Lets talk axe handles... (replacements)

Lets discuss some quality axe handles replacements.

I have a Plumb 5lb axe that was my grandfathers. I believe he got it from his dad, which would make it my great grandfathers. I got it when he died with some other tools and they sort of got put aside in storage. Now that I have a house and am trying to get things sorted and organized, I ran across it and thought i'd clean it up and redo the handle. I think it has the original bent 34" handle, but underneath the 12-14" of electrical tape was bad cracks thru both sides and a poor fit on the head after decades (or a century) of use.

this is not my pic, but this is what it looked like minus the red paint wore off and black Elec tape down the middle 12-14" covering the bad breaks on both sides...



so i took the old handle off without destroying it and cleaned up all the rust and pits from the axe head. I also ground down the mushrooming on the back side where someone used it as a wedge. the plumb mark was barely visible before cleanup, so I was careful not to remove the stamped logo. From the research I've done, its between 1880 and 1920. Plumb marketed and sold by plumb had the plumb logo on both sides. over the years they made them for stores of the era, like montgomery wards, sears, etc. those axes only had the plumb logo on one side, then on the other side had distinct marks such as the dot on mine. there were crosses, and many other stamps. i've yet to read anything about the 7 and 2 stamped on both sides of mine. not sure what it means.





Got a new handle... did some googling to see what a good american made hickory handle was these days. i ordered a Link brand 36" single bit bent handle from Amazon. Link is made/owned by Seymour.

http://www.amazon.com/HANDLE-SEYMOUR-100-09-36-Inch-Handle/dp/B000FPCBRK

It showed up and looked decent, but was very yellow and shiny, so I Sanded it down and used some Kroil to give it some color then hit it with some True Oil (basically lynnseed oil) to preserve it. I then masked off the bottom and applied some red locktite brand rubber/plstaic grip via a spray can. its like plasti-dip, but in an aerosol can. depending on the age of the plumbs, some were all red, some were like this.





got it all cleaned up, took forever to file and grind the chunks out of the cutting edge. got a decent edge on it and was ready to sink it in some wood.....


Three rounds split flawlessly.. the fourth round had a knot in it...

cracked it once, and the round cracked, but didn't total split. swung again and hit the edge where I wanted it, and as the head blew into the round, the handle below the head hit the small stem of the knot and I heard the most ear piercing "KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK" sound..

yup, my new american made hickory handle was toast. split the whole way down to my hands and I instantly felt it. If I hadn't had a good grip on it, it would have came apart I think. It stung my hand bad. It wasn't an overstrike, as it hit where I wanted to. I was thoroughly bummed out putting all that work into refinishing it to have it split the handle on the 4th round of splitting sunday.






you can see it didn't split anywhere near the head.. middle of the handle down... Anyone ever bought something on amazon and got a refund? Its wasn't expensive, but damm, 5 total swings and its junk...

So, of those that are into restoring and using old quality tools, what are some good axe handle replacements out there?

I've been to all the local hardware stores as well as Home depot, Lowes, and tractor supply. TSC carries Truper brand. supposed to be american hickory, but made in mexico for 10-11 bucks. Home depot has the best looking of all the ones I've seen. They are True Temper. They have thick handles and look like real decent hickory. i'd rather not do this again, and i don't really think it was operator error, as I've been swinging an axe for 20 years now. I've never cracked or broken a handle on a sledge, maul, single bit or double bit axe.

 

Ouch!!!!!!! And as President Bill said "I can feel your pain".

 

I know for a fact that the hickory handles sold know aren't near the quality as 20-30 years agne good place to look is ebay - often several New Old Stock handles are sold as a lot at a good savings over buying several individual ones.

Also when buying a single handle at any local store I spend time looking over each one - sighting down its length,looking for any warp,how the grain runs etc.And its a common misnomer that the reddish brown heart of hickory is weaker & inferior than the more popular off white sapwood.There's no difference in strength,resilience,flexibility etc.Just the color/appearance.

 

That's the result of poor grain orientation. That is the most important thing when selecting a handle for a striking tool. The grain should be "up and down" when sighting down the handle. If it is left to right, the grain is perpendicular to the direction of the striking force, and what you had happen will occur.

 

I had a maul handle split from the head to the but on time. No over strike or misses and fairly new as well. Followed right down the grain. Looked it over before I bought it but boy was I suprised when that head popped back at me.

 

I agree with Bigbar, the grain was crooked. I would either put another wooden handle in it and hang it on the wall since it is so old or if you want to use it put a fiberglass handle in it.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=fiberglass+axe+handle

 

It's going to get used. It's heavier than the fiskars. It's not a wall hanger. I'm not putting a fiberglass handle on it either.

 

What is wrong with a fiberglass handle?

 

Id try to find somewhere where you can look at the handles first to make sure they're GTG. Online is kind of luck of the draw

 

Classic "short grain failure." As many rings/grains need to run the full length as possible. Sorry about your luck. This is 100% a product defect, not your fault in any way

 

I can understand not wanting to go with fiberglass also. It just doesn't have the same feel. I prefer wood handled tools hands down. When I worked for an excavation company I had "my" shovel and rake. After so long they just mould to your hands.

 

Thank you. Couldn't have said it any better

 

Was it electric tape or friction tape. A lot of old electric tape was cloth and provided grip.

 

Electrical tape has been around since forever. Most people back in the 40's-50's,60's had a roll of E tape. Duct tape was newer and expensive. It's also remains somewhat flexible. as stated E-tape was somewhat of a friction tape.

Mine had it on the middle of the handle to the head to cover up deep cracks in the handle from overstrikes, not friction. I'm seriously wondering if I could pry the cracks apart and use some wood glue and put it in a wood vice to clamp it together as it drys. I might try this as I am going to make a pick-a-roo out of an old axe head.


I bought a True Temper handle at Home depot last night. Sanded it down, flared the ball end a little bit for a better fit on my handle and hung it. I then used some true oil to bring out the grain and preserve it. It turned out pretty decent, we'll see this weekend when I go back to dads to take down a couple more trees and split it up. I picked the best grain'd one even though it has some darker heartwood in it. Ive read both ways against and for it so it may be a myth or fact. not sure yet.. It split this knotted piece of maple fairly quick. I won't paint the end red until I know it will last more than 5 swings...

 

Grain looks much better on that one. Nice job