros]

@@alsaunders7805 same, a grinder gets u so far if u got experience.

[@martkbanjoboy8853]

I once reprofiled a Cold Steel Perfect Balance throwing knife from the deep hollow grind to a convex grind with a cheap angle grinder. It took a very long time & took a lot of care. I knew when I was finished by observing the uniformityof the reflected light on the blade surface. So 'optical comparison' aka 'taking a look.' 😁

[@TalRohan]

this reminds me of an old english felling axe I used in my teens, Ive always reprofiled my axes to look as much like it as I can, the Ellwell felling axe had very long cheeks and a relatively narrow cutting edge, was exceptionally tough and floated through hard and softwoods because it was thinned out in the right way. spot on with your reprofiling and I can confirm anything but power tools takes eons.

[@richardlee2488]

The majority of the axes you can buy today are for splitting. The felling axes were extremely varied in England as they were used by different cutters for different types of felling. The timber cutters had really long heads which was super thin and with a hammer head for driving in felling wedges. The copse cutters axes had a shorter head to work in the confined space between the stems. I still have an elwell bill hook and handbill in the shed. Great steel that holds an edge for ever.

[@kevinh2345]

Brother that axe is CHUNKING through the wood. That's better than anything I've worked with.

[@MrBearbait75]

Yes I would like to see more axe videos!!! Interesting! Like all of them, no matter the subject. Always learn something!

[@TgWags69]

One point that might be beneficial is to be careful of this for antique or vintage axes. Some were made by with wrought iron or other low carbon steel and forge welding a strip of high carbon steel into a slot formed in the cutting edge (like a hot dog in a bun). If too much material is removed on this style if axe head you will expose the weld joint and cause it to break off and fail. Only do this with an axe made entirely of high carbon steel.

[@Timothyh3nry]

Respectfully i have to disagree. Axes made by forge welding a high carbon bit in a slot formed in the cutting edge don't fail in the way to have described for a number of reasons. Firstly a forge welded joint is incredibly strong, it is just as strong as the metal surrounding it and thus is no more likely to fail than a monosteel axe head. Secondly you would have to grind away so much material to expose much of the joint that you would barely have an axe left. The cases where forge welds fail is when the weld has not been done correctly from the start and you get a partial weld in which case what you describing might happen but again you would have to grind away so much material to endanger even a poor weld that it is unlikely and in 20 years of restoring vintage axes i have never seen this happen nor heard of it happening amongst my peers. Finally the forged construction you are describing is relatively rare even in vintage and antique axes so you are unlikely to run into them in the first place however if you do you wont have problems for the reasons detailed above. I write all this to encourage you and anyone else reading to go out and restore vintage axes and not worry about this as it is immensely fun and rewarding to give an old tool new life and perhaps even make it better than it was the day it was made. Kind regards, Tim

[@jeremywalker666]

I believe its best to use an axe for chopping, and use a maul for splitting. Some of the logs up here in WV take a bit influencing, like Elm where an axe either bounces off or just gets stuck. I completely agree with slimming the profile though.

[@Inertia888]

Definitely depends on where you are. Here in southern New England, I find that a maul burns more calories, compared to a good axe. With the wood that I am faced with here, a light-weight, sharp, wooden handle axe gets me more work done in a day. White Oak is common, Red Oak is not as common, but is something I see every day, Black Oak will show itself, but not every day. I like to keep some wedges and a maul nearby, for when I am faced with a Black Oak, but they don't get a lot of use. Because of 'Dutch Elm Disease', we don't see very much elm here, and if we do, we tend to leave it standing.

[@jaywynn2750]

So I have been using axes for years to drop trees and limb them out. I have put a lot of axes back into service. It’s no joke when I say that was one of the best presentations on how to get it I have ever seen. Well done sir. Well done. Much respect.

[@sjohnson4882]

Cutting into oak like that is really something. Thanks for the lesson.

[@garygarner5455]

I started making knives way back in the eighties,when I was a kid,and I still make them too this day, and you are spot on about edge geometry and using the correct grit for axes, the first axe that I rebeveled,I flat ground it,and took the contour out, then I mirror polished it, and YEP, it got stuck, so bad that the handle would break off Everytime I tried too pry it loose. plus you're spot on about overheating the metal, once that steel reaches 300 thru 400 degrees then the temper is toast, then it's back in the fire to be reharded, and tempered which is time consuming. great job on the video, hope too see more of your work.

[@DconBlueZ]

Thanks for the video, always enjoy watching!

