Question about this axe head/handle combo

[Goliath]

Hi guys.

I recently acquired a really nice 1,75kg Swedish Hults Bruk axe head. It was all rusty and beat up, and the 90cm long handle needed replacement.
So after visits to about 6 stores, I finally was able to buy one that was both good quality (no coating/paint, hickory, good grain etc) and would probably fit well. Or so I thought.

The eye of the head is about 68*26mm (at the widest part, it’s a bit hard to measure, not measured from the small notch on the top) while the handle is 63*27mm. The shape is not quite right, but that’s not too hard to file down. However, the long side of the eye is about 5mm larger than the handle. My gut feeling tells me it shouldn’t be like this.

Could you please elaborate on that? It’s the first axe I’m restoring. I’ve read/watched a lot about it, and I’m confident I can do it well (I’ve scaled knives in the past; this seems easier). But I really don’t want to mess up a 30EUR hickory handle and/or create a dangerous tool. If it isn’t the right size, I really don’t know where to get a proper handle though

Sometimes it’s horrible to live in the Netherlands. People just buy a cheap, crappy axe for 15EUR and replace it with another cheap axe once it breaks. That, and the fact that there aren’t a lot of woodsmen around, contribute to the fact that it’s next to impossible to find a decent handle. It’s the same with knives and knife scales to be honest. But I won’t whine about that right now

I’ve added some photos to show what I mean, more or less.

Looking forward to your replies!

 

[Harvestman]

After looking at that I think you might be better investing in a nice piece of suitable timber and shaping your own handle from scratch. Hickory is great, but not the only suitable wood for an axe handle. There are threads on here somewhere, but I'm fairly sure that ash is a traditional handle material, at least in the UK, and probably in the rest of Europe, until American Hickory become popular.

 

[Harvestman]

Oh yes, and from the looks of it the grain on that bit of hickory is running across the handle. Now opinions vary, but most folks prefer to have the grain along the handle, and 90 degrees to the grain on yours.

 

[British Red]

Sadly I would say that the helve you have is a good 1/4" too short for the head

 

[shaggystu]

...I’m confident I can do it well (I’ve scaled knives in the past; this seems easier).....

I'm confident that you can do it well too, it's not that difficult. It is, however, a lot trickier than putting scales on a knife.

I agree with others, that helve that you have is a little too small.

Cheers,

Stuart.

 

[hobbes]

Oh yes, and from the looks of it the grain on that bit of hickory is running across the handle.

Not from where I'm standing...? Or do you mean in cross section or something?



Goliath: I don't think it's any trickier than handling a knife. I'm sure you can do it fine. But I've never fitted a new axe handle without shaping it to fit inside the eye very snugly. I think yours could loosen very quickly with all that space at the poll end. I'd return that handle to the shop and get a larger one.

 

[Harvestman]

Not from where I'm standing...? Or do you mean in cross section or something?

I meant in cross section, although |I might be seeing saw marks rather than grain.

Doesn't matter though if the helve is too small anyway.

 

[Dave Budd]

just fill the extra space with wood.

Oh no, Heracy!!!

If you look at most Japanese axes, the handle only fills two thirds or three quarters of the length of the eye. The final portion is filled with a wooden wedge that extends down along the edge side of the handle. It means that you don't need such a large piece of wood for the handle and the bit that always gets chewed up when going through/over logs is easily replaced should it break or come loose.

The grain orientation is often a moot point unless it is truncated by the curve of the handle, particularly near the head. So I would say that yours is fine. Just fit the handle (you will have to carve it to fit, you would do anyway) and before you drive the wooden wedge in, be sure to pack out any extra space with more hardwood. In the grand scheme of the handle, that tiny 1/4" area is doing very very little to contribute to the strength of the thing!

 

[Harvestman]

Well I for one am not going to argue with Dave Budd!





(except maybe about the spelling of heresy )

 

[dwardo]

I am in the "make another handle" camp. Like Dave says I bet it would be safe just adding wedges but I would always be looking at it thinking "could have done that better"
But thats me and sometimes I wish it wasnt.

