Where could you find a decent axe head?

[outdoorpaddy]

Hi there!,
My first post on the forum, and looking forward to some words of wisdom. Today i managed to fashion an axe handle from half a pine log, using my GB kubben and the trusty mora. And i have to say i am quite chuffed with myself, even though it does resemble a dog's hind leg. But i would like to find a decent axe head for it, the tomahawk style is very appealing and i need something a bit more hefty, the kubben hatchet is great but with a 9.5 inch handle, theres only so much you can chop, although a joy for carving and lighter tasks. Anyway. how would a find a medium-large sized axe head, most online bushcraft stores only seem to sell the whole axe or the handle, not cheap either. Any thoughts?

Cheers, outdoorpaddy

 

[mountainm]

Are softwoods like pine Ok for axe handles? I had always assumed it had to be ash, hickory or similar...

 

[Mesquite]

Try looking at your local bootfairs for a Kent pattern axe head. You can pick them up for a couple of quid or cheaper

 

[robin wood]

as both comments above, boot fairs for old axe heads and pine is too soft for the handle unless it is a very small handle that will get very little strain. Ash is best UK timber but oak, elm and other fibrous woods work well too.

 

[Xunil]

You've done this the wrong way around.

Unless you left loads of meat at the top of the handle you would normally make the handle to fit the head, not make a handle and then try to find a head that fits it.

If you have left plenty of material then you may still pull this one out of the bag. One question though (in two parts): did you use Pine heartwood and are the rings very dense ?

Some pines have very tight heartwood rings which means you can do stuff with them that you wouldn't normally get away with, like making a longbow from a long enough length (yes really) or an axe handle.

By and large Pine is a poor choice though, and potentially very unsafe.

I would suggest that you use the project as a learning exercise, find yourself a hatchet you are happy with and (if necessary) make a new handle for it to fit, out of a more suitable timber. There's a lot of very good reasons why Ash and Hickory are found on most axe and hammer handles.

 

[rimmer]

anythinh old from a car boot my light hatchet is a us 1944 and if it needs cleaning up then it'll keep your fingeres busy for a wile

 

[ged]

Biker and Tengu on this forum do a lot of boot fairs, I've seen both of them selling axe heads cheaply. Why not drop them PMs? Biker is in northern France but he does send stuff over to the UK.

 

[Tengu]

Yes, I have a gilpin. Ill get a pic up

 

[outdoorpaddy]

well, this is very useful, and a bit embarrassing i guess. I used pine because there is an abundance of it right next to where i live so i thought i might give it a go, although had i known it was unsuitable i wouldnt have used it at all. on the positive side it was a bit of practice, but i will be more careful in choice of materials in the future, Thanks for all the info and i guess getting it wrong is what learning is about.

Cheers