How to Sharpen an Axe - Picture Heavy -

I have been asked a number of times recently

to provide some advice of guidance on the best
way to sharpen an axe.

Whilst I am always happy to provide input, I

thought that it might be worthwhile to put
together a tutorial on the basic techniques.

The techniques used in here are intended to

provide not only a sharp axe but also a safe
and efficient axe. Before we begin, its useful
both to define the terms we will use and also to
examine what we are setting out to achieve.

Parts of the Axe

Below is a jargon key to the parts of an axe

A: Heel of Head
B: Bit
C: Toe of Head
D: Cheek or Ramp
E: Poll
F: Neck
G: Belly
H: Shoulder
I: Toe of Haft
J: Heel of Haft
K: Eye
L: Wooden Wedge
M: Metal Wedge

Axe Geometry

Its important to understand the shape of an

axe and why it is that shape. Firstly, lets
examine the types of grinds that exist
Most axes designed for splitting and chopping
are convex in profile (although certain specialist
side axes and broad axes may be flat ground
for shaping). The reason for giving and axe a
convex grind is that it protects the cutting edge
from damage.
As you can see from the illustration above, due
to the curve on a convex grind, the bit (cutting
edge) of the axe head is not in contact with the
wood after it has penetrated and in fact it is the
ramp (side of the head) that is forcing the wood
apart. This protects the cutting edge from
damage and wear. It also explains why
ensuring the ramps of your axe are smooth and
polished will aid cutting efficiency

The next important point to consider is the

shape of the bit. The vast majority of axe bits
are curved (there are exceptions like carpenters
axes). The reason for the curve is to aid
penetration

If you look at the illustration above, you can

see that, due to the curve, only part of the bit
is actually in contact with the wood. The curve
of the bit means that a small part of the bit is in
contact with the wood when the axe first
strikes. This begins the cut and as the contact
point penetrates, more and more of the bit is
introduced into the cut.

By beginning the cut on a small contact area,

tremendous force is brought to bear in that
area. It is also the area that is likely to blunt
most quickly.

Hopefully this short explanation explains why it

is important when sharpening to keep the
profile convex and the bit curved.

Safety

Sharpening an axe is awkward, difficult and

dangerous. You are forced to grip the axe in
strange ways, apply pressure with a file to a
curved surface that can cause the file to skate
and slip etc.

Wear Gloves! Tough, cut proof gloves at that.

Your tools will slip and you will cut yourself.
Axes are designed to chop through hardwood.
Your flesh will provide no resistance and your
bones not much. I use Kevlar cut proof gloves,
but if you are on a budget I suggest tough
rigger gloves. But always, always, wear them

The technique for sharpening an axe is different

to sharpening a knife. When sharpening a knife
you often move the knife over the sharpener
(particularly with bench stones etc.). When
sharpening an axe, you always move the
sharpener over the axe. This means the axe
should not move and its mostly your hands that
are at risk. Despite this, do not sharpen in your
lap. A cut to the femoral artery will kill you. If
at home, sharpen at a table with your legs
underneath. If in the field, kneeling and
keeping the axe head high is safest.

Sharpening Equipment

I wanted to show the stages of sharpening

using both purpose made and widely
available equipment. This will make this a
slightly longer process, but its important to me
that people understand you dont need to use
professional equipment to achieve professional
standard sharpening.

Pictured above is the Gransfors Bruks

sharpening system. It consists of:

An axe file
A diamond file
An axe stone with coarse and smooth sides

These tools allow for four stages of sharpening

that we will examine later
Pictured above is a sharpening system that can
easily be assembled in a hardware store for less
than the price of one of the Gransfors Bruks
tools. Not as compact as the Gransfors tools
but no less efficient. It consists of

A coarse crosscut file

A fine metal file
A set of diamond hones (these are an
alternative to the fine metal file)
A sanding block
A block of buffing compound

In addition to these tools, a variety of grades of

Wet and Dry abrasive paper and some scrap
leather will be needed.
The Stages of Sharpening

There are four stages to the sharpening

process. If you axe is blunt, you can omit stage
1, if just a little dull stages 1 & 2 can be
omitted etc. The stages are as follows:

Step 1 - Cutting Back

This stage removes a lot of metal from the axe.

It is used to cut back the bit away from a
damaged area or ding where a dent in the
cutting area has occurred. It is not necessary to
remove every tiny nick from your axe blade.
Indeed doing so will wear your axe down
prematurely. However, periodically damage
becomes so pronounced or an individual ding is
so severe that cutting back becomes necessary.

The other occasion where I find it necessary to

cut back is often when purchasing a new axe.
On the photograph above, you can see that the
heel of the blade (A) is blunt and rounded
compared to the toe (C). There are flat areas
on the bevel (B) and the ramp (D). These flat
areas will detract from cutting efficiency and
trap dirt and sap promoting rust. A little cutting
back will correct these problems and improve
the utility of the axe.

So, how do we cut back. Well the tool we use is

the axe file in the Gransfors Bruks system or
the crosscut file in the assembled system.