 

[Goliath]

First off, thanks all for your replies. Really appreciate it. One of the reasons I keep coming back to this forum, even though I don't post that often

@Harvestman,
Believe it or not, it's actually even harder to find a good piece of timber. I thought about making my own (from either ash or hickory) but I'm afraid that's just a bit out of my leage for my first axe. Regarding the grain: no, it's the way it should be. But it's a bit hard to see on these photos

@shaggystu,
To be honest, I don't really think it is It's pretty straight-forward from what I've seen on the youtube vids. Just shape it right and hammer a wedge in. The part I'm most 'afraid' of is sawing the curve (that's what it's called, right?) in straight. But I'll just practice it on a few pieces of scrap wood.

@Dave Budd,
Thanks! Can you point me in the right direction for some examples of that method?

@dwardo,
Exactly. It will probably work just fine, but I want it to look good as well

I guess I'll try to return it and look for another handle. I already looked up the contact info of the Hultafors dealer, so they might be of help.
By the way, I've looked online for 90cm handles, and most of them are the same 63-65mm length of the head. Can anyone tell me why that is?

Again, thanks everyone!

 

[Dave Budd]

here you go, a couple of links

https://bodgers.org.uk/bb/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2823

http://www.samuraiantiqueworld.com/antiquejapaneseaxe.html

Also, in response to your 'fear' I've stopped cutting a slot in my axes. Instead, I bang the head on tight and then hammer a chisel into the end, thus opening a split with a lead in groove that the wooden wedge will follow without bottoming out in a groove and without reducing the amount of wood in the eye at all And before some smart **** armchair expert suggests that it will split the handle, well the last dozen or so axes and hammers I've made haven't split

 

[Jared]

Wonder if a mattock/pick handle would be a good size starting point. Don't have one to hand to check the size though. Only drawback would be that handle would be straight, imo.

 

[Dave Budd]

straight handles aren't a drawback, most of the axe handles for the last few tens of thousands of years all over the world have been straight

 

[Jared]

straight handles aren't a drawback, most of the axe handles for the last few tens of thousands of years all over the world have been straight

Yeah, I just prefer non straight ones, hence the imo

 

[Goliath]

here you go, a couple of links

https://bodgers.org.uk/bb/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2823

http://www.samuraiantiqueworld.com/antiquejapaneseaxe.html

Also, in response to your 'fear' I've stopped cutting a slot in my axes. Instead, I bang the head on tight and then hammer a chisel into the end, thus opening a split with a lead in groove that the wooden wedge will follow without bottoming out in a groove and without reducing the amount of wood in the eye at all And before some smart **** armchair expert suggests that it will split the handle, well the last dozen or so axes and hammers I've made haven't split

Cheers!

@Jared,
Indeed. As do I. And curved handles are more aesthetically pleasin too. Especially long handles like this

 

[shaggystu]

....@shaggystu,
To be honest, I don't really think it is It's pretty straight-forward from what I've seen on the youtube vids. Just shape it right and hammer a wedge in. The part I'm most 'afraid' of is sawing the curve (that's what it's called, right?) in straight. But I'll just practice it on a few pieces of scrap wood.....

Wait 'til you've done a few

 

[shaggystu]

...Also, in response to your 'fear' I've stopped cutting a slot in my axes. Instead, I bang the head on tight and then hammer a chisel into the end, thus opening a split with a lead in groove that the wooden wedge will follow without bottoming out in a groove and without reducing the amount of wood in the eye at all And before some smart **** armchair expert suggests that it will split the handle, well the last dozen or so axes and hammers I've made haven't split

That's exactly what I do, I've never sawed a slot, it always seemed silly to me to do so. Making a wedge easier to seat does not make for a tighter wedge IMHO. I've never had an axe or hammer come loose and I've always used the same method described above.

 

[Goliath]

Wait 'til you've done a few

If I fail to do this one right, I'll probably won't do another one

By the way. I just watched this video on how to make an axe handle. Pretty good instructions. Some of you might enjoy watching it. By Ben Orford. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-dEJdyXj34

 

[Goliath]

Ok, looking for a fitting handle is doomed to fail. I think I have three options.

1. Buying a handle that's a bit too small and add en extra (Japanese style) wedge.
2. Welding some piece of metal in the eye to recude its size (if that's even possible).
3. Making one myself.

I like option 3, although I probably underestimate it As I said before though, it's pretty hard to find ash or hickory. However, spruce (picea abies) is very commonly available. I'm planning to make one out of that just to see if I'm able to. It's rather inexpensive so I might as well give it a shot. It isn't really suitable for a handle though, or is it?