I got one of these several weeks ago. I stripped the red paint off of mine with paint stripper and my little brass brush. Mine has a wood wedge in it. It was made in 2023. I boned the handle, sanded it and coated it with thinned out linseed oil.

I just bought a council 3.5 lb with an 18” short handle (‘Twas the only option to support a local business) and I immediately replaced the handle with a 28” Tennessee hickory .. I’m glad I saw this video before I changed the handle out.

Outstanding axe re-build. Your no BS format goes a long way with me and your sense of humor is a real treat. Sincerely, your newest subscriber.

Great video. Duncan's cameo with his very calm and patient father make it even better.

Scientifically proven that you get a 37% better finish if you don't mix tool brands. The axes get confused by yellow and red plastic. lol Nice work tuning up the axe, nice to see the process that others use.

My grandfather left me an American-made ax. and I'm keeping it as a very valuable keepsake. I once heard him say that white ash is an optimal choice for the handle of an ax. my grandpa is gone...i always keep it and will restore it someday. thanks for your good video, tutorial. happy new year and support your content

Found your channel a few days ago. Great content and I'm in agreement on the value in council tool axes.

7/32” file is for a 3/8” Husky chain. I even got all of the red paint out of the stamping on the axe head with paint stripper. It took me several coats to get it all off. I then washed it with soap and water to get rid of the paint stripper.

Thanks for sharing. Great wedge removal technique!

I sharpened my new Dayton, yesterday. It is sharp today. I used my diamond grit stones to start with and then my hockey pucks. I put a nice bevel on it. What I like about it is the shape and size of the handle. It fits my hands, perfectly. I polished the bit area with 220 and 400 but my arms got tired quickly. I did even up the polished areas of the bit. I have a new wedge for it but have not removed that aluminum wedge, yet. I use my dead blow hammer to seat axe heads and wedges.

This review was the best I’ve seen I think. Right down to the honesty and then the mods. I have a council boys axe I got with the most horrendous hang job I’ve ever seen. A shelf you could hang stockings off and the wedge had huge gaps front and back. I love the finish look you went for. I’m in NH on the Maine border so I’m fond of brant and Cochran as well. Also your poplar wedge came out gorgeous. Mine never look that nice. 👍

Super Video!! I like the paint left in the markings so they are easier to read.

Nice work on that ax. Looks like it works well. Thanks for showing us and take care.

I got one of these axes. I did not have a long felling axe. I refinished the handle with linseed oil. I have four coats on it now, heading towards six. I still head, but I like red axes because they are easy to find in the leaves. have to make a sheath for it. When all of this is complete I will sharpen and use it. I have aCT boys axe, which I use as a wedge banger for my felling wedges. I did not pull the head from the new 36 inch axe. When I break the handle I may strip the red paint from the head, but I like the red paint, because they are easy to find in the leaves when I throw them down when not in use.

Love Duncan's cameo! And the goat... I actually like the red still in the imprint. Looks great... Really really solid video, really appreciate the instruction and presentation.

Enjoyed your video thanks for the info I have a couple of axe heads to hang but have been procrastinating but your video has inspired me to get it done thanks.

Valuable information being shared here, thanks!

Mr. Urban, excellent review and interesting methods...thank you for your efforts sir...

That wedge maneuver was brilliant like a magic trick, awesome

The content I’ve been looking for! Sub for sure! Love the cameo from Dunc and his toy boat!! LOL. Wish I had more axe buying options near me (best is a local hardware store that has some Ox bit rebranded Stihl axes. Those Council axes have caught my eye - esp when the Scandinavian axes are just ridic priced!! LOL.

I love the little touches to personalize it. I prefer it without the dipped paint colors too -- And, the minor red paint leftover actually has a neat finish as well. Axes are rugged, "primal" tools that should have character. Sure, it's nice to have a super well-polished "trophy" piece....but you're not buying the axe to mount on the wall. You're buying a tool to serve you in daily needs, & help you beast through with more ease. Keep on swinging. Thanks for good video & helpful tips brother! Lol, cracks me up to have the kid close by. I have a 1yr old & 3yr old. They're always hanging out in the wood yard with me, while I putz, splitting, stacking, cleaning up, working on repairs. You have to be mindful & vigilant, but as long as you're careful & teach your kids to keep safe distances -- it's good to have them around to see & live with you, when you have the time.

Great video. Duncan is a great assistant, my youngest is always out there too to help stack wood. Nice polish on that, I've found it helps with corrosion too. After a camping trip,, I can just buff out any rust with a bit of wd40 and some steel wool.

Cool build up, not tried a council tool but do seem like good value. That downward slope forward of the eye is on tassies too, need a similar shaping method for the handle. Keep up the good work👍

Great stuff brother hoss!! Question for you. What would you recommend for a killer splitting axe? Thanks

That turned out great. Love the metal wedge removal trick. How do you think that axe would perform at bucking ? Or which part of cordwood work would you say it is best suited for?