[@7784000]

We need more of your videos 😍👍 pls keep your work up, really appreciate

[@pauljs75]

If you're trying to do reprofiling manually by hand, you clamp it in a vise and use a file. (Sometimes it's surprising how much bite a good hardened file will have vs. the metal used for a blade.) But yeah it does take a bit of time. Save the stones and sandpaper for the finishing steps.

[@jeffdowns2146]

Thanks for the info. Always enjoy your videos. I always learn.

[@truthreporter1709]

Great content - I learned a lot here. Thank you

[@TulkOrkan]

I really like this ax based content!

[@orientalwoodworks]

Informative, truthful, and direct, this is the kind of stuff I want!! I’ve subbed from two different accounts now. Keep ‘‘em coming.👍👍

[@birddogsforever9135]

That's insane. I hear my house with oak and won't touch it with anything less than a large splitting maul. To see that axe cut through those chunks and rounds like butter is awesome. I'd love to learn how to do this - thanks for the great video!

[@thunderstumpges1475]

Love the asmr at the end. So satisfying!😊

[@tomad4051]

I am starting out at 75 yo 😂. There is something about the smile on a Eastern European craftsmen face, who with sweat, files, and cloth covered vises create works of exquisite beauty. I have power tools galore. But hand filing at a certain point is wonderfulness. 😅😂😊 imho (yes, I don’t have to earn my keep👍🏻)

[@richardthorpe8889]

Great video. Thanks for the knowledge.

[@townieoutdoors8121]

Keep the axe stuff coming !!!!! 👍👍👍

[@bravethewildreviews]

Awesome tutorial! I can’t wait to re-profile my axes now

[@FelixImmler]

Thanks for this great video!

[@Milk192]

Excellent! Very informative, now all i need is some time to tend to my trusty Axe.

[@grottonesquelad1421]

The hults brukh kisa felling axe is fantastic. Super nice behind the edge.

[@mikeboone4425]

Fantastic info for all ,I've never seen any one else address this issue in this manor.

[@eliot1970]

Great info and practical demo. Thanks mate.

[@steveocvirek6671]

Thanks for making this video and showing us how to make our own ax shave sharp. I can't wait to try this with my ax -- suitable only for use as a large butter knife.

[@fuzielectron5172]

Tend to agree, thinning an axe is generally a good thing, tried it years ago, liked it, continued to do it.

[@mikeritter2979]

Looks like your having fun outdoors 👍

[@kenporter5022]

I don’t think I’ve ever watched your videos without learning something valuable! Most enjoyable! Thanks!

[@jamesgosling4303]

Great Video! Loved it!!!

[@littlewoody5539]

You did a nice job on axe .

[@jeffcanyafixiy]

Awesome video, great content Alex!! Take care, 👍👍🔪

You’re the Apex, God of the edges. I graduated from the school of sharpening watching your videos. Thanks for everything. ❤

[@eviljods]

Sharpening Axes isn't something I have a vast amount of so this was really useful, nice one :)

[@HomeImProveMentHow]

Your intro is impressive! *Excellent information thanks for Sharing* I look forward to hearing from you by for now Ken, your new friend

[@e.t.preppin7084]

This looks fun !!!

[@ifell3]

Fantastic video!!!

[@richardelliott9511]

Thanks for addressing this topic. I'm glad you're not afraid to buck conventional wisdom when the evidence leads you there.

[@chadblechinger5746]

I keep a double bit with a scalpel on on side and utility edge on the other. All of my felling happens with the sharp side and most of my rough hueing or chopping happens with the dull side. I always tune my ax but never in the middle of the arch to the extent you do but I am definitely going to check it out because you make sense. Thanks for the vid.

[@robertocastillo2260]

Thanks Alex, great advise. and your sentence; “This is axe grinding, this is not sending a rocketship to mars” !that’s humor. Congrats

[@royphelps8084]

Your the first utuber I've seen that knows this ! My grandfather and my dad knew this and tought it to me . But we used a file , and tuned it up with a stone out hunting

[@samatg]

This is crazy cool!

[@RobinJamesEricBond]

I had hoped it would turn into a literal laser beam. Even so, the video did not disappoint!

[@erikziak1249]

I must admit that I learned something from your channel. Not just this video.

[@Zen_Ali_123]

Thanks, I needed that.

[@RADIOACTIVEMASCULINITY]

I can’t wait to play around with this

[@RaspK]

Makes perfect sense, but I had never trusted the idea to do it, even though it popped in my head; thanks!

[@JeremyClow]

Great video...thanks!

