New Axe handle - 24hourcampfire

My brother, 348srfun, Thinks he has a way to stop axe handles from warping. The axe handles that are available today look and feel like they are made from a 3/4 inch thick board. The custom axe handles advertised on the internet are all out of stock. He decided to make a handle from a couple of hickory boards and I have to admit it does feel good in the hand. I'm still going to hold out my judgement on it until it has a couple of years worth of use on it.

I am interested in hearing how that works out over time and use, particularly whether there is any delamination.

He has a good eye.

nice looking handle...
what are the merits tradoffs between hickory and ash as far as tool handles go?

My brother, Mathsr, and I have used curly ash for knife handles that we got from tool handles, so we are aware of the use of ash for hard wear and use handle material. The reason hickory was chosen for this handle was because I had access to several hundred board feet of it. Both are hard tough woods and very similar in look. I'm not sure you could tell the difference in the way they perform. In this part of Georgia you use what you can get. There is not much of a hardwood market in this area. I'm just hoping the handle stays together. We'll see.

I'm no woodworker guy, so pardon the ignorance, what adhesive did you use?

We used to have a handle mill here in town. They made Hickory handles. I think Hickory is tougher and heavier than Ash. They even made Hickory Baseball Bats. Sallee handle mill.

Originally Posted by 348srfun

My brother, Mathsr, and I have used curly ash for knife handles that we got from tool handles, so we are aware of the use of ash for hard wear and use handle material. The reason hickory was chosen for this handle was because I had access to several hundred board feet of it. Both are hard tough woods and very similar in look. I'm not sure you could tell the difference in the way they perform. In this part of Georgia you use what you can get. There is not much of a hardwood market in this area. I'm just hoping the handle stays together. We'll see.

Looks way cool!

Did you use any dowels or mechanical locks, or is it just glued from the head back?

Originally Posted by 348srfun

My brother, Mathsr, and I have used curly ash for knife handles that we got from tool handles, so we are aware of the use of ash for hard wear and use handle material. The reason hickory was chosen for this handle was because I had access to several hundred board feet of it. Both are hard tough woods and very similar in look. I'm not sure you could tell the difference in the way they perform. In this part of Georgia you use what you can get. There is not much of a hardwood market in this area. I'm just hoping the handle stays together. We'll see.

edit...
I seem to recall my shop teacher saying that a well glued joint was often stringer than the original wood..(when we were going about running a butcher block through the planer..) but direction of force probably plays a role..
thanks..
I know hickory is good stuff, hard and good for repetitive blows...I always forget what tools ash usualy gets used in...I think last time I was looking for a rake handle all I found was ash or trash (weak broom type handles) I think hickory might be harder and heavier.

I know hickory is hard to split & burns hot enough to burn the grates out of a wood stove

The glue I used is Gorilla Glue. I thought about the epoxy we use when we make knives but decided to give this a try since it is designed for glueing wood together. I didn't use any mechanical means of holding the boards together because I was worried about creating a weakness where one didn't need to be. I think as long as I seal up the wood and keep it out of the weather it should hold. If it doesn't, the next one will be put together with epoxy of some sort.

Nothing like a nice piece of hickory.