Raw wood to handle

I actually believe (but have no experience with) that Box Elder might work: Acer negundo. It's Maple as well. But i any case, all maple should work for most axes since it roughly 620KG/m3 for the softest and up from there on. Bendability is fine as long as the wood has no visible faults like runout.

Manitoba Maple or Box Elder (Acer negundo) is 'cast-off' material that has no redeeming structural properties at all, unless Willow and Poplar are similarly desirable in your choices. Canadian Woods, published by Forestry Branch of gov't of Canada in 1951, describes it as:
"The wood is light in colour, also in weight, and is quite soft and weak. It is very inferior to the other maples and is comparable with some of the softwoods or very light hardwoods. It is used to some extent for boxes, crates and rough construction purposes. It weighs 31 lb/cubic foot air dry". (and Sugar Maple is listed on the same page of that same book as 47 lb/cubic foot).
 
You guys are very lucky to be able to harvest wood for handles - I have to go to the lumber yard! :D Interesting discussion though, and nice work on the handle Agent_H!

If you can stomach the price, try a hand cut rasp - they are really sweet to use, cut fast with fewer tool marks left than machine cut. Usually run $100 or more though, so they're not to everyone's tastes.
 
Pretty sure Garry was joking ...

Yeah I guess a bend would work, I dunno. But I'm looking for a pretty specific outcome so the chances of getting a conveniently bent tree seems pretty unlikely. Plus, even curved handles are perfectly straight in one dimension which I think means I make less waste with a straight tree. Anyway, when I say they aren't straight I mean, twists, knots, anything that makes the grain erratic. The kind of stuff that you can barely split into regular sized pieces for the wood stove.

First question that rises in my mind is: Why are you only looking for straight growth? Ok, its easier to proces, and you can get more handles out of a piece of wood. But natural curvature and a handle that follows that natural curve is even better. It just that more material is wasted. I believe @imsosharp has an example somewhere in his topic. its a slipfit but the same rules apply. The problem is that we are now in the proces of designing the axe in stead of that we let the material dictate what we get.

This sound wrong on so many levels: But listening to wood isn't so bad.

Black and sugar maple are bit harder, silver and red are softer. So for me if I would be living in Kansas it would be the first to.

Sugar maple is: Acer saccharum
Black maple is: Acer negrum

Finding sugar maple would probably be easier in Kansas though. I actually believe (but have no expirience with) that Box Elder might work: Acer negundo. It's Maple as well. But i any case, all maple should work for most axes since it roughly 620KG/m3 for the softest and up from there on. Bendability is fine as long as the wood has no visible faults like runout.

Oak is harder to work with, but once its done it'll stay that way for a long time. It doens't want to break for some reason with me. But I dont have any oak handles left other then the carpenters hatchet.

Elm is always a simple choice: It's fine either way and whichever elm you prefer.
 
Being a control freak I think the wood will have to bend to my will.

Actually, I get what you're saying. I just have some kind of obsession with the curved handle -it is representative of the American Axe when I picture one in my mind. I grew up seeing my Dad swing a Plumb Michigan with a short, curved handle and that's ingrained in my memory. So that's just my personal drive in the axe world and it's about all I can bring myself to do.

Not All types of Wood need a perfect grain orientation: Most tropical hardwoods for One, but also yew and ash needs to Be allright but not perfect. Black Locust doesnt mind grain orientation for as far as i know? You kan hardly break it as long as You can handle shock.

But as I Said: Dont have a design in Your Head but listen what the Wood tels You. Or if You have a design in Your Head just go to a lumber yard and have a look around. Until You find the right piece i Guess? Stil cheaper then looking for months for just the right tree.
 
Don't get me wrong: Same here, but with a Jersey! And that being said: Being a car guy doesn't help as wel. Probably the same with you as well. But you have to keep in mind that wood is a naturally occuring thing, where metal can be bent and shaped any way you like it.

I have a racing background, so looking at wood for me is like looking at the rulebook: I want to do something, but i know i cant because of said rules. I can bend the rules, but not by much, but it results in a solution for a problem that the rulebook dictates.

With wood its the same: Rules like grain apply. Breaking that rule results in broken handles. Bending the rules results in creative solutions. Just to give you something to think about and point you in the right direction:

- What would be the result of runout on the top of the handle? And what would be the result on the lower part of the handle. Think in shock absorbtion and where the weight is located.
- Why do the Spanish/Basque angle their grain differently?

Think long and hard about it for at least 24 hours and then give an answer. Let it mature in your head.
Are you aware that COTS is a master craftsman and the maker of the finest handles anyone has ever seen?
 
Are you aware that COTS is a master craftsman and the maker of the finest handles anyone has ever seen?


This is true. Very much true.

It's rumored that he works in the pitch dark and by feel alone.
(I might have just made that up)

I try not to bug the man with questions any more lol.
Some of the things he does he can explain - and quite well - but some of his work comes from someplace else.

We are lucky to see the things he makes - his handles for axes, hatchets, pararangs, beautiful firearm holsters, sheaths, leather, wood, steel, Kydex.
 
. . . Why do the Spanish/Basque angle their grain differently? . . .
Does this illustrate what you mean by "angle their grain differently"?



Assuming the above handles are the same in every other way (straight parallel grain end to end, same shape, etc., etc), I've wondered for a long time what the difference is (if any) between the two orientations specifically for axe handles. Lots of bits turned on over this subject, but no real data. The closest I've seen was a study of baseball bats. Good information on strength, but chopping with an axe seems to me to be a whole different ball game.


Bob
 
Wow, I knew Waldo was in there.:thumbsup: That is seamless enough that I had to zoom up.

Quick questions, what are the advantages/disadvantages to an over sized palm swell on a shorter axe say, 22"-23" long? Besides doing it because the woods there and it looks interesting?

Meaning this one will probably end up with one larger than some you might see but is there something to be said about getting your aft hand around the very end for certain tasks that being large might actually impede?
 
I will sometimes grasp a hammer by the very end to get maximum length/power for a short time. Your grip isn't as sure but you can make up for it by gripping harder. And the penalty for losing control of a framing hammer is much less than the potentiial penalty for losing control of an axe.

I've lost control of a boys axe that had a moderate swell. Thankfully I was wearing Carhart 'Loggers' and the bit struck my shin right on the seam at the bottom of the double layered knee - the thickest material anywhere on the jeans. I still ended up with a short laceration about 1" long and 1/8" deep. I was able to shave the surrounding hair with my hunting knife and tape the gash closed in the field.

With any 2-handed axe I would go for a good large swell.
 
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