Alot of people commenting on how much faster and easier it would have been with power tools. Some people don't have power tools and specifically search out videos like these. Also, when you get finished with a project like this it is so rewarding when done by hand. Some people just enjoy the aesthetics of doing it this way. Lastly, some people love having one arm look like Popeyes and the other arm looking like Olive-oil's!

@sloaneisenbart9347

2 жыл бұрын

i found a big 2.5" anchor bolt at the tesla plant going up in austin TX. im wanting to do this with it and use it as a paper weight. could not have made a better video myself.

@amberhartzog9851

2 жыл бұрын

Using mechanical equipment can be faster but doing something quickly dose not always mean it is done properly.

@judylloyd7901

Жыл бұрын

Olive Oyl* 😊😊

@Biggchad

7 ай бұрын

I completely agree. If I’m doing it for someone else or doing it knowing I’m going to sell the finished product, I’d prefer to use a buffer machine. But things I plan to keep in the collection I like to do by hand I enjoy knowing I put the time and effort into it more.

@u.sonomabeach6528

7 ай бұрын

@@Biggchad for sure. When I ‘restored’ my first couple of pieces I only had hand tools. Later, I acquired some power tools and did a few and it was quicker but not as satisfying.

Pro tip : I like to keep the head of the axe rusty so when You're out doing you're murderin' they don't see the moon shine off it and alert people

@utubear

4 жыл бұрын

LOL'd a few times! thanks.

@omniyambot9876

2 жыл бұрын

Good tip

@YoDude874

2 жыл бұрын

Nice sharp humor. Idk why anyone would want to not use machinery.

@themrnorwood

2 жыл бұрын

🤣🤣🤣

@gzartuche

4 ай бұрын

Noted lol

Just a little tip, always fold your sandpaper in thirds. It keeps it from sliding around all over the place, as well as giving three surfaces to sand with as it is difficult to apply pressure at the edges of the sand paper.

Spent 40 years as a tool maker and polishing was one of my jobs. I’ll be dammed if I’m going to polish something then stick it in a tree.

This guy has some serious patience and discipline. Well done!!! Make the handle!

@frenchriversprings

2 жыл бұрын

Thank You. The handle video is made.

Thats impressive i repair and restore axes for friends and family and ine guy asked me if i could do a mirror finish. Knowing i do everything by hand i just loved to see this video.

There is something satisfying about hand polishing, total waste of time, but satisfying.

WONDERFUL job! Thanks for sharing with us and taking all the time/effort to make and narrate this fine step by step video!!!

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and demonstrating the complete process in real time, just remarkable. !

I enjoy your dedication to your work.

Wow. That’s dedication for you. Stunning job dude. Thank you.x

This is absolute madness. Ever since I polished my first knife I wanted to do it on an axe head too , but knowing how much work it will take I never did. Thanks for sharing it with us. I would love to see the shine after a buffing wheel. Only then all this work with the sandpaper will pay of.

@HitLeftistsWithHammers

Жыл бұрын

it really is quite time-consuming when you do it all by hand. whenever I'm watching TV at 10 to sit and sand one, it takes a lot of the bore out of it LOL.

Good on you for doing this completely by hand 🖐 That must have to some serious patience and dedication! It turned out fantastic 👍

This video should be called "Why we invented power tools!"

@Sakuxxx1x

6 жыл бұрын

Hehe im making knives just for fun and i got no power tools. The most relaxing / fun part is hand sanding the hardened and annealed blade. =)

@InefableTheo

5 жыл бұрын

@@Sakuxxx1x May I ask what grits or wax do you use? Im up to the same hobby.

@Sakuxxx1x

5 жыл бұрын

I use wet sandpaper as lubricant just water. I go through grits: 180/240/320/400/600 sometimes 800 but i find for knives i always use 600 is enough....there will be scratches anyway. I never go higher because i dont like mirrow polish....i think mirrow polish finish is for posers.....;)

@Sakuxxx1x

5 жыл бұрын

Hardening (heating to red hot and quenching in oil) makes the Blade hard, too hard it will be brittle and can break. Sorry english is not my fist language i may used the wrong word i meant tempering. With tempering you heat the blade again but slower and not as hot as when quenching. So with tempering you get some "flexibility / softness " back so the blade can be used, it is than hard enough to hold an edge, but not too hard so it would chip. Annealing is making it soft again by heating to red hot, and letting it slowly aircool.

