Finally! Good quality handles!

K

killa_concept

Joined
May 19, 2009
Messages
1,161
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So as shown above, I've been in the process of restoring a couple of axes just for kicks including these two vintage Gransfors Bruks DBs and these two vintage Keen Kutter SBs but all projects came to a dead halt when finding decent quality handles proved to be next to impossible... everything at local stores I visited had the worst possible grain alignment, knots, heartwood, and were varnished to all hell.

I ended up turning to the world-wide-webernets in search of decent handles and managed to find an undisclosed store on an undisclosed bidding site with an undisclosed person who was willing to handpick me some with decent grain orientation (though with varying degrees of heartwood as he didn't carry many AAW handles). After some email exchanges, he randomly fell out of contact for several weeks for no explanation and further attempts to contact him were in vain...

So I was thinking I would be SoL with random heads lying around handle-less when I managed to come across another source. The guy was VERY pleasant to deal with, the prices quite reasonable, and his customer service amazing (he sorts out the duds and only provides the best quality - my 36" DB handle had poor grain and a bad kerf cut but was replaced before shipment).

As for the quality, I think this speaks for itself. All white sapwood, waxed and not varnished:
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And every single one with exceptional grain orientation like this:
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The only downside is that a few of them are a bit on the thick side - in my case, the 28" DB, 36" DB, and 32" straight SB. The 28" SB was spot on and 32" curved just needs a wee bit of shaving down. Even then, the quality of the handles are superb and it won't take much work to get them down to the desired thickness:

28" SB - very nice thickness:
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32" straight SB - definitely needs thinning down:
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Anyways, I'm just glad that I can finally get on with my projects! :thumbup: They've been on hold for a good couple months just because finding a source for decent handles has been such a pain :(
 
Awesome!
I know you can't post a link here (deal spotting) but if its not too much bother could you email me a link or even just the name of the company?
Thanks!
:)
 
tholiver said:
Awesome!
I know you can't post a link here (deal spotting) but if its not too much bother could you email me a link or even just the name of the company?
Thanks!
:)
Click to expand...

Yeah - the company's called Omaha knife. It's been mentioned a time or two, but I don't think anyone's really showcased the quality of the handles and such. The site isn't that put-together just yet, but the guy is really great to deal with and he has handles for pretty much anything you can think of :thumbup:

Since the two Keen Kutters I have are nearly identical, I'll probably be putting one onto a 32" curved and the other onto a 32" straight and might post another thread on my impressions and comparisons :D
 
Thank you for the thread. I bookmarked this one. I have not been happy with the handles I have been finding.
 
Thank you very much. I've been searching for a good handle source for a long time. I tried one guy on the auction site who assured me he would sort for vertical grain and what I got was little better than random hardware store grade. I think an order to this new place will be in the works soon. :cool:
 
Those are great!

The only change I would make to them would be to sand them down and give them a
couple of good coats of linseed oil. It would take that plastic-look away from them,
as well as bringing out the grain.
 
killa_concept said:
Yeah - the company's called Omaha knife. It's been mentioned a time or two, but I don't think anyone's really showcased the quality of the handles and such. The site isn't that put-together just yet, but the guy is really great to deal with and he has handles for pretty much anything you can think of :thumbup:

Since the two Keen Kutters I have are nearly identical, I'll probably be putting one onto a 32" curved and the other onto a 32" straight and might post another thread on my impressions and comparisons :D
Click to expand...

Yeah, Omaha Knife is my new place for axe handles. They are great to deal with, and they seem to inspect all the handles they send out by hand. They also have the full line of Gransfors Bruks replacement handles if you need some of their more particular sizes.

Great service; great quality; two big thumbs up!
 
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