How to Fix A Loose Axe Head - Not what you might expect!

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and as always....
Stay in the Woods,

Dan

[hdrider]

Another trick if it is a little loose is soak it in linseed oil. Works great if the axe is just dried out. Doesn't evaporate and reshrink as quick as water soak.

[Theeggfly]

I use a similar technique to reseat the axe head. What I do is lightly hold the handle and drop it so the bottom of the handle strikes another piece of wood. Gravity and the weight of the axe head will drive the handle deeper. From there I drive the wedge deeper or insert a new one.

My grandfather would soak his handles in oil for a few days. He claimed it caused the wood fibers to swell but would not evaporate like water.

[flynnstone]

I'm really big on soaking my head in cider. Then I take it out in the morning to have cup of coffee, then back in cider.

[PonderingDolphin]

Perfect timing, just was complaining about my axe head being loose trying to cut some wood last night ! Thanks as always, another great video !

[peternorthe]

My old-timer used to soak all his wood handled tools in anti-freeze. Doesn’t cause rust, doesn’t evaporate and tools are good to go in spring after being in a freezing shed all winter. Only time they needed replacing was from breakage due to misuse.

[evanf]

As a temporary fix my family would always just drive a nail or similar wedge into the top of the axe handle to wedge the head on tighter.

[MickAlderson]

Another factor to the old time advice about soaking the axe head might be that moisture drawn into the wood fibers would cause some slight surface rusting inside the eye. I've never removed an axe head that didn't show some rust inside. Rust expands about ten times the space of the original iron and also roughens the surface, so might have helped tighten a slightly loose connection, plus adding to the friction between iron and wood. It wouldn't likely be enough for a really loose head, but I once fixed an axe whose head would slip in use about a quarter inch by soaking it, and two decades later it is still tight.

I also add a metal wedge or two in addition to the wooden wedge.

[eaglebreath]

Nice job explaining how the axe head moves slower. The fancy science word is called inertia. The heavier an object is the harder it is to get moving. So the axe head will resist the forced movement greater than the wooden handle. Newton would be proud.

[rogueraven]

Good video but there’s a reason everybody did the bucket of water trick and those reasons are still valid today. My Grandfather used that trick and he built several sheds and barns out of scrap lumber so he was pretty resourceful.

[dantoth]

My father in law was a faller on the west coast of BC and they would always soak their axes in antifreeze, the wood would swell but being antifreeze they would never dry out, hope that helps.

[quinntheeskimooutdoors]

Thanks Dan. I was standing the ax up and hitting the bottom of the handle on the ground. The head drops Dow the handle. I will use your way now to see how it goes. Thanks for showing us and take care.

[visnuexe]

Nice bit of knowledge to use in keeping the axe in perfect shape! The head gets loose with lots of use, usually while building something. It's nice to know one can set it right without a full workbench and vice if you catch it in time!

[ogi]

Love your stuff! That's how my grandpa showed me how to tighten the axe head on a handle.
As for the exact science, you have just demonstrated Netwons laws of motion in practice. Especially the first which i will quote in original translation:

LAW I. Every object perseveres in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a right line, unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed thereon.

It's inertia - ability of the body (in this case an axe head) to resist changing it's state of motion. When you whack the handle, there is some time before friction of the handle will start to push the axe and make it move. In this time, handle moves a bit deeper into the eye.

So, there was some physics 101 with bushcraft lesson :D

[ladyofthemasque]

Dan is talking about Conservation of Momentum. The heavy axehead is at rest and wants to stay at rest. If it's on the handle with any bit of looseness, the handle will be driven down into the eye to the point where it seats a little better and catches just enough to overcome the inertia of the metal. It's an indirect force, which is actually what yo uwant. This tightening will happen in small increments, which means it is a gentler way to seat the axehead. If you tried whacking the axehead, it's hard to strike around the top of the wedge evenly, and you could "rock" it, angling the metal around the wood and causing deformation. That would lead to a higher chance of loosening in the future.

Even if you did strike both ends equally somehow, you would still be applying direct force, which means you could apply TOO much force, and again cause problems later on. It isn't jamming the axehead tightly onto the main part of the shaft that holds it in place. It is reaching a point of equilibrium between the thickness of the main handle and the thickness of the wedged bit at the top that locks the axehead into place. You want to apply *enough* pressure without applying *too much* pressure. Using the indirect means of seating the axehead by hitting the butt of the handle helps you give the right amount of force to the problem...and this way, it doesn't run the risk of stressing and cracking the metal.

[Mapmywellness]

In all your videos you have an excellent way of explaining procedures and processes. Great communicator!

[ravenssageofbushcraftsurvi]

loved your video and explanation of punk wood, mine was always to far gone. As im homeless living primitive really important. ty god bless brother

[acca]

This was incredibly helpful; thank you! Just inherited some of my grandpa's tools and your video was perfect for figuring out how to fix up his axe a bit.

[daemonharper]

Great vid and tip as leave the axe, head side down in a tub of B.L.O for a day or two to swell and tighten but if it doesn't work - your method is next on the list.

[johnwyman]

Good idea for taking care of the good old axe !! Nicely done !! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🪓🔪👍👍

[garywood]

Right on the mark with the advice Dan! This is how it's done and those that glue your wedges in place this precisely why you don't do that. I've had heads loosen up because of wedge shrinkage and removed the wedge in the field with a multi tool, whittled a new wedge in the field and reset the head with the new wedge. It was good for several years and began to loosen again. Since I knew the replacement wedge was not bottomed out in the kerf I took a piece of steel flat stock and hammered the wedge even deeper into the kerf and it has remained tight to this day and we are going on years again. And if it loosens again, I'll just remove the current wedge, make a new one and reset. Typically the cut in the handle for a wedge is done to two thirds the depth of the head. If yours isn't then it should be and before setting the handle deepen that cut. Keeping in mind that some of the handle should stand proud of the eye once seated as it is in Dan's axe. If you make your wedge just a smidge shy of bottoming out in the cut you will have left yourself some slight adjustment to tighten things up in the future if need be. Getting the handle wet, not keeping it properly oiled with BLO or BLO/mineral spirits mixture, extremely dry climates, extremely humid climates, storing the axe near a heat source are just a few things will contribute to a loosening head over time if dealing with a wood handle. It's unavoidable. As a last resort, flat steel stepped wedges can be hammered in alongside the wooden wedge and the wedge cut. If you do this, place the wedges so they are parallel to the wood wedge and the cut in the handle instead of perpendicular. I prefer to keep steel wedges out of my handles though and have found that wooden wedges, if done right, is all that is needed. As always, great content Dan! Love your channel!