@johanponin1360

5 жыл бұрын

It should be title "Why climate change removed power tools"

Great job on the video. I purchased a tanto knife blank and want to polish it up. I dont have much time for hand polishing without power tools but this video gave me some inspiration. Thank you.

Wow, thanks man. For enduring all this although havin power tools available. And all the expertise. It helps in getting an intuition without having to go all the way yourselves which I think most of us are here for. Keep it up!

@frenchriversprings

3 жыл бұрын

Thank You. Yes that was a long painful day. Lol

Excellent video, man! Thanks for showing all this - it's handy knowledge to reference! Have a nice sunday Cheers.

Outstanding polish work! Thanks for sharing.

Waiting for handles. Great job, final product very inspiring

Love your dedication.

That came out nice. I have been picking up axes and hatchets at estate sales. I'm gonna have to try this.

You made art. Beautiful.

Sublime patience. Well done.

Magnificent work sir, well done! Nice video!

I was looking for instruction on polishing a cast metal part. This video was instructive on technique. I can apply this information to my task. I have some sanding to do!

Great results, persistence and skills.

So much patience. Thanks.

Beautiful finish.

You wore me out on this. You can make the handle with power tools. It'll take me a week to get over the Axe polish. Thanks very much for your time and effort.

Love this video, ive done fair few knive before. But never an axe! Fantastic.

Thanks/Merci, I have a big restauration project ahead and this video helped.

awesome video! Love the time lapse filing!

Nice job. In my experience, normal cloth towels and paper towels are abrasive to mirror polished surfaces. I think that's why you had scratches in the end. Try to buff off with clean microfiber with gentle pressure if you can and see the difference.

@lydiaajohnson

3 жыл бұрын

He needed to buff with Tripoli after sanding and before polishing. It removes the fine scratches that sanding doesn’t get unless you go to 15 or 20k grit. I do this at my job.

@HitLeftistsWithHammers

Жыл бұрын

@@lydiaajohnson do you have a good outlet for higher grit paper? I usually only find stuff that goes up to 7 K maximum, I've never found anything higher than that except for a few on Amazon that seem like crap quality.

Que gran trabajo haces mostrando ó mejor dicho, enseñando a las personas lo que sabes y te apasiona, te felicito

Trick from a guy who restored a couple of medieval armor replicas: Let your 600 and 1000/2000 grit sandpaper clog up some as you work and get mirror finish in less time with the same car metal polish and no more than 2000 grit. Just keep sanding when your 600+ seems clogged up and see how it goes from there...

@frenchriversprings

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the tip!

@marcn8750

Жыл бұрын

@@frenchriversprings nice video. What’s the reason for changing the direction of the sanding?

@marcn8750

Жыл бұрын

What the reason that letting the 600 grits clog up gets a mirror finish faster ?

@Flashahol

Жыл бұрын

@@marcn8750 As it gets clogged up, it becomes smoother and the grit seems finer, as if it was a higher grit sandpaper, but broken in. If you go for a new sheet of higher grit paper from there, you'll have to break that one in while making the surface dull again.

@marcn8750

Жыл бұрын

@@Flashahol interesting. I’ve always wondered why my older used sandpaper seems to be more gentle. So it’s basically less aggressive snd will give a shine faster IF the surface cuts are “ready” for it. The slag on the used paper is basically steel dust mixed with the lubricant. The abrasive on the paper is either worn away or covered by this slag. Correct?

Excellent job, my axes will become your system. Thank you sir!

Very nice work. I'm going to do the same with an antique sword. Maybe not as mirror finished as yours but it will shine again. Thanks for the lesson. Cheers from Montreal.

Now that is beautiful!- Great job- I restore antique Military swords , bayonets etc. and know exactly how long it takes to do what you have done on this axe head. I just finished restoring a 1907 British Sword Bayonet and I'm tired. It's amazing how sore you get polishing metal by hand. When I restore I'm not in love with patina - I love the mirror finish look. Anyway great video

That was so satisfying to watch thank you for this video

I feel your pain... I restore and sell norlund axes on ebay with exotic handles. Most polished.. I do use a flapwheel for primary grind, but i hand sand the rest. 60(flap) 120, 180, 220 320 400 600 1000 1500 2000 then black then white compound on a wheel. It takes me about 4 hrs start to finish on a polish.

this isnt sped up, he's just that fast.

