First try at hatchet handle.

flyrod444

Senior Member
Found this old hatchet that needed a handle. I decided to try to make it. Very happy with how it turned out. Used old handle for pattern, just added 3 inches in length.
Jack
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John Cooper

?Now I Got One A Them Banner Things
Looks awesome!

I have a hawk I need to make a handle for.
 

northgeorgiasportsman

Moderator
Staff member
I like the shape of it. I've got an old double bit Plumb cruiser axe that I keep in the truck. Its pretty handy.
 

Nugefan

Senior Member
very nice remodel ....:cool: :cool: :cool:
 

mguthrie

**# 1 Fan**OHIO STATE**
I've got a couple of those plumb hatchets. They'll last forever. Good job on the handle
 

wvdawg

Moderator
Staff member
Mighty fine work.
 

Anvil Head

Senior Member
Very nice work on the handle. Only thing I see is grain direction would be much stronger and less prone to impact breakage with the grain running parallel to the cutting axis - old school but still holds true. I rehandled my competition Dolittle Speed Axe several times before I accepted that my Dad was right (dadgummit he always was!).
 

Nicodemus

The Recluse
Staff member
Found this old hatchet that needed a handle. I decided to try to make it. Very happy with how it turned out. Used old handle for pattern, just added 3 inches in length.
Jack
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Nice work. That made a nice camp ax. Those old Plumbs are good steel.

I fried a hawk handle using the wrap it with rope and set it on fire method.....


Just use a small torch next time and save your rope for what it`s designed for. Remember to give the handle a wipedown with boiled linseed oil after you char rings in the handle because it will be brittle.
 

flyrod444

Senior Member
Thanks everyone. Anvil Head, I agree the grain could be better, but working with a chunk of firewood didn't give me a lot to work with. I hope to find some hickory lumber for future handles. Finding old axes and restoring them has become a slight addiction of mine.
Thanks again,
Jack
 
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Nicodemus

The Recluse
Staff member
Jack, white ash also makes a good handle if you have access to some.
 

T-N-T

Senior Member
Ash is what baseball bats are made out of often. Those things are pretty sturdy....

That's a good rehab!
 

walkinboss01

Senior Member
Looks great!!
 

Dr. Strangelove

Senior Member
Nice axe!
 

Anvil Head

Senior Member
Ash is what baseball bats are made out of often. Those things are pretty sturdy....

That's a good rehab!

Actually most of the wood handled shovels and other implements (and their replacements) sold today in most hardware and BBox stores are ash and not hickory (in spite of what the label says). Looked at and worked enough of it over the years to be able to tell the diff. pretty quick.

I admire what you are doing FR444, really hate to see old quality tools get tossed just because folks don't understand wood (that and I really hate fiberglass and other synthetic handle substitutes - they have never felt "right" to me).
 

Anvil Head

Senior Member
They were more interested in the tightness and straightness of the grain than the species, but rarely cut a tree down specifically to make an axe handle. The handles were just a byproduct selection from the trees that were processed for other purposes.

Differences between shag and slick bark trees' interior wood grain structure would be difficult for the untrained eye to discern and negligible as far as application is concerned.
 
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