#axe sharpening

Bug pone sharpens an axe

Mr. and Mrs. H. M. Letson sharpening an axe in Courtland, Lawrence County, Alabama (9/6/2025)

This item has been aggregated as part of the Association of Southeastern Libraries (ASERL)'s "Deeply Rooted: The Agricultural & Rural History of the American South" project.

Alabama Cooperative Extension Service Photographs

I’M REALLY BAD AT SHARPENING BLADES

Although in a pinch I can sharpen (Kinda) a dull blade when in the outdoors, I am in no way good at it. In fact I am terrible at it. Free hand sharpening is something I have never mastered , truth be told not even close to it. I can get it to cut what I need but in the process I totally mess the blade up. Then its off to the local sharpening hero to save the day. This on my budget is not working…

I’M REALLY BAD AT SHARPENING BLADES

Although in a pinch I can sharpen (Kinda) a dull blade when in the outdoors, I am in no way good at it. In fact I am terrible at it. Free hand sharpening is something I have never mastered , truth be told not even close to it. I can get it to cut what I need but in the process I totally mess the blade up. Then its off to the local sharpening hero to save the day. This on my budget is not working…

Scary Sharp: Rooster’s Foolproof Ax Sharpening Method 

by Todd Walker

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

This quote, falsely attributed to Abraham Lincoln, is inspirational but scary to anyone new to ax-manship. I get the idea of the quote. But four hours to sharpen an ax?

Okay, if an ax is in really bad shape, you could spend a few hours on the work bench. But once you’ve spent time achieving…