Restoring a rusty Ochsenkopf axe

— 3 minute read

We found a rusty axe in our neighbour's garden and I decided to restore it.​

Rusty head, rotten handle

While cleaning up our neighbour's garden we found an old felling axe which turned out to be an Ochsenkopf axe with a 2.5 kg head. The handle was all rotten so had to be replaced and the head was very rusty and pitted.

Old felling axe
Rusty felling axe with rotten handle.
Rusty axe head
After some cleaning the maker's mark Ochsenkopf appeared.

Restoring the axe head

Axe head
Used vinegar, sanding paper and lots of elbow grease to clean up the head.
Axe head
This is as far as I will go with restoring the head, leaving some patina.
Axe head
One side is heavily pitted but this ads lots of character.

Hanging the axe

Ochsenkopf axe
Fitting the head to the handle was no easy feat.
Ochsenkopf axe
The eye was all crooked so I had to carefully shape the handle so the axe would sit straight.
Ochsenkopf axe
Used a rasp and sandpaper to shape the handle.
Ochsenkopf axe
Managed to make the head sit straight.

Securing the head

Old felling axe
Used a walnut wedge that was a tad too big.
Rusty axe head
Hammered in a steel O ring for good measure.

Thinning the handle

Old felling axe
Axe handles are always made way too beefy so thinning them down is necessary. Used a file, rasp and sandpaper.
Rusty axe head
That feels and handles a lot better.
Rusty axe head
A coat of boiled linseed oil and she's ready to go.