Restoring a Vintage Collins Legitimus Axe Head, and Surviving the Flood Waters HD

Today in the shop I am showing you how I restore an axe head in preparation to rehang it and put it back to work. This is a Collins Legitimus Dayton pattern single bit axe head, that I believe was a military issue axe, most likely on a vehicle. I go through the steps of rust removal on the bench grinder with a wire wheel, cleaning up and chamfering the pole, and reprofiling and sharpening the bit. We had a small set back when my basement flooded due to some sever rain. I took some time to check out why my pump wasn’t working, before deciding to put the axe project on hold to go out and get another pump. After pumping out the basement, and drying out my shop, I got back to work and finished up the Collins axe head.