Thread: Wilderness Axes - hand made from the Urals - Siberia

@Brian has got one.

well that sucks..MAYBE one of our knife guys might be able to remove headfrom handle and give it the heat treatment required??

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

well that sucks..MAYBE one of our knife guys might be able to remove headfrom handle and give it the heat treatment required??

Yeah, one day I might try it myself. I'll see if I can test what steel it is first, next time I have access to the gear at work.

For now I use the hatchet I got at Bunnings - less than $10 and (sadly) a much more useful tool. Actually I've realised a really good hatchet is wasted on me - I like good tools but a hatchet is something I want to be able to abuse when needed without worrying. Something I never did with this. A good axe is a different story though.

Jeeze, I've eaten icecreams harder than that!

Tried a spark test on it? That should tell you what it is steel wise and all you need is a grinder. As far as the ding, tap it with a hammer on a block of wood and straighten it back out panel beater style. If it passes the spark test - for heat treating, wrap the handle/head area with a rag and wet it thoroughly. Keep a bottle of water to keep it wet (a heat stop effectively) and with an oxy/acetylene torch or maybe oxy/lpg heat the edge back about 40mm to red and quench in used engine oil. Polish back to clean and reheat to tempering temp and bury in sand to cool it slowly and if it will harden and temper that will do it...

A spark test is a good idea, but reheat-treating will have to wait until I've got my little workshop set up again. I know what steel it's supposed to be (Russian equivalent of 52100 bearing steel) so if it sparks like high carbon then I can assume it's that for temps etc. Thanks for laying out the process - all good info.