Axe Head Patterns - Jerseys!

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Sweet axes kksalm!
 
I'm putting an order together for about a dozen handles. I live in Alaska and U.S. Mail is the cheapest way to receive items from exotic places like Tennessee. It's hard making the decision about lengths and styles. At this moment the only one I'm sure of is the big one on the right. It'll be a large diameter oval at 30 inches and might get shortened like the one that came with it. When I get to it I'll be sure to post some pictures here on the forum.
Best regards..
 
My True Temper Perfect Jersey. I cut down a 36" straight, and added a swelled black walnut butt end. Total length is 32". Not too fond of the heart wood, and it still needs a little work.

 
Good looking axe. I wouldn't be concerned with the heartwood. I'd be concerned about the joint where the walnut joins the hickory. And I prefer a more substantial swell.
 
i have spent a considerable amount of time thinking on how to create a splice to replace the swell on handles, and make the joint durable enough to use... i am not confident in any of the methods. i decided it would be easier, and more likely to survive, if a handle was just made from a blank to fit your needs.

i agree with Peg, the heartwood is of no concern, other than cosmetic.
 
I turned the Walnut on my lathe, also using the lathe to drill the hole to accommodate a 5" deck screw. There's about 2.5" of deck screw in both the Walnut and axe handle.. I pre-drilled the axe handle and attached the Walnut using Gorilla Glue, there's no way it's coming off.

I turned a piece of Hickory to fill the "screw" hole.

The swell is on the "horizontal" sides of the handle, so if you look down the blade of the axe, you'd see the swell. The swell is actually quite pronounced, you just don't see it because the angle of the photo.

This is my first attempt doing this, and I still need to apply BLO.





 
i wouldnt say there is no way its coming off. a very slim joint like that, on a striking implement that, its quite hard to make a joint that will survive very long in actual use. one screw, no matter how much is in each wood, is not a very secure joint. the gorilla glue is good stuff, i use it a lot. but the end of a handle sees a significant amount of torsional stress. this is why i have never even attempted a 90* butt joint on an ax handle.
 
please report back after some time has passed. is this planned to be a true user, or a wall hanger?
 
Ok, it's a user, i'm curious. Now you got me thinking.

My next axe I might run a 1/2" or 3/8" hickory dowel all the way through the "added" butt end and 3" into the original hickory handle and use Epon epoxy to glue it up.
 
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