HI there!! I was just wondering if anyone has ever used a true temper axe with the red fiberglass handles. I was thinking of getting on soon and had a few questions. First off: Do they get slippery? Do they tend to warp in heat? Are they as durable as a wooden handle? and lastly: do they bend easily? And any other info you can think of. Thanks!!
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Ames True Temper Fiberglass handles
- Thread starter thebat
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- Mar 22, 2012
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Well I'm no pro, but I've had an Ames True Temper Total Control Elite for 2.5 years now. It's not exactly the same as other red handled tools though, a lot of those are epoxied in. This guy has the handle formed around a tang. I primarily used it for minor limbing until the past year when I had firewood to split, and a reason to do so. It swings great, grip has always been excellent, I've had my share of mis-hits and it shows no signs of the abuse. I've never left it out in the elements, but it stays in my garage which has it's own temperature/moisture extremes and is not showing any signs of that bothering it. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a second one, and in fact have been hoping they would make a similar version with the wing/flares for splitting.
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I have one that looks like this.
The handle has held up well and I don't recall it ever being slippery. I left it out in the elements for several months and it's turned pink from the sun. Indian steel on a pink plastic handle, not my classiest axe but it actually works pretty well.
The handle has held up well and I don't recall it ever being slippery. I left it out in the elements for several months and it's turned pink from the sun. Indian steel on a pink plastic handle, not my classiest axe but it actually works pretty well.
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- Sep 12, 2009
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fiberglass handle...
boooh...hiss....boooh...hiss...noooooooooooooo...the humanity!
boooh...hiss....boooh...hiss...noooooooooooooo...the humanity!
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I think I have three True Temper Ames Fiberglass mauls. I used to use them consistently for splitting several years back. I didn't encountered any issues.
Square_peg
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- Feb 1, 2012
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I've had to re-epoxy a couple fiberglass handles, one a maul, the other an axe. The handles were fine, the epoxy just cracked out after time. IMO the fiberglass handles hold up just about as long as the wood handles do. I prefer the feel of a wood handle. The condition of the bit is much more important than what type of handle the axe has.
I will never ever own a fiberglass handled hammer. One fiberglass sliver will convince you the same way. But the axe handles are wrapped with plastic to guard against slivers.
I will never ever own a fiberglass handled hammer. One fiberglass sliver will convince you the same way. But the axe handles are wrapped with plastic to guard against slivers.
GuyWithaFewKnives
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im a beast of a dude, and have broken axe handles for years, wood handles dont stand a chance against the force i hit with, and other fiberglass handles separate from the head before long, but i have both the hatchet and axe, and they are the best quality chopping tools ive ever owned, not necissarly the best shaped blades although that isnt bad at all either, but they are just built to last, which in any kind of survival situation is my #1 requirement
My splitting tools are a True-temper 6lb maul and a Michigan of the same make, both with the red handles. The fiberglass handles stand up a little better to overstrike damage. They also live out in the woodshed and are more exposed to the elements whereas my wood handled tools get stored inside. Basically they're more abuse resistant. They're no fun to chop with though as the heads that one usually finds on them are of mediocre steel and appalling profile.
Like GuyWithaFewKnives above I tend to break tool handles and my shovels, hammers and rakes of necessity are all synthetic handled. As long as I avoid overstrike though I seem to be able to keep a wood axe handle in use and I only use the plastic ones for splitting.
(I did reprofile the true temper maul though)
Like GuyWithaFewKnives above I tend to break tool handles and my shovels, hammers and rakes of necessity are all synthetic handled. As long as I avoid overstrike though I seem to be able to keep a wood axe handle in use and I only use the plastic ones for splitting.
(I did reprofile the true temper maul though)
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Fiberglass handles tend to be heavier than wooden ones, but the polymer-jacketed type tends to hold up very well. If you're willing to sacrifice a little efficiency in exchange for greater resiliency then you'll be well served by them.
Used properly, and selected carefully, wooden handles beat out composites. No single piece of wood is the same (as opposed to the uniformity of plastics and fiberglass) and I suspect that either you routinely overstrike, pry sideways, or, maybe you've only experienced second and third class hafts all these years.
Hockey sticks these days are hugely expensive and entirely made of composites, likely more a promise of consistent performance and manufacture control than physical improvement over traditional wood sticks that relied very much upon now-become-extinct skilled and experienced woodworkers.
