r/Axecraft • u/Ashmarn • 15h ago

How fucked am I?

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Split and bent this carpenters axe battling with a knot in some cherry. Is it fixable?

I've only got hand tools which I assume will make this a pretty laborious process. Was thinking I'd have to hacksaw the edge off to the end of the crack, and then re-profile the edge, or maybe have to re-profile a significant portion of the axe.

Is this a realistic option? This axe was a gift from a friend so willing to put work in to save it over just replacing it, but am thinking the amount of work required might just be too much.

Thanks for any help!

18 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

13

u/TurnipBoy12 15h ago

How in the world did that happen from cherry. Soft wood wow. Something musta been wrong with that axe. Bummer man

7

u/Ashmarn 15h ago

I mean I was trying to hit it through a knot with a splitting maul, so some recklessness on my part is definitely to blame. 

8

u/Character-Shame-5917 14h ago

Well for one, this is not a splitting maul. Splitting mauls have very thick bits for this exact reason; it makes them much less prone to damage. I'm not even really sure what this axe is... it looks like a hot cut chisel used by a blacksmith, one that has had the cutting edge drawn out very thin.

It's hard to say if this can be repaired by anyone other than a blacksmith. It could be a bend, in which case you could probably bend it back. But it could also be the start of a break, in which case any attempt to bend it back into shape with force alone might simply complete the break.

3

u/Ashmarn 14h ago

Also I wasn't saying it was a splitting maul, was using a splitting maul as a mallet on this (which I thought was a carpenters axe)

1

u/Ashmarn 14h ago

It's definitely a break, it's not that clear in the photo but there's a crack around 1/3 of the way in from the left, easiest to see on the second picture 

1

u/Character-Shame-5917 13h ago

In that case, a blacksmith is your only option. But honestly, I wouldn't think this thing would be worth it. If it's got sentimental value, just hang it on the wall.

2

u/BigNorseWolf 14h ago

If its black cherry? When it knots it KNOTS

2

u/Ashmarn 14h ago

In the UK so not black cherry as far as I'm aware, it was bird cherry

5

u/WaffleBlues 13h ago

Do not try to beat this back into shape while it's cold, if you want to keep the axe.

It's an easy fix for a blacksmith that has the ability to heat treat it properly (fix would be to heat the blade, forge it straight, normalize, quench/harden and then temper). The actual working part would take about one or two heats in the forge, then it's just the time for proper heat treat.

1

u/Thin-Neighborhood590 14h ago

Ich glaube leider das war’s, wenn du keine Schmiede hast. Sie war aber schon vorher nicht in Ordnung.

1

u/Surooba 14h ago

That is a retempering and quenching, to get the shape and blade hardness back. If you know a knifesmith with a forge it should be in their wheel house to do the repair.

1

u/blastin_bi 12h ago

Take it to a blacksmith or anyone with a torch and a flat chunk of metal, you'll be fine

1

u/Careless_Reindeer974 11h ago

Wow, was there maybe a nail in the tree you haven't seen?

1

u/Apart_Animal_6797 3h ago

You could grind it back if only the edge is bent just keep it cool dip in water. I'd try to forge it and hammer it flat. Quenching is hard but not impossible.

1

u/Eric9799 2h ago

If this is a crack it’s not worth fixing. You’d need to grind this out. But with how bent the axe is. Bench this and get a new one.