@n_ist_0326

3 жыл бұрын

Yup. He's the flash

@ThunderingDiesel

3 жыл бұрын

@@n_ist_0326 lmao I’m watching that show rn and that I was gonna reply that

@u.sonomabeach6528

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah he had to slow it down because the original video at actual speed was only 3 minutes and 25 seconds

This is so satisfying to watch

that was wonderful, nicely done.

Beautiful work, always satisfying working the metal by hand, time consuming and takes it's toll on the body but worth it.

You're great man. Love your channel.

@frenchriversprings

5 жыл бұрын

Thank You!

Awesome job 👍

Beautiful job !

Beautiful job! 👍

I am a man with a lot of patients but you put me to shame lol... Your efforts are worth it in the end. That's a beautiful polish. I have a double bit axe I want to fix up. Maybe I will try this. Thanks again for sharing your video with us.

When he said ' This isn't perfect, I literally dropped my phone.

Amazing job!! Yes I would love to see you put a handle on it!

Very well done!

Nicely done!

That's neat. But the fact that you can do that with a buffing wheel in about an hour makes it seem silly. Then again I just spent 20 minutes watching someone polish an axe...

@rogerdickinson920

5 жыл бұрын

Jeremy C That's why God invented fast forward.

@jonpatterson5668

4 жыл бұрын

Yes we did ... lmao

@alldaytony2751

4 жыл бұрын

Power tools are to fast, once the material is gone you can't go back.

@barrydewhirst3947

4 жыл бұрын

Love this comment 🤣 tbf I love my hand tools its a good way to sit and consolidate your thoughts

@theburns9008

4 жыл бұрын

Buffing wheel is one of the most dangerous tools in most shops

Looks great!

very patient man you are , your wife must be happy .

@tychus8219

5 жыл бұрын

U envy ? You want to be his wife or what?

@MrEyad1990

5 жыл бұрын

@@tychus8219 no I don't envy him at all .

@phantomcreamer

5 жыл бұрын

Nah man, he's in the shop all day. Women hate that

@sickens1799

5 жыл бұрын

Hand polish it they said, its worth it they said.

@Deezhan

4 жыл бұрын

@@phantomcreamer It's better that he is in his shop and being useful somehow than to be one of those child "men" who play video games all day and are being totally useless around the house with zero practical skill- or/and knowledge - or even worse, one of those men that are being unfaithful or use drugs and what not. A handy man will at least be able to build things around- and inside the house. A man is not made to sit around his wife all day and braid her hair so to speak. It's a big misconception about how a relationship should be like - that a man and a woman need to have everything in common in order for a relationship to work - and one of the reason why many fall apart today. It's all lies pushed by dumb feminists and beta males. Marriages lasted much longer when men and women married without having anything in common, when each knew their place. A man is a man and should do man things, a woman is a woman and should do woman things, a plant is a plant and should do plant things.

Looks fantastic, nice job! It definitely needs a handle to make it complete though ;)

hat off to you sir.... really nicely done thanks for sharing...

Thank you for your hardwork!!!!😅

What an amazing job. Fantastic

Impressive- learned what I needed to know

Awesome job brother

I think it looks beautiful

Nice job looks great 👍🏻

I am polishing an axe head by hand as well, this gave me a great guide, as I have never done so before. Please make a handle, I havent done that either. Very instructive and helpful video, Thank you! I am also Canadian!

@frenchriversprings

6 жыл бұрын

Evan Livermore I have made the handle. Look at the end of this video. There is a clickable link

@Nature-Guardian

6 жыл бұрын

French River Springs, just found it and watched it actually! Great job again!

friggin incredible man

Great video. Thanks

Very good job!

Très bon tuto. Merci beaucoup.

I love seeing videos where people use hand tools instead of power tools. Shows their true skills.

Best ASMR ever!

I appreciate the hard work that went into this, but a couple critiques that I would make is that you are using too much pressure. The sand paper will remove material no matter how hard you press, but pushing too hard will leave scratches. With light pressure you can finish in half the time. You can achieve a mirror finish using water and 2000 grit sand paper with light finger pressure. WD-40 has surfactants in it that will prevent you from achieving a good finish, so you should save that until the end after the buff. if you have any light scratches a little rouge will take care of it with a microfiber cloth. if there are any major gouges I'd recommend a bastard cut mill file. It won't cause deep scratches, but will take a little longer. Never change directions. if you're sanding from heel to edge do that the through whole process. Once the scratches disappear from the previous grit then go to the next higher. If you move the the next grit too soon you will have scratches though that won't come out. I normally use 60, 120, 220, 400, 600, 1000, 1200, and 2000.