[@philholman8520]

Terrific! You certainly know how to make an ordinary axe into a awesome one! If Noah ever has to build an ark again, I'll let him know your secret. He'll then be able to cut a forest in half the time! 🙏👍✌️🇬🇧

[@caseysmith5585]

Love the video! I’ve watched your video on the 4X36 and that’s what I have but can you go into more depth about how to use it better or more efficiently??

[@Brian2bears]

You received some criticism for various things in this video. I happen to know several experienced axemen who commented in this video who didn't offer criticism but commendation...I found your challenge to the critics to demonstrate and race very humorous....nice video sir...

[@OUTDOORS55]

Its not like I haven't tried other methods or different things. I say do what works best for you and your surroundings. What works for me doesn't work for everyone.👍

[@Brian2bears]

@@OUTDOORS55 Well done...

[@JohnDoe-zw8vx]

Video came just when I needed it. Just got a lot of wood to process after having a pine cut down on my property and I turned down the haul away fee 😅

[@MichaelR58]

Good video, thanks for sharing , God bless !

[@ghill1010]

Awesome!!! Thanks so much!!!

[@ipaint00]

Awesome..thanks for the video

[@oofman1740]

You pulled out the fancy close up camera and I thought "ooo fancy close up camera, what's this? Looks like some chocolate candy of some sort" feels bad because I'm really familiar with sand paper but I guess I'm just hungry 😅

[@1998TDM]

How did KZbin know that I sharpened my axe yesterday? Looks like I'm sharpening it again tomorrow.. I've got about 1/2 tonne of Black Wattle to split, rounds are 700mm - 800mm across and weigh 20 to 30kgs, need all the help I can get. The wood is like iron. Oh well, another year dodging gym fees. Cheers for the video, most thought provoking.

[@TODinWY]

Really good vid! I'm going to tackle mine with an angle grinder. Thanks!

[@helenarusso]

Hello how are you doing 😊

[@stormiewutzke4190]

You want to make sure that you don't mess up the high centerline if it's an American axe. This keeps the surface contact to a small area to reduce friction. It's also important for chip removal. Thinning is fine you just don't want a flat spot.

[@fredsanford336]

My man, another great video. You just seem to answer questions before they are asked. You do so all while cutting out the bullshit formalities. Jason Knight is the only other person that not only makes sense but doesn't bore me to death. Just discovered some of your house restoration videos and I have enjoyed those very much as well, Keep it up brotha. Go Buckeyes

[@helenarusso]

Hello Fred how are you doing 😊

[@fredsanford336]

@@helenarusso Im good and you? You know Elizabeth?

[@helenarusso]

@@fredsanford336 Hello Fred nice to hear from you. No i don’t know the Elizabeth you talking about. Where are you originally from?

[@junkmail4613]

It is a beautiful thing to see you chopping from the left and the right to remove the largest chunks possible. Yes, it is an art form so few study. Why waste energy just pounding willy nilly. Strategic placement of every chop. I love it. Nice to hear the crackel of big pieces wedged out of there. Also nice splitting!

[@lukearts2954]

8:44 those shaved hairs flying off with the backlight lighting them up... That shot is EPIC (and that axe scary sharp!)

[@kirkglundal4289]

A word of caution about a proper thin bit felling axe. Be wary of extreme COLD temperatures. The colder the steel, the more brittle it becomes. Felling axes have been known to fracture upon impact in frozen wood. Some go so far as to keep their axe warm indoors and keep the head tucked under their coat whenever possible raising the temp. above ambient when working in very cold temperatures.

[@SP-ny1fk]

Thos is useful knowledge for my office job

[@bobvedder2451]

I generally use a double bitted ax, with one side very sharp and the other side sharp enough. If i am chopping where the cut is close to the ground or the wood is dirty, i use the not so sharp side. When splitting a wood block i tilt the ax to hit the wood and have the weight of the ax head pry the cut apart...

[@joyvillarealofficial6312]

Good job 👍👍👍

[@MrErik038]

Good video!

[@stafsleeckx]

thank you

[@osbaldohernandez9174]

That axe is crazy sharp it sticks to the stump when chopping and cuts through like butter

[@Limicola1]

I have done this to many many axes using a file and finishing with an axe stone or sandpaper mounted on a wooden block. Lumberjacks of yesteryear cleared vast forests with axes and saws but with no powertools to keep their tools sharp. A good axe file will take off a lot of steel in short order.

[@MercenaryJack2187]

Sry I lost my concentration for a sec at "axe cheeks", giggled like I was back in grade school. Great Content, left a like and hit the bell for ya. Stay safe and healthy.