What we need to do is file backwards, from the

bit of the axe towards the poll. If we file
forwards, we'll "push" metal towards the
cutting edge forming a wire that will block
cutting efficiency. Sadly this means we are
pushing towards the cutting edge. GLOVES.

When we file, because we are using a coarse

file, we'll leave grooves in the metal. These are
tricky to get rid of later so we'll file bit to poll
but on an angle (toe to heel). At the next stage
we'll reverse the angle and this will get rid of
the file marks.
Some things are hard to photograph so Ill need
to draw diagrams. Ill use an overlay of an axe
that looks like this to illustrate the required
actions

This is the desired motion - imagine the green

bar as the file.
However if thats all you do, you will file the bit
flat, and thats not what we want, so lift your
hand holding the file as you push and roll the
file around the convex bevel.

If this is the bevel

Then this is the motion you want
Concentrate on long sweeping strokes right
across the bevel

Dont do lots on one side. Keep turning the axe

over and working both sides evenly. Sight along
the bit and make sure you are keeping it in
perfect line with the haft.

On both sides, keep the file strokes going down

towards the haft - this will feel awkward on one
side, but don't worry.

The bit, when finished, should be a bit thinner

than now, an even thickness, and have no
dings. It should be in a straight line as you
sight along it and be in line with the haft.

Go slow and steady. You can take more off, but

you can't put it back

Put your index finger on top of the file to guide

it and work one way....(note where the haft is
pointing)

And then the other.....

Step 2 - Smoothing

After cutting back, the axe will be quite rough

and show file marks as shown below

We need to change direction (whilst still

removing metal from bit to poll). You therefore
change the angle to 90 degrees from your
original angle and are filing bit to poll, heel to
toe - like this.
In the old days, I would have done this with a
fine metal file, however since the advent of
diamond files I prefer them. The Gransfors
diamond file is great, but we showed the
Gransfors tools last so here is one of the basic
diamond hones
One of the things I like with these plastic
backed diamond hones is that they can be
flexed by pressing with the guiding index
finger. This keeps more of the hone in contact
with the bevel at once and preserves the
convex grind.

Most diamond hones come in packs of three

coarse, medium and fine. It makes sense if you
have all three to use them in that order. Use
the coarse one in the direction indicated until
all the file marks are removed. Then change
back to the original (file) direction with the
medium grit until all the scratches from the
coarse grit are removed and finally reverse
again with the fine grit. In theory these hones
need to be wet to work, although I have used
them dry and just rinsed them after use to stop
them clogging and they worked fine.

Using the Gransfors system, you only have one

grit available, so smooth out all the file marks
in the direction indicated.

Step 3 Sharpening

At this point, the techniques used in the two

systems diverge. Lets look at the Gransfors
system first. The axe stone has two sides
coarse and smooth. The axe stone needs to be
wet to work. I carry some water in my mouth
that seems to work quite well!

Wet the stone and put it onto the bevel. Move

the stone in a spiral motion along the bevel
from heel to toe.

The water will build up a paste on the bevel.

Avoid the temptation to remove this. The paste
is the abrasive that will sharpen the axe
Use the coarse stone until all marks from the
diamond file are removed.

To sharpen with the assembled system, we

will use the sanding block.

These are the sanding blocks I like to use (they

cost the princely sum of about £1.20).
I like them because under the flaps that secure
the paper are spikes that hold the paper firmly
in place

There is a problem though. If you wrap your

wet and dry over something flat, you will make
contact on a tiny area - like this

This means that it will take ages to do and will

tend to sand the convex bevel flat, however
much you "roll your wrist". What you need to
do is put something soft between your board
and the wet and dry and then push down as
you push back. This will bring a lot of wet and
dry into contact with the bit and will also
preserve the convexing. It will look more like
this
I achieve this by gluing a piece of mousemat to
one of the blocks. It makes the contact area
soft as shown

Wrapping a piece of wet and dry over the top

gives an ideal axe sharpening tool
Start with a fairly coarse grit (around 400 or
even 240 if you only have a coarse diamond
file). Push straight back over the bevel towards
the eye as illustrated
Work through the grits until the axe is suitably
sharp. I usually work up to 1,200 grit.

Step 4 polishing the bit and bevel

Polishing the bit and bevel (and even the ramp)

is not an exercise in vanity. It gives the axe a
very sharp edge (an a sharp axe will not glance
and is far less likely to rebound to a point you
do not intend to strike). In addition a polished
bevel and ramp with glide through wood,
penetrating more deeply and requiring less
strokes.
In the Gransfors system, this is achieved by
using the fine side of the axe stone (similarly
wet). Again, reverse direction.

In the assembled system, we will using buffing

compound. This is an abrasive crayon used
to polish metal. To do this we need to cut a
piece of scrap leather the same size as the wet
& dry we have been using and attach it to our
sanding block rough side showing. If you
havent got any scrap leather you can use felt
or even a cereal packet (leave the non-printed
size showing). Crayon all over the leather to
get an even layer of compound. Either green or
pink / green compound gives the best results

Now we need to change direction again and

polish from poll to bit. This will give a mirror
shine and snap off any wire that has built up
over the bit
Thats it. Your axe should now have an even,
convex profile and razor sharp profile.

Please use it carefully

Red