How to sharpen an axe

[ForgeCorvus]

From what I've seen on site, Brickies and Scaffolders are more likely to use handsaws then the Chippies

[jansman]

Not axes but another hand tool the saw came up yesterday on a different forum. It's a trade/diy forum and someone had asked a question about a bike rack he was making , how to ensure it was square.. One thing I said was to ensure all the timbers are cut to the same length and this went on to him asking how to do that. Others talked about rigging up stops so the timber could be cut on a chop saw. I replied that it just sounded a faff and said to carefully measure and cut the first piece and use it as a template to mark the other timbers. I added that for the handful of timbers in the job I'd just cut it by hand. Well that got a response from someone who labels himself as a pro carpenter saying he would never use a handsaw if there was a chopsaw and his reasoning was that the chopsaw would ensure square cuts and consistency. It hasn't been the first post where the suggestion of using hand tools has been derided but I'd class myself as a pro carpenter ( well I've been doing it for over 40 years) and I'd frankly be embarrased to admit that I need help to cut square and consistent cuts.
For what it's worth I don't think the majority of modern carpenters actually carry an axe nowadays although they often have a van full of battery tools...

Not carpentry,but…We have Carlos Fandango sharpening gizmos in our butchery. Like yourself,I am 40 odd years a master of my trade. The gizmos are…ok. Alternatively,my ancient oilstone and steel keep my knives SHARP. Lord God himself knows I have tried to teach them to use the stone,but no. The gizmos have to be better of course - they came from Amazon. FFS!

[grenfell]

forge we used to give our old hardpoint saws to the masons as they would use them to rub the joints in ashlar ( square stone facing blocks with thin joints) .
Funnily enough as you mention scaffolders I don't think I've seen them using a spanner for a while either , it's nearly always some sort of battery wrench nowadays.

[grenfell]

Not carpentry,but…We have Carlos Fandango sharpening gizmos in our butchery. Like yourself,I am 40 odd years a master of my trade. The gizmos are…ok. Alternatively,my ancient oilstone and steel keep my knives SHARP. Lord God himself knows I have tried to teach them to use the stone,but no. The gizmos have to be better of course - they came from Amazon. FFS!

I suppose it's called progress. Mechanics plug in a computor to tell them what's wrong , cordless tools over hand and increasingly over corded , less and less stuff even able to be repaired and thus less and less people able to repair stuff

[British Red]

I recall watching some survival type US game show. Teams of people in a warehouse type environment building "escape" things. I recall one having to build a generator to charge power tools because "then we can cut wood and drive screws"

I'm no trained chippy but I am old enough to remember Friday afternoon being for tool maintenance. I suspect every generation feels the same though. I recall an old chippy cursing youngsters disposing of hardpoint saws. He still used a saw vice, jointer, set and triangular file to sharpen panel and tenon saws. I get the time is money argument that sees those skills lost - the same as power planers, routers etc. but it is a skill to see the skills die.

[jansman]

The further we move towards economic collapse,or worse, the more I move back to low tech ; hand tools,repairing them etc. I know you fellow old men understand.

[grenfell]

We started using hardpoint saws simply because the firm we worked for started to provide tem for free. They also supplied the triangular files too but it was daft not to use free saws. They even searched to see if they could find a hardpoint rip saw ( for cutting along the grain) when I asked but it seems there is or was no such beast. I do still sharpen tenon saws and the like and of course the rip saw.

[jansman]

We started using hardpoint saws simply because the firm we worked for started to provide tem for free. They also supplied the triangular files too but it was daft not to use free saws. They even searched to see if they could find a hardpoint rip saw ( for cutting along the grain) when I asked but it seems there is or was no such beast. I do still sharpen tenon saws and the like and of course the rip saw.

I have a Marples tenon saw that I set and sharpen. Still good.

[British Red]

We started using hardpoint saws simply because the firm we worked for started to provide tem for free. They also supplied the triangular files too but it was daft not to use free saws. They even searched to see if they could find a hardpoint rip saw ( for cutting along the grain) when I asked but it seems there is or was no such beast. I do still sharpen tenon saws and the like and of course the rip saw.

I use them too - but do have a reasonably comprehensive set of sharpenable hand tools.One thing I have yet to find is a good spider for setting cross cut felling saws. It continues to elude me!

[steptoe]

We started using hardpoint saws simply because the firm we worked for started to provide tem for free. They also supplied the triangular files too but it was daft not to use free saws. They even searched to see if they could find a hardpoint rip saw ( for cutting along the grain) when I asked but it seems there is or was no such beast. I do still sharpen tenon saws and the like and of course the rip saw.

I use them too - but do have a reasonably comprehensive set of sharpenable hand tools.One thing I have yet to find is a good spider for setting cross cut felling saws. It continues to elude me!

Thanks for this great read i have printed it off to save hope thats ok , i am a chippy from the 70' and 80's and grew up sharpening al;l my own tools by hand and so on but when i got axes i just use to rungthem over the grinder and may be a little polish off to try and keep the edge keen , but i never knew there were so many ways i use to try and get as flat a face as possible and then as i say sometimes just polsih the edge keen , it always did the job but hmmm your article has made me want to do the job better and i have a few small axes and hand kindeling choppers to do over the winter and some forthe grab bags
this site is so great