It seems to me that the fiberglass handles transfer more shock back to my arms than a good hickory handle does. It's not too noticeable for short chopping or splitting sessions but if I'm swinging one for a couple hours, I feel it in my joints more. I also think they mess up the balance of the tool.
I greatly prefer hickory.
I greatly prefer hickory.
Sometimes I think all this is a generational thing and dependent on what you're used to. Rifles and shotguns, for instance, currently feature composite stocks (that's what new buyers seem to want). Myself can appreciate that these are theoretically more accurate by virtue of being dimensionally stable (don't swell or warp depending on the humidity) but in an outdoors setting they're cold and clammy compared to a traditional piece of hardwood.
I succumbed to all this hype and bought a stainless steel and plastic Ruger bolt rifle 18 years ago and after sitting in the cold and snowy forest with it for a week quickly ordered a walnut stock and tossed away the plastic one.
In all honesty I bought into the synthetic stock rage when I lived in Alaska. 2 Caribou and 1 moose each year for subsistence and being neighborly. It didn't take long before I really started to feel that dimensional stability wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. At the time I owned 2 Winchester Featherweight models. The 6.5 Swedish was factory stocked with a rather decent piece of lumber. However, the 308 had been swapped out with a Bell and Carlson stock. Both barrels were free floated.
Through all kinds of weather both held zero...we're talking some genuinely nasty, wet and sometimes brutally cold days. If ever there was opportunity for a wood stock to fail it happens when you step out of the warm house into a 30 degree, wet morning. The rifle goes in a plastic scabbard on the back of a 4-wheeler so it really gets a test being bounced around as well. Moral of my story is simply that wood is good.
I never once looked at a synthetic stock and got a warm feeling in my gut. The fiberglass, graphite, 22nd Century plastic stocks performance is vastly overrated for the average hunter or target shooter.
Off topic but the OEM wood-stocked 1896 Springfield Krag carbine I've used for 39 years is more accurate (tighter groups while bench rest shooting) than my modern Ruger. The 'field' difference is being able to install optics on the modern gun and being restricted to a Lyman peep sight on the old gun. Orientation of wood grain affects barrel seating (ie warping or swelling) but the old stock craftsman of yore knew perfectly well how to deal with this. Just like superior axe handles there is no grain run out or twist on the lumber of that old gun.
I realize we're chatting about rifle stocks however the conversation is solidly on topic. The discussion breaks down to natural wood or some variety of synthetic material and the inherent advantages of each. You and I are of like mind (I think anyway 
)
For what it's worth... I cannot see the advantage or certainly "feel" the pluses of a composite material for either a tool handle or stock. I'd like to qualify this by saying that is for the 99.9% of folks. If you find yourself at sniper school for the USMC MFR then your mileage will quite certainly be different. By the way, as a 19Delta Calvary Scout and then a USAF Air Combat Controller I can tell you with some certitude that even those most gifted in the accuracy under stress test...they still (generally) admire a fine piece of Walnut.
Thank you Btw for the conversation
)For what it's worth... I cannot see the advantage or certainly "feel" the pluses of a composite material for either a tool handle or stock. I'd like to qualify this by saying that is for the 99.9% of folks. If you find yourself at sniper school for the USMC MFR then your mileage will quite certainly be different. By the way, as a 19Delta Calvary Scout and then a USAF Air Combat Controller I can tell you with some certitude that even those most gifted in the accuracy under stress test...they still (generally) admire a fine piece of Walnut.
Thank you Btw for the conversation
IMO...
Fiberglass handles are absolutely awful. They may be virtually indestructible (they aren't), but they're the wrong tool for the [almost any] job. It's like saying that a shoe makes a good kitchen knife because it's never gets dull...
Regardless of their durability, they do not function well as handles. You want to give yourself a cyst in your wrists and damage your joints? Fiberglass is the way to go! Ever hit a tree with a baseball bat? That's about how it feels to try and use new axes from big box stores with fiberglass handles.
Fiberglass handles are absolutely awful. They may be virtually indestructible (they aren't), but they're the wrong tool for the [almost any] job. It's like saying that a shoe makes a good kitchen knife because it's never gets dull...
Regardless of their durability, they do not function well as handles. You want to give yourself a cyst in your wrists and damage your joints? Fiberglass is the way to go! Ever hit a tree with a baseball bat? That's about how it feels to try and use new axes from big box stores with fiberglass handles.