stone recommendations for axe sharpening

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talansmith
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stone recommendations for axe sharpening

Post by talansmith »

CKTG Forum,

I'm learning to sharpen my kitchen knives, but cold weather is here and I need to sharpen my splitting axe. I have a 3 inch diameter carborundum stone, coarse on one side and fine on the other which can refine the cutting edge but is not aggressive enough to shape a badly worn/ damaged edge. It's a small axe, but I've got more control by holding the stone and bringing to the axe rather than sharpening on a stone laid flat. Can anyone suggest a stone that would cut like the green brick that could be hand-held? Would a DMT mini plate work? Thank you.
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ken123
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Re: stone recommendations for axe sharpening

Post by ken123 »

I would recommend a 60 grit Nubatama stone to get a quick edge suitable for the task. From there you could go as fine as you like. A finer stone is just a waste of time. I just got done putting an edge on a hedge clipper with one. Difference was like night and day., now cutting inch thick branches with ease You are basically reestablishing an edge. Once established, go to 150, 220 etc. If you are going a bit more exotic with natural stones, consider an Igarashi, traditionally used on gardening tools.

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Horizonson
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Re: stone recommendations for axe sharpening

Post by Horizonson »

There is one YouTuber that takes a cheap King 250/1k 8" whetstone and cuts it into ~2" square pucks. Then rounds the corners just enough to fit into two mayonnaise jar lids.

Bastard file and coarser stones used for damaged edges, and thinning if/when needed.
Jason B.
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Re: stone recommendations for axe sharpening

Post by Jason B. »

Typically, you start with a file to set the geometry then move on to something like an Axe sharpening puck. Lansky and Norton both make good ones.

For chopping wood it's best to have a somewhat polished edge so after the above I would recommend a good power buff or some finer stones.
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Re: stone recommendations for axe sharpening

Post by OgerBash »

I second the lansky puck. When I go walking out on the ranch to harvest some wood, I take my silky hand saw, gransfors bruks axe, and a lansky puck to sharpen it while splitting.
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Re: stone recommendations for axe sharpening

Post by Jeff B »

Jason B. wrote: Sat Oct 27, 2018 7:36 am Typically, you start with a file to set the geometry then move on to something like an Axe sharpening puck. Lansky and Norton both make good ones...
+1 A file and Lansky puck work great.
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Re: stone recommendations for axe sharpening

Post by ken123 »

The puck is a 120 280 combo stone. With a file this should work.

Ken
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Re: stone recommendations for axe sharpening

Post by Wjhunt »

Not sure what type of axe you have. Years ago, I bought a small Swedish hand forged axe. The literature that came with it said to never use a file or high speed abrasive. My axe has a rounded profile and the best way I have come up with to sharpen it is to lay it down flat. I do most of the work with a skinny, extra course diamond plate using perpendicular strokes (like Takeda recommends). Totally agree with Jason B. about the slight polish working better so I follow with finer stones. The process goes pretty quick if you do it often and takes forever if you don’t.
talansmith
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Re: stone recommendations for axe sharpening

Post by talansmith »

Thank you for your quick responses. I have a small hand-forged Gransfors Bruks made in Sweden so the diamond plate and finish polishing is most appealing.
Thanks again!
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Re: stone recommendations for axe sharpening

Post by talansmith »

Edit:
Oh yeah, the Lansky puck between shaping and polishing. Thanks.
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Re: stone recommendations for axe sharpening

Post by ken123 »

If you are striving to make a convex edge, depending on the initial condition of the edge, (ie chipped out edge) the coarser grit stone or plate will save you a great deal of labor which is why I recommend the 60 grit stone. You can make a convex or flat grind with a stone (technique difference). Once the initial edge is established you can go finer. For a finer axe - ie a Gransfors Bruks, you can go quite finer, easily achieving a shaving level edge, which I recommend. After all, why just achieve a mediocre edge? I would go for a 5k level edge at least, but this becomes a matter of personal preference.

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Re: stone recommendations for axe sharpening

Post by Jason H »

ken123 wrote: Sun Oct 28, 2018 2:45 pm After all, why just achieve a mediocre edge? I would go for a 5k level edge at least, but this becomes a matter of personal preference.
Hello Ken,

You have quite a way of explaining things so I’m hoping you can help me wrap my head around this. What advantage could come by taking an ax to a 5k edge? Would someone notice a difference between 5k edge and a Lansky puck after chopping up a hardwood log?