I'm pretty sure they phased out all their standard hardware store grade axes (the red painted ones) and are keeping their "Sport Utility" finish axes as their baseline which are even closer to axes costing 3-4X as much while barely costing 10 or 20 bucks more than their red painted ones. Their Sport Utility axes are probably the best value for axes on the market right now and they come out the box finished, patina'd and ready to work with premium handles. Nice work you did there with that one.

I see you blasted the dark markings off your goat's face in 1 second flat :

Great video subbed right away

Thank you for very good explanation how to change the handle. But for us less knowledgeable would you please tell us what you were pointing to prior starting taking the head off the handle? The handle wasn’t put into the head the right way or you just wanted to show us how to do it and you didn’t like the paint? Thank you very much!

EXCELLENT CONTENT

Great work! Regarding wedging, I've gotten excellent results (and zero splits) during the wedging stage by inverting the axe, placing the protruding wedge on a concrete floor, and tapping the butt end of the handle with a soft-faced mallet. Also, I hope you won't mind me saying so, but I highly recommend investing in a quality respirator for sanding, polishing, etc. Speaking form experience, it sucks to have messed up lungs.

great video

If it was worth $200, it should be ready to work out of the box. I decided to pass on council tools after reading too many write ups from buyers getting loose axe heads. I'd rather not finish a job that should have been done properly to begin with, that's the point of me buying their tool. But I get the appeal for those who enjoy tinkering in a shop. Anyway, I went ahead and got a hultafors axe. Absolutely love it.

I kinda love the leftover paint in the engraving

We don't have that brand in Australia but it looks like you got a great deal for the money.

It's a great solution. I use an auto body slide hammer to accomplish wedge removal. Drill, thread in screw and pull out wedge with ease!

The red paint in the stamp looks cool. I don't use wood glue on the wedge, I find that pine star is much better in my experience.

A kid with muddy feet climbing on his world around him......is a great start to life!

$200 worth of work into a $50 axe. I have the same axe, which I used to split wood from a large maple. The axe head, as installed from the factory, never loosened up, but the handle eventually split along its length into two pieces. I replaced the handle of the axe with a wooden wedge. The axe is still going strong. The thing about gluing a wooden wedge or installing metal wedges is that it can be hard or impossible to re-wedge the axe with the old handle.

Hit the end of the handle with a dead blow hammer and it will seat a lot deeper. I soak a wooden wedge in boiled linseed oil overnight before I pound it in with my dead blow hammer. It will usually not split this way.

Westcoast Saw recently got some Hickory axe handles made if you want a good handle to replace an old handle. Just thought you might be interested. That's the name of Gordy's KZfaq channel as well as their website where you can find the handles.

I LOVE GOAT VIDEOS. Regardless, cool custom axe video.

Nice I've got the Jersey. I really like it but thinking about shortening the handle as 36 if your not felling a big tree or splitting just kind of gets in the way. Might go 30-28 lol half tempted to go with a miners style. Nice trick with the bolt by the way will have to try that as don't want to ruin the handle.

Most axes work loose if kept in an air conditioned location. This, dries them out and they shrink. I keep most of my axes in my non air conditioned shop hanging up on nails, by their lanyard. I drill all of my handles for a para cord lanyard.

That’s a clever way to remove the wedge.

The first split on red oak is the toughest. Then, it will usuall plank out pretty easy.

Glad some decent Axes are still made in America🇺🇸 you put Lotta work and time into that brand new Axe. Nice work though. I pick up clean vintage Axes Kelly,Plumb and others from the classic period 1920s-60s for average $25/$30. Most require just little work and touch up like your video. The best steel no Doubt are those old vintage axes from the Glory Days 🇺🇸

Great video , great technique . Now go buy some safety glasses, especially when using that wire wheel !

I’ve heard tell that you can make life easier by mounting the round file in your drill, then chamfer the eye. More filing for your effort. Nice way to remove that wedge.👏👏👏. If you don’t mind, I’ll use that technique.

I have split and cut more wood with my 50 year old True Temper Dayton pattern than any axe that I own, I currently,y have it on a 31.5” does leg hickory handle.

“Best axe”: proceeds to re-do everything. In all seriousness though I love it and would do the same thing. I just restored a 3.5 lb Gransfors from the 50s. The steel holds an edge after so much abuse. It was definitely a lot of work to knock all the rust off and get the handle to fit though. I guess wether you buy a new axe or an old one, it just takes work to get it perfect.

Any chance those, "High spots" in the eye were the ridges that are sometimes put in eyes to increase surface area to better grip the handle?

grat tip on removing the wedge!

I'm wondering how one could tell what model of Hults Bruk 4.5 pound axe I have....i can't find it in any pictures and wondered how you would go about finding out?

Nice video. Do you like the Dayton pattern better than Jersey?

Feeding the algorithm. Excellent video.

