PEP BB tool.straw.pickaxe - Sharpen a Pickaxe or Mattock

Here is my submission for the Tool Care - Straw - Sharpen Pickaxe, Mattock, or other Tough Earthworking Tool BB.

I believe this is a combination Pick-Mattock.  I used a wire wheel (on an angle grinder) to remove the rust, an grinding disk (on an angle grinder) to reshape/sharpen both ends, and linseed oil to protect the tool.

To document the completion of the BB, I have provided the following:
 - Pic of dull edge
 - Action pic of sharpening
 - Pic of sharp edge

My neighbour saw me working on some tool restoration and asked if I could do anything with his hoe. It had no handle, rusty and blunt.



1) Start to creat an edge with a file - even after some cleaning it was very blunt





2) Sharpen new edge with Dremel



3) Nice sharp edge



4) I also made a handle from a beech branch I found in the woods

Thanks for the tip Paul. Will do.

I picked up a new (old!) mattock the other day for £5. It is clearly old and very pitted. The steel feels good quality, however, and the handle alone would have cost me the same!

I knocked the head off the handle (pickaxes and mattocks aren't usually wedged on in this part of the world - handy for sharing handles) and set to it with the wire wheel in the drill. There was very little loose rust so this step was mostly cosmetic. I then gave the steel a coat of tung oil to protect it.

To sharpen the mattock, I clamped it in the vise and use a sharp file to take back the steel and restore the bevels. The edge was rolled in many places, as you'd expect from such a tool. It was also very blunt at the corners so I spent some time removing the material that had been pushed about there.

The rear tine of the mattock - the bit that sits upright, rather than perpedicular to the handle - was harder to access so I placed the mattock on the floor, padded by some rags, and used the handle to orient and hold it whilst filing.

I finally removed the burrs using a fine axe puck.

Both edges are now sharp - actually too sharp for a digging tool and I'm sure they wont last! The restored bevels will make it much easier to use though, and faster to sharpen next time.