Restoring a DDR (GDR) multitool axe (purple heart handle) I Dr. Hut of Handcraft

#restoration #hutofhandcraft #multitool #axe #hatchet

►"Scharfer Schnitt":
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8WKqevPVq8GLAQDlIVuXaA
►Link to his video of the sharpening process:
https://youtu.be/319xOnvaucg

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Restoring a DDR multitool axe (purple heart handle) I Dr. Hut of Handcraft
#multitool #axe #hutofhandcraft #restoration #toolrestoration

Hey guys, in this Video I restored a little camping axe multitool which was started building in the 1950’s in the DDR. So my little friend here was built somewhere between 1950 and 1990.
The old handle was broken on both sides and the whole tool was covered in bad rust. After removing the old handles I started brushing the rust away to prepare the tool for electrolysis.
Electrolysis is a pretty cool way to remove rust.
For those who are interested I will shortly explain how and why it is possible to remove rust by electrolysis:
Electrolysis is a electro chemical process which forces a redox reaction. At the anode (our victim) it causes oxidation. At the cathode (workpiece) a reduction is happening (losing electrons). The electricity conducts through our electrolyte.
The voltage source causes an excess of electrons in the cathode (-pole) and lack of electrons at the anode (+pole).
The cations and neutral particles gain electrons -► reduction.
The anions give up electrons to the anode -► oxidation.
The reaction scheme of water electrolysis is: 2 H2O (l) —► 2 H2 (g) + O2 (g)

To remove rust we first need to add an electrolyte to the water (best would be warm water, since chemical reactions work better in “presence of heat”).
I always use sodium carbonate. Using table salt is pretty dangerous, since it produces Chlorine, which is highly toxic:
2 NaCl (s) + 2 H2O (l) —► 2 NaOH (l) + Cl2 (g) + H2 (g)

Sodium carbonate dissolves into sodium and carbonate ions. Carbonate ions react basic and build hydroxide ions, which will oxidate, which means that they lose electrons. These electrons will take place in the reduction.

Reaction at the anode:

OH- loses electons: 4 OH - + 4 e- —► 2 H2O + O2

—► corrosion: anode has contact with pure oxygen in presence of water. This is why the “victim” gets rusty.

At the cathode:

Hydrogen ions react with rust (for simplification I’ll write Fe3O4 as representative of rust) and forms ferrous oxide, which forms a blackish layer on our workpiece. We can easily wash/brush that away.

2 Fe3O4 + 6H+ + 6e- —► 6 FeO + 2 H2O + H2
After the electrolysis I started filing and removed all the casting marks, but i kept the pitting.
While filing i recognized that the hammer part had a crack, which needed welding. Since the Multitool is made out of cast iron, I was afraid to break it, because normally you need as cast electrode for welding. But I tried anyways. I did some research, which said, that it is possible to weld cast iron with MIG, when using 80% Argon and 20% carbon dioxide as protective gas and preheating the workpiece till 250°C.

It worked out pretty good and since I am an amatuer in welding I am pretty pleased with the result.

After filing the welding spot, sanding the hammer smooth on the machine and sanding 40 to 320 grit by hand I brass plated the workpiece with heat and a brass brush. It took very long and I will experiment with some other ways to do brass plating for future videos!
I used cold bluing on “cavity” at the axe head and the cavity of the handles to prevent rust and make it look even more awesome :)

Next step was sharpening. I asked my friend “Scharfer Schnitt” to sharpen the axe and he luckily said yes! He did a tremendous job, the blade was really in a very horrible state.

While he was sharpening, I started making the handles. I used amaranth wood, also known as purple heart. Purple heart is naturally purple, but changes it’s color through time. After making the handles several times (sadly it didn’t work out on first try) I put them in the oven for 20 minutes at 180°C to make them purple all through. It worked out pretty good!

Only thing left now was reassembling and giving the handles a nice oil treatment.

I hope you enjoyed. If you read until here, leave a comment with #purpleheartaxe :)

I hope you liked the video! Thank you for watching and feel free to leave a comment and subscribe if you liked :)

Until next time :)

Disclaimer:
The experiments are only for educational purposes and serve as entertainment. I am experienced in handling the used substances and I advise everyone who is not a trained professional not to imitate the experiments I show you. For experiments which could cause potential danger if not performed right, I will not write any guidance to prevent imitating.
I hope you understand that.
I am not responsible for personal injury or property damage if the experiments will be imitated.

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