Axe Handle Knob Thread

I think what is "right" pretty much boils down to what feels right (subjective) and what looks right (subjective, to include regional styles - because I think it really is a matter of style). And then I think the "why" some look the way they look boils down to the skill and/or amount of effort by the maker.

The number one thing I look at and spend considerable time on when I make handles is depicted perfectly in your photographs. Since they are oriented the same in the top two pics I'm gonna use the words top and bottom. The "top" curve leading into the swell matches the "bottom" curve leading into the swell in the vintage handles. It is two separate curves in the new production handles (the smaller handle is actually pretty decent but the upper one is rough). I'd call that "wrong" by what is "right" in my eyes. The rounded off swells doesn't look attractive (or maybe for some it does) but it is probably totally functional.

If the consensus is that handles have degraded in overall quality throughout the years I would chalk that up entirely to the diminished use of axes in general. If those two things were graphed together, the lines on the graph would likely match nearly perfectly.

ETA: Those Russian axe handles are awesome.

 

Glenn,neat topic,i'll be very interested in what everyone thinks.

You don't state here the limits of "historical",but i'd presume you mean the American segment of axe history?
In Europe until fairly late handles were straight and knobless,with some exceptions of course,but very generally speaking.

Cityofthesouth,thanks for your thoughts.I think that you're an accomplished artist of the haft form(my favorite,in fact,i've yet to see hafts approaching yours even remotely in harmony).
You're very much right probably,the decline of the importance of use of the tool,the skill itself and the entire cultural aspect have been steadily rolling downhill,for decades,and of course the form of hafts reflects that.

(A factoid i recently read:Collins was the first company to sell their axes already hafted,1823,apparently.
(i'd imagine that the factories producing handles must've changed things a bit,creating some mass influence of certain shapes?)

I'm not sure what you guys refer to when you mention "russian" axes,but "traditionally"(the last 200-300 years of reasonably documented history) the axes of Russian empire had no nob,or very rarely at best.
Sometimes a very gradual swelling towards the butt,but normally not even that.

But thanks,yeah,good stuff.

 

Thanks again,Glenn.I think you have an Excellent plan for the topic,and i'll try to avoid my usual scatter-brained angle on things(please don't hesitate to tell me where to get off;i too miss Steve badly...not only for his encyclopedic knowledge,and superlative research skill,but also for him often calling my b.s.,i learned a lot from him.......).

Couple images i pilfered from a friend who's better than me at digging around Swedish museum database(https://digitaltmuseum.se/search/?q= yxa&aq=type%3A"Thing"&o=0&n=944)




Regarding these above i'll make a general noteossibly,all tool handles have started out straight and unadorned;but at some point became curvaceous,and aesthetically pleasing as a part of their design.
But different people came around to that at different times.
Those Swedish axes above are typical(i think,though cannot say with certainty)of the general run of their older axes.
Later,possibly in connection with working for the American market,that has changed.

But their close neighbors the Suomi(again-in my estimation only)have gone all curvy and knobby much earlier...(several "whys" there,maybe...).

Separately about the American axe hafts(arguably the most curvaceous ever,some bordering on flamboyant):I hear tell that the competition among the gazillion makers during the Golden Age of American tool-making was if not the cause,but at least one of the more powerful driving principles of that event.

 

Who Really takes the cake in knobbery though it's the French,i think.
Their many types of "doloir",a bench or side-axe,have a truly almost obscene knob

Here's a fairly average one(they get Way bigger yet

 

Absolutely. When I started posting here the enthusiasts were a small dedicated band of users and historians (and many of those guys I learned from don't post much anymore). At that time no one made a great handle anywhere commercially. To me the handle was a vital piece to the puzzle and I started making my own. That's changed for sure since this hobby has exploded. And I think that's awesome.

I obviously support handle style variations because I don't even have a single style I adhere to, and I think that was pretty typical regionally in America and the rest of the world. Sort of the way there are a bunch of different jungle machetes across the globe even though many of them are used for similar tasks on similar flora. There is tradition to consider, there is personal taste, there is pure function, and I vote for at least as many handle variations as there were head pattern variations. About the only functional aspect of the swell to consider is, does it keep the axe in your hand? Lots of "fawn's foot" ends are clipped with the notion that you would have a flat spot to re-seat the head should it come loose. Well, that might in fact be the case but I suspect it wasn't much of an issue for people who used and maintained their axes. Point being, I don't think there is a specific "function" to knobs and other swell decorations, but there may very well be an ergonomic function to the tip of the fawn's foot. I think, through the making process, that knobs and octagonal flats and other variations were the direct result of the making process. I can envision a guy making a handle in the usual way, putting in the flats to get the dimensions just right and asking himself, why not just leave them? They are kinda nice and saves time. Same with the swell. I learned that the swell is the last part of the process because having a chunk of wood on the end to whack makes hanging the axe easier and prevents checking. And again, I envision a guy asking himself, why not leave that knob on the bottom? Might protect the handle from cracking if it gets dropped or it kinda looks neat or it saves time. Form often follows function so I think it stands to reason. And a whole bunch of other guys probably made handles in a totally different way and their handles came out differently.

 

Thanks! I appreciate that. This made me think I should create my own pattern. Wonder how that would catch on?

 

Anything you make will be superlative,maybe even better if attempted to systematize it,i can see that.

Inasmuch as catching on,i'm not sure.(But what or why would i know of current cultural trends,i'm here tucked away in a very far-off corner of nowhere?).

Among the general rise in interest in all things Axe,I do intuit a regrettable lack of interest specifically in older working(felling especially)axes.
The Use of axes i think is still lower than the more general,cool-factor shade of interest.Bling-wise,and employed in a more ambiguous fashion-a bit of splitting,a bit of chopping,general trend towards universality,and lack of concrete axemanship.(maybe "gentrification" of axe-related skills?)

Meanwhile,cityofthesouth,i think you excel in those older Working patterns in particular,they're longer,and very clearly purposeful;to appreciate those one would have to invest some time and work into Understanding,appreciating those shapes for what they really are.
An intelligent user,with critical thinking well developed,with deeper,keener sense of a nice axe!

But,in spite my doubts,here's to seeing more of those!!!

 

The Finnish contribution from "Metsätyökaluopas" ("Forestry tool guide") from 1940: https://postimg.cc/FY8sqFff

The handle knob ("ponsi") is seen as an important part of the haft, mainly because it prevents haft from slipping in use and also gives a good gripping point when carrying the axe.

Beautiful Finnish style hafts can be seen in Markku Malinen´s axes:

 

Actually, I think you're right. Here in the states I think the boys axe is considered a large axe, especially in the outdoors community where axes are probably seeing more use than anywhere else.


Those Finnish handles look great. It's so hard to tell "thickness" from pictures because it's hard to judge the size of the head, but they look nice.

 

Typical dimensions (in millimetres): https://postimg.cc/FYSkNP2H

 

That's funny I had forgot about that and apparently let it die too. Square_Peg made up an awesome handle too. I actually ended up getting another example of an old knob end that had been broken off - I don't even remember now where it came from but it was virtually identical save for the octagonal feature. As far as I can tell, an octagonal knob end handle is still a relatively unusual animal. I have to assume that was the original handle and Keen Kutter had some connection to Wichita and I live in Kansas. So it would make sense to find Keen Kutters around - not that I find many old axes around - not that I ever look real hard.