I picked up a blacksmith striker sledge for almost nothing from a cast off tool bin at a local architectural salvage place in Seattle. I saw treasure through the rust, slapped the cash down on the counter, and ran out of that place like Sméagol with the One Ring…. It sat with my other pretty and precious things in the shop for a couple of months – waiting.
Before long, I was in the planning stages of cleaning the rust off a number of old tools as I remembered the sledge head, it moved immediately to the top of the project list. I used Evapo-Rust to clean it off, thinking that I would give it a try before putting it in an electrolysis bath – my usual MO. No bath necessary – 24 hours later and all the rust was gone!
I used an angle grinder/wire brush to do the final clean and then touched up the face and peen with a flap disc. Worked like a charm. I can say that you will need to oil, wax, or paint anything that up pull from a tank immediately as it will start rusting again right away! I coated the head in wax from a new tin of Axe Wax that I just purchased after giving the remnants of my last can to a well-deserving home.
For the sledge handle, I up-cycled a never-used maul handle: cut it down, sanded off the poly coating, and shaved it down to fit the head. A scrap piece of walnut provided the wedge material. I use a dab of glue on my wedges before sinking them home, but to each his own.
For paddles, hammer handles, and exposed boat trim, I will use Corey’s Amazing Tung Oil, but for mauls, hatchets, axe handles, and the like, I am sold on Axe Wax. I swear I get less blisters and it lasts a whole season before reapplication is needed.
The sledge turned out to be a 14-pound Atha Tool Co. model that was last produced in 1913. It makes my heart happy to be returning a quality 107+ year old tool to work.