Walnut for logging axe handle?

[K17erz]

I have access to some big bits of walnut. Can I safely use walnut for a replacement axe handle please?

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Walnut isn't as strong as say hickory or ash, so though it would be OK for a small bushcraft axe, it's unlikely to withstand the repeated shocks of a felling axe. But as always, try it & see, the worst that can happen is it will split. It would be best to use heartwood though if you have it.

 

[K17erz]

Walnut isn't as strong as say hickory or ash, so though it would be OK for a small bushcraft axe, it's unlikely to withstand the repeated shocks of a felling axe. But as always, try it & see, the worst that can happen is it will split. It would be best to use heartwood though if you have it.

Thank you, I will see what is available. I remember hearing that walnut dust is very unpleasant as well.

 

[Erbswurst]

Walnut was used for gun stock because it is the lightest of the robust woods.

I never heard of a walnut axe handle and there is surely a reason for it. Axe handles are usually made of ash if not hickory.

 

[Robson Valley]

In some species, the early wood and the late wood of each growth ring are layered vessel elements and fibers. One result is that ash, hickory and both red and white oak woods will function almost like leaf springs = tough and elastic with a good rebound.
Not so with walnut. Instead, the wood is described as "diffuse porous" with the vessel elements and fibers mixed during each growing season. Just doesn't have the resilience of those others called "ring porous."
A broken walnut axe handle and you will have a big steel axe head flying in who knows what direction.
Walnut wood isn't toxic so I'd consider making other things such as dishes.