looking for an axe handle

J

Jordan Gies

Joined
Jul 25, 2017
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1
I recently acquired my great grandfathers axe. The handle was already recessing when I got it but I was going to use it until failure and today is that day after a few over strikes I split the neck. After an exhaustive search I haven't been able to find a handle that is close to the handle on it. I bought 3 handles one from ace, one from homedepot, and one from true value. none of them live up to the handle on it currently the axe I have. The new ones don't have the same shap and all 3 new ones are substantially thicker and uncomfortable in my hands. I watched a youtube video of a guy replacing his axe handle he took a new handle and reshaped it to be similar to the old one. is this my only option or are there other resources for this?

g09xRk
https://ibb.co/g09xRk
 
You'll either have to get the fattest club of a handle you can and shape it down, or check house handles website to see if they still offer the unfinished handles which have a lot of material left on them.
 
I'm glad to hear that you're keen to try to imitate/duplicate an old classic handle. "They don't make em like they used to" certainly does apply to axe handles. The majority of new ones are horribly club-like, but, taking wood off has always been easier than putting wood on. Invest in a good rasp (curved on one side flat on the other) and have a go at it. Any sort of power sander will speed things up way way too much. These things take a lot of thinking and preparation plus time and effort but if you whittle/rasp/sand/file away for an hour or so on a daily basis the end result will be "your baby". First thing you want to do is learn as much as you can about selecting wood material or handles with regard to end grain orientation and lengthwise grain. Devoting an inordinate amount of time and effort to a lousy piece of wood is only going to yield disappointment.
 
I'd say the two to the right could be reshaped into something similar. Wait until head is hung and then you can cut the end to make the fawn's hoof shaped swell. Here's an example of what you can produce from an off the shelf handle.

Camp Axe Re-handle 3 by MJGEGB, on Flickr



Another option is these handles a friend of mine has worked on getting to market. I've mentioned them before, and they didn't seem to get much interest but they are definitely the best modern produced handles I've seen.

And here is what Adam West's handles can look like with far less work.

West Woods 18 VS GB SFA 2 by MJGEGB, on Flickr
 
The picture of replacement handles you provide in your initial post look to be adaptable enough. Lay the old handle over top of the most compatible one and scribe with a pencil where to remove stock. Often times it's best to install the head first so that alignment issues can be dealt with at the same time. Factories are rather careless about shaping eyes and cutting wedge kerfs. A set of calipers or a width and height template (cut from a piece of cardboard) will help determine when to stop rasping and to start smoothing.
 
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