Restoring a Finnish Axe

Inside the Workshop – Restoring a Finnish Axe

Some notes from the Kellokoski 17.2 restoration:

• The axe head was cleaned (warm water + soap) and de-rusted (Evaporust + Wirewheel), including inside the eye.
• The handle was made from a quarter birch log, sawn and planed into a billet. Sourced from our own forest.
• The handle was shaped in a –12 °C workshop — breath fog included.
• The Finnish eye shape required careful fitting; these heads are not standard and handles from the hardware store won't fit.
• The head sat tight in a dry fit before wedging — the wedge’s job was locking, not forcing.
• After hanging, the head and top grain were soaked in raw linseed oil.
• The blade was ground from a coarsness of 60 down to a fine 3000 and finished with a leather strop.
• The leather sheath was made from a thick veg tan cowhide, dyed in English Bridle and hand stitched.

The owner’s reaction?

Three quiet Finnish “Wow.”

That’s enough.