Man, how could you, you didn't put safety glasses on your goat! Really, what were you thinking? Did you not see the expression on the goat's face? BTW, neat trick to pull the wedge. Does it work w/ conical wedges? I'd try it if I can get one of them Council Tool axes. You know, you could have put a link to your axe dealer so folks could buy the same thing. Interesting, many thanks. Have a GREAT day, Neighbor!

That's a good way to deal with metal wedges. One trick I've learned for preserving handles is drying the tongue and wedge (if wooden) over a vent or near a wood stove. This is also how I like hafting. Drying the lumber out as much as possible before wedging.

Any link to share please?

I just tried to remove the stupid aluminum wedge from my newly purchased Council double bit. The damn thing was so soft it wouldn't take threads. So I cut the handle off, lol and behold, the grain in the handle is 90° out from the bit. I'm going to get the paint off of the head and hang a new handle.

I coated my axe head with thinned down Linsheen to keep it from rusting. I live in a humid environment.

Bought an awesome Council Tools boys axe and a not so awesome Council Tools hatchet which was misaligned by at least 1/8" making it pretty useless for precision kindling work. For $50 I would think the hatchet alignment would be better than that. Hate having to buy axes online but not many options close to me

This is great! I need a new axe since my son-in-law took mine camping and, according to him, a bear stole it. I did not relish spending $100+ on a new one.

Apparently I don't know much about axes but what was wrong with the way it was to start with and why wood instead of the metal wedge?

Hello Sir ..... Would you ever make another one the same way for a price .... I love how you customized it 😮 Awesome .... Truely ..... I would buy it it from yah bud No KIDDIN

Im thinking of getting this axe an all around axe and I want to replace that wedge like you did but the total for it including shipping and tax is 73 dollars, do you think thats worth it?

Leave the red paint! It looks so awesome

Where would be the best place to purchase a Council Tool Dayton axe?

cool axe, just subbed, will keep autoliking future videos, I love axes

Plus a toy boat.

TIL paint somehow makes an axe chop better

What are the marks on your biceps?

don't you think that using a little oil in that wedge would be better than glue? Gordy over on Westcoast Saws had an axe hanger hang an axe on one of his latest videos; that's what he does for a living. Keeping the wood oiled will keep the wedge tight. They even sell a couple small stainless steel wedges with the kit for their handles. You should check him out. You may even like their hickory handles they had custom made as well.

Wow! How have I not seen your channel BEFORE now? Your content is right up my alley! Great vid! I don't currently own any Council axes, but I (just) stumbled onto a LOCAL Council dealer in Salem, Oregon @ a rigging supply store! They have a warehouse WALL of Council axes and TONS of handles! I know where I'm going with my allowance! SUBBED! Greetings from the PNW 🇺🇸 🪓🌲🪓🌲🪓🌲🪓🌲

You look like Arenado that plays for the St Louis Cardinals

beast cutting dude but a maul would've broken those rounds in half those swings. I know it was just demonstration. I recently got a HF 30 dollar axe and it's honestly great, got a really straight grain handle and it splits really well but the way it's hung... it's got a couple of small gaps and from underneath there are literally a couple of rough jagged edges in the eye, it isn't even a perfect 0 shape.... I guess if it comes loose I'll take the head off and file the eye so it's perfect all around because otherwise it's great and about that size

Why no steel ring after the wedge?

Safety squint!

Actual female here 😂 great tip!

Definitely leave the red paint in the logo. That’s sick.

Not available for 55 in 2022, what’s the source?

the camera angle isnt great on the wood cutting part. but thats ok

Get a tripod and raise your camera to about eye level. If you're going to shoot in front of an open window (which does look nice) you'll need to make it brighter inside the shop, or something will be exposed wrong. You have some great looking background in your shop, show it off. (Free professional advice, worth exactly what you pay for it.)

I’m one of the .6.

Safety glasses! Be safe. Files only cut on the push! Great axes! The kerf should be 2/3 no deeper. That's how the head should rest on the handle.

Hahaha! Hello from the .6%. =]

For all the effort I’d be rehanging an old head.

NEVER USE A DOUBLE EDGED AX TO SPLIT WOOD AXES BOUNCE BACK AND MAKE SPLIT YOU HEAD.

fiskers x27 splitter but not old fashioned

Great vid. Pls wear eye protection though... getting metal in your eye sucks balls!!

easier to just use paint remover....

That kid scared the fcking shit out of me. Stupid Iphone surround sound 😂

Hahaha! Blasting that goat in the face was too funny!!!😀

SMALL AX IS NOT FOR SPLITTING WOOD

Or it’s an account I created 10 years ago. As a family account. And used my ex-wife’s name lol

Swear that cut on your arm needs stitches

Коли Драва с головы а. Не сплича

That axe looks more of a chopping vs splitting axe.

You will not get a good axe. Council tools axes ARE great if they had QC. But they actively send you downgraded axes so you will almost certainly not get a good axe. Unless you buy from one of their relatives stores. You might get a good axe head which you will have to fix...not tune..but totally fix. Just buy a good handle and a vintage head and do the steps yourself.

council is really pushing marketing through desperate utube pimps