Awesome work

Well it seems that is the way to go, when guys use the grinders and power sanders you can really see waves, high/low spots in the metal that ax turned out perfect, looking forward to you making the handle.

@frenchriversprings

5 жыл бұрын

look at the end of the video. there is a clickable link of my video making the axe handle :)

The Ax looks great.

big job,excelent video,thanks

I did this with a Wade & Butcher 1830 (guestimate) hatchet, starting with 60 grit, thru to 2000 grit (the best I had available) ... then using cymbal polish nicked from my mad-drummer father. I could have pulled out a power tool or two, but was more interested in seeing what could be done with sandpaper and compounds. Mine has many pits and blemishes, but the shiny parts are awfully shiny ... even though the hatchet is basically blunt. I haven't tried to sharpen it yet. Great video. I lived the experience myself ... just not as meticulous or fastidious. Cheers $0.02

This video is amazing!

Well done mate, champion effort 👍👍👍🤳🤳🤳

Amazing job.

good effort sir

I've been using this (and other videos) as a reference for trying to clean up the finish on a firearm from 1891 (don't worry, it's not an heirloom or rare/expensive, it's basically just a project) I'm in an apartment and besides the occasional dremel there's not much I can do besides hand work, it's some good exercise after a while I'll give it that lol

It’s amazing how razor sharp a axe gets when you polish it up

Amazing skill

Amazing job

You're the first guy that i see on youtube that really cares for a perfect final product. Great job on that axe! Please continue with your amazing work.

nicely done!

You get a thumbs up from me for perseverance!

Glad I found this video. I want to polish my hatchet, but I don't have any power tools. Actually, I'd prefer to do something like this by hand, it feels more satisfying.

I agree with the process, that is, up until the polishing. the mag polish is for magnesium, not steel. if you change to a German metal polish like Semichome, as well as, keeping your polish stokes straight and not going around in circles, it will produce a clearer reflection. The thing to also take note of is for people trying to do this, make sure you remove "ALL" the scratches caused by the previous sandpaper. If not, you will get a distorted reflection (kind of like a carnival mirror). If you would like to keep the polish, you will need to seal with a metal lacquer to prevent it from oxidizing. However, for me personally, I would have used machines, it's just a little faster.

@Papperlapappmaul

6 жыл бұрын

Agreed. Though, I wouldn't bother to polish the whole axe head in the first place, just the primary bevel with the cutting edge. The remainder would be fine with a 600 grid finish. But I guess the video still fits its intended purpose, except for the use of an unsuitable polishing compound.

@SouthernEnglishman

5 жыл бұрын

It sounds light the paste and/or cotton wheel could be too coarse, or you are applying too much pressure when applying it to the buffing wheel. Make sure your buffing wheel is clean and you are using a very small amount of your paste and let the bracelet bearly touch the wheel.

@tunghoang4336

5 жыл бұрын

Many thank for your advice, i will try

@phantomcreamer

5 жыл бұрын

Why can't it be used for steel?

@Colin999999999

5 жыл бұрын

If you look at the video though, the container says "for polishing all metal" right on the front of it. I think he got the intended result and the product seemed to work just fine!

Great work

Very impressive. Impressive how much free time you have.

1000 likes for you, I really enjoyed your video and like it very much. I didn't feel time the 20 minutes went fast 👍🏼

Beautiful bruv!

first off ....I`d like to tell you that you have about 1000 times the patience that I have Gilbert and that a big compliment because ask my daughter....I don`t give too many compliments....I love to see the axe handle with now power tools because....some time I want to make one with a sample J.P father gave me that come from his father which makes it over 100 years old and do it out of ironwood....when I come up I will bring you a piece of Ironwood if you want one....a friend of mine brought me a few big pieces.....CHEERS

@frenchriversprings

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks gator!! If you have extra iron wood ya would take a piece. Cheers

@gatorsworld

6 жыл бұрын

When I go down I bring you a piece....should be around 5 or 6 of May....Syl will let you know

That is dedication.

Good job bro !

Well done!

This is an impressive video how to transform iron-cost axe to gold-cost axe!