Axe handle making, modifications, repair and more

Wow that came out great! Really nice man! I like the wood choice.

 

I love it! Great process, great handle and I like all the pics.

Is that oak?

No shame in using a belt sander or anyother power tool. Just get at the piece of wood you want.

As for the checking, I tend to cut my staves at least 4" longer than the final handle. 6" longer is nice if you have the material available. Most any wood will check some while drying, even when it's been coated and seasoned slowly in a cool shaded place.

 

Those do look cool but only for a wall hanger. First you wouldn't want to mess up the art. But also I'm sure it does something to the integrity of the wood. Even burning the surface as a decorative finish weakens the wood.

 

Thank you! Yes it's red oak.
I really need to make a shave horse. My bench is very light and not attached well so using a draw knife is a pain. It chatters really badly and makes it difficult. If I had that set up properly I would only use an orbital as I'm hanging the axe. But for now 30 grit on the belt sander is the easiest way for me.
You probably don't remember but I took a 21" oak with an axe and posted to "let's use these axes for what they were meant for" thread about a year and a half ago.
In the long run it was the wrong choice but I was determined to get to roughing them out quickly and wanted to "waste" as little firewood as possible. I should've known better. Lol.
So I ended up cutting them to 31". I'll get some good 30"s out of them. But yes I'm aware that you should add 2" or 3" to either end. Next time I definitely will!

Haha thank you! No head lined up yet!
It makes sense that our process is similar. Unless I'm mistaken that is the old way of doing it!
I'm very interested in seeing your similar hewing hatchet!! Tons of fun this hobby.

 

Heck yeah, great job!