Rafting ax HEAD source.

[moodnacreek]

Find an ax head a little bigger and grind it down to what you want. Saw out some hickory quarter sawn handle blanks and get them drying.

[Old Greenhorn]

Find an ax head a little bigger and grind it down to what you want. Saw out some hickory quarter sawn handle blanks and get them drying.

That's a quick way to make a piece of useless metal with a lot of labor on top. A properly made ax will have a piece of tool steel welded in the front for the cutting edge (bit) and putting a grinder on that will take the life out of it or even make it go away because you can only guess where it is and how deep it goes. Putting it on a grinding wheel is a quick way to remove any ability to get a good temper in that edge. If I pick up an axe head and it shows signs of having seen a grinder I either put it back down or evaluate if it would be a good looking doorstop.

[moodnacreek]

Find an ax head a little bigger and grind it down to what you want. Saw out some hickory quarter sawn handle blanks and get them drying.

That's a quick way to make a piece of useless metal with a lot of labor on top. A properly made ax will have a piece of tool steel welded in the front for the cutting edge (bit) and putting a grinder on that will take the life out of it or even make it go away because you can only guess where it is and how deep it goes. Putting it on a grinding wheel is a quick way to remove any ability to get a good temper in that edge. If I pick up an axe head and it shows signs of having seen a grinder I either put it back down or evaluate if it would be a good looking doorstop.

Your right and your wrong. They where ground to shape when they where made. You could weld in a piece of saw [knife] steel for a cutting edge but you are back to grinding again. There is a process , perhaps wet grinding.