Thanks in advance!
Horizonson
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Re: stone recommendations for axe sharpening

Post by Horizonson »

Jason H wrote: Sun Oct 28, 2018 6:58 pm.....Would someone notice a difference between 5k edge and a Lansky puck after chopping up a hardwood log?

Jason, even with something as "crude" as a splitting maul, splitting rounds, one can tell the difference between a 240 edge and a 1k+ and polished edge.

Even more so with an axe.


To help wrap one's head around it; think about push-cuts/chopping with your Gyuto on carrots.
An axe on a tree is similar, just on a much bigger poundage scale and on much more fibrous "vegetable": cleaner, deeper cuts, with less effort.
OgerBash
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Re: stone recommendations for axe sharpening

Post by OgerBash »

Generally, I use the puck when I'm traveling around/I. The woods. I don't really want to be caring around alot of stones to sharpen my axes. If I'm using the axe at the house I'll keep a 1k edge on my larger spitting/woodsman axe. I've found a high grit edge dulls quickly enough when splitting hardwood that it wasn't worth it unless you like sharpening constantly to maintain the edge. That being said, the smaller the axe the higher the grit I usually go. I keep my hand axe at a 6k edge. This is so it will easily slice through scrub.
dragovmaterials
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Re: stone recommendations for axe sharpening

Post by dragovmaterials »

It's good to use Japanese waterstones, soak them for a few minutes, and then sharpen it with circular moves. But you may need a few stones at once. There are many good videos on Youtube about that.
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Re: stone recommendations for axe sharpening

Post by -btm- »

Depending on the season I find myself sharpening axes just as often as Jknives.... For axes I really like to use stones in the EP size. The smaller hand-held size allows for different motions and adjustments that would be difficult with a full sized stone. Files are commonly used for axes and perfectly acceptable. I think the Gransfors axes are treated hard enough that I wouldn't file the actual edge, but for repairs, reprofiling, thinning behind the edge (cheeks, etc.) it is good to start with a file.
For regular maintenance and sharpening I use a 140 grit CKTG EP size diamond plate attached back to back with a 400 grit diamond plate. I also have a Shapton glass 500 in the EP size. The small size allows for circular (puck type) motions or straight back and forth motions depending on the profile of your axe. You can also easily follow the convex with the smaller stones. After the glass 500 I often switch to foam backed sanding blocks to ensure nice contouring to the convex of the grind. I will sometimes load some mud onto the sanding blocks from higher grit stones to give the entire grind a nice finish and to add refinement down to the edge.
Especially with the harder steel and thinner grind on a Gransfors I recommend going to the full zero grind that they come with and then adding a very slight micro bevel to add strength (more or less important depending on what you are cutting).
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Re: stone recommendations for axe sharpening

Post by ken123 »

@btm - sounds very reasonable. Somewhat similar to the approach that Takeda-san uses. I have smaller pieces of Shapton Pro stones the would accomplish a similar result.

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Re: stone recommendations for axe sharpening

Post by -btm- »

^^^ Those look perfect Ken!

I imagine any broken or cut down stones would also work, but that "puck" size is common for a reason. I especially like the slightly smaller EP size for the narrow, longer shape. I find I can really see what I'm doing and get good control over the stone as I work my way over the convex grind and down to the edge of the edge.

FWIW EP sized stones and diamond plates are also ideal for "in hand" sharpening folders and other small knives out in the field. Shapton stones (and diamond plates) are nice for this since they are splash and go and also very slow to dish.
talansmith
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Re: stone recommendations for axe sharpening

Post by talansmith »

Thank you again for your responses.The axe has been resting since October. Puck size stones or EPs are the only way I could improve the edge on it. I tried to use a full sized diamond stone briefly and I was clearly headed in the wrong direction. I was wondering if the 140 slurry plate sold on the CKTG site would work to begin the process of making this right. The edge has an indentation (a chip?) of a half millimeter at about the midpoint of the edge and a spot about two millimeters long at the top of the edge that's not an edge but a shiny flat about a millimeter wide at the very top.
This is a small axe I use to split hardwood kindling so in consideration of the comments OgerBash and Ken123 made about refinement, 5k sounds like a goal. I don't have the wallet right now to tool up for that. Thanks again.
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