Inspired by Robin wood's recent post's on swedish style carving handles, I decided to have a go myself. I tend to instinctively use axes skewed at an angle to the wood, so with a regular axe handle arrangement it tends to drop down a bit, the sweep up keeps the handle more horizontal. The head is a johnson and skiner I think, 50 p car boot sale. I could of done to make the angle even more extreme. The bigger handle is just axe rough at the mo its still green and needs to dry out for a few weeks first then try it with a bigger 2 1/2 pound head (brades possibly), the smaller one was air dried. Some will say your grain direction is wrong to which I reply its never been a problem with all the axes I have refurbed. I tend to use a radially split ash board to make a handle
To be honest I sincerly think older english axe's and steel are every bit as good as swedish and as for the finnish roselli, its steel is soft and poor-good for soft wood and birch butnot great on oak and ash. The looking down on our traditional things reminds me of the fine woodwork type forums where they swear by lie neilson or veritas planes and tools as the only way to go and imagine everything else is irelevant
To be honest I sincerly think older english axe's and steel are every bit as good as swedish and as for the finnish roselli, its steel is soft and poor-good for soft wood and birch butnot great on oak and ash. The looking down on our traditional things reminds me of the fine woodwork type forums where they swear by lie neilson or veritas planes and tools as the only way to go and imagine everything else is irelevant