[@CraigLumpyLemke]

I have an axe that was passed down to me from my great-great grandfather. It's had the handle replaced three times, and the head replaced twice. But it's still cutting like new.

[@helenarusso]

Hello Craig how are you doing 😊

[@BigHesh81]

Great video, learned alot! On a semi-related note, I will be adding the term "axe cheeks" to my daily lexicon. 😅

[@RedBeard_KNT]

Great video man. A lot like I do mine!

[@garlandtx10]

Hey welcome back dude, how's the family?

[@mh4392]

I’ve done the same with an angle grinder, works great! I’ve also reprofiled a thick splitting axe with a file. It worked, but I’ll never do that again…

[@mikeking6686]

GOOD JOB

[@bluecollarscholar2732]

Very informative. Approximately how wide is the bevel @ the cutting edge as you showed in the close up after using the axe?

[@TheInfidel_SlavaUA]

In germany we distinguish specifically between Hatchets and Axes that are made for splitting (Spaltaxt) and Cutting Axes (Forstaxt), they are basically 2 different tools entirely. The bulge of a splitting axe is there to amplify the horizontal splitting force when u slug the top of a flat log face and the edge drives as far as needed to give the bulge the chance to split and minimize the risk of getting stuck (the splitting force works with the vertical grain, with a cutting axe you usually cut against the grain). Using a splitting axe for any other purpose than (firewood) splitting is plain using the wrong tool for the job, in my humble opinion.

[@zoltantapai3716]

It is very interesting to see how different principles are used in how axes are made and used in your case and what I am used to. I live in Europe (Hungary) and most axes here are more like sharpened hammers than precision blades like yours. Mutch thicker blades with higher angle tapers. They work by using enough momentum to barely enter the wood but force it apart enough to start a crack in it. I was taught not to really sharpen an axe as it doesn't need a knifes edge. Their edges are very durable this way but they can't cut across the grain like yours does. The style of axe you use was probably also present here at some point but with different kinds of saws being so easily available they don't really exist anymore outside of highly specialised environments.

[@windhelmguard5295]

there are different axes for different purposes. there are carving axes, which can have a straight edge, carpentry axes, which have a chisel grind and a crooked handle that allow for quickly processing timber, felling axes designed specifically to cut cross grain and splitting axes specifically designed to cut along the grain. the main two sorts of axes i'm going to be talking about are felling axes (which are the focus of this video) and splitting axes. a felling axe needs to be hefty but also thin for it to be capable of cutting through the tough wood fibres, that's why this guy is grinding down the bevel to make the edge thinner, thus greatly reducing the friction the blade experiences as it passes through the wood. a splitting axe needs to have a broad head and a steep angle as it isn't supposed to cut the wood as much as just wedging itself in there to force the fibres apart, rather than cutting them. the reason why you don't see axes like what this guy is making is that most hardware stores either sell multi purpose axes, which have a thinner profile, but a steep bevel, which is supposed to make it so they can cut cross grain and split wood, but in reality just suck at everything and some hardware stores do sell dedicated splitting mauls as well, but those are really bad at cutting cross grain. finding a dedicated felling axe in a hardware store is an extremely rare thing, so you have to either order a dedicated felling axe from a company that specializes in making those like Gränsförs Bruk OR you buy a cheap multi purpose axe from the hardware store and then put in the work to re-profile the edge and of putting a longer handle on it.

[@danielostman5805]

Great video! Now i know why my small axe sucks!

[@PabloP169]

Of course there are different axes depending on the use such as splitting ot cutting and one point that is very important as accuracy in the cutting so that the cut goes in the right place not sprayed all over the place. During the CovID19 restrictions I "rebuilt" seven axes, 5 that were just heads sitting around somewhere and a couple of existing old axes. Yes you can reprofile a splitting axe to be a cutting axe, but it can be a lot of work.

[@cleidsonaraujopeixoto163]

Technique makes sense, explanation is right on the point. Good video, as always!

[@danielbridgewater3444]

That's amazing how well it chops. I had no idea an axe had to be reprofiled. I wonder why they don't just put the correct grind on at the factory?

[@poipoi300]

Thanks a lot for this video. A lot of people seem to completely forget that sharp things cut more than blunt things or that metal is much stronger than wood when it comes to axes lol.

[@CarnivoreConservative]

You sure make some seriously dangerous tools. For that I thank you!

[@jn651]

Oh f*** yeah I'm excited for this one

[@jons2447]

At least you know how to spell "f***".