Handles: preference or historical accuracy?

[Marcelo Cantu]

Yeah so I guess the bug has bitten me. I've been cruising the flea markets, pickers and tag sales and have picked up awesome finds. This is truly an enjoyable pastime as much in the picking, restoration and in the researching and learning about the axe's place in our history. It is a part of history that is wrongfully overlooked.

In a short time I've picked up an old A.A. & T. boys axe with scalloped cheeks, a 4# Craftsman Cedar, a 3.5# Plumb Michigan, a 4#Collins Red Label Dayton, an unmarked double bit & most recently I've picked up four CT heads; a 3# Collins which I hung on a gorgeous 28" curved from HH, a big R. Mfg. Co. (Rogers), a 3 1/2# E. & S. (Emerson Stevens), and a big G.W. Bradley. I've completed my eighth axe head and have hung four.

I want to know; are handles, whether straight or curved, oval or octagonal, a preferential choice or are they from a certain time period or geographic location? I feel like certain axe heads call for a certain handle. Should I just go by that? What do some of you guys do / think?

Incidentally I like to use all my axes and am most comfortable with a 28" handle even on a bigger head but am not opposed to a longer handle. Very rarely am I felling, mostly splitting and bucking.

I will post pictures in the rehung and or followed me home threads.

Thanks.

 

[Square_peg]

Wow, you've been busy. It's an addicting hobby.

I want to know; are handles, whether straight or curved, oval or octagonal, a preferential choice or are they from a certain time period or geographic location? I feel like certain axe heads call for a certain handle. Should I just go by that? What do some of you guys do / think?

It's complicated. Yes, time and location come into play, as well as personal preference. Old axes prior to about 1850 all haft straight hafts. Then curved handles gradually replaced the straight handle. Of course double bits remained straight. And some people preferred straight handles. Dudley Cook in his publication 'The Ax Book' makes the claim that you can't swing a curved handle accurately. But many professionals have shown him to be wrong, both timber men and more recently competition axe men.

There is an ergonomic advantage to the curved handle. It puts the bit on the wood with less wrist motion (slightly less work).

I like both styles. A curved handle feels a little better to me. But if I'm going to be using the poll as well as the bit then I want that axe on a straight handle. Obviously the same applies for double bits, pulaskis and undercutter axes. A two-sided axe requires a straight haft. Regardless of handle style I always want a large abrupt swell at the end of the grip. This makes an ax much easier to wield for extended periods of time. And it makes the axe safer.

The length of handle on a full size axe is personal preference and dependent on the work being done. For splitting I want a full length 36" handle. It develops more power. Likewise for felling - give me a long handle (but I'm a big guy). But for bucking I want a shorter handle. When you're standing on the log, bent over, there's a length that's best for every individual. For me it's 32"-34" for bucking.

 

[garry3]

The octagon handles are more time period oriented I think. Its not like they were ever more prevalent than round handles just more popular years ago than they are today. There may still be some wooden handled hammers with octagon handles being manufactured currently.
I have seen octagon handles on axes manufactured in the late 1800's clear up into at least the 1940's. The Craftsman hatchet comes to mind for instance.

 

[300Six]

Many of my older axes have exquisitely curved and shaped handles and are wonderfully thin compared to the wood 'clubs' that are offered as axe handles nowadays. Very few of the handles are factory original either. Seek out a pattern that you like and then try to copy it on your own chosen blank.

 

[Square_peg]

Good point about the thinness of vintage handles, 300Six. I'm blessed to have a few of these to copy from. But here are some historic axe handle dimensions for reference.

Pennsylvania Railroad Spec

Some measurements taken by Dudley Cook for his 'The Axe Book'.

 

[halfaxe]

Wow, a Rogers, E & S and a GW Bradley. Fine axes there that I never see here except if I buy them on ebay. Personal preference is most of it. It's amazing to me how many 3 1/2 pound single bits I find on 18 inch handles.

 

[Marcelo Cantu]

Thanks for the awesome and informative responses guys. :thumbup:

 

[garry3]

Wow, a Rogers, E & S and a GW Bradley. Fine axes there that I never see here except if I buy them on ebay. Personal preference is most of it. It's amazing to me how many 3 1/2 pound single bits I find on 18 inch handles.

I have never come across a 3 1/2lber on a 18" handle. Maybe it's a regional thing? Are those straight handles? Can you share some pictures?

I also believe that curved handles were in use at least as far back as the 1860's. I don't have proof right now but circumstantial evidence seems to point to this.

 

[halfaxe]

I have never come across a 3 1/2lber on a 18" handle. Maybe it's a regional thing? Are those straight handles? Can you share some pictures?

They've been cut down handles, mostly straight but one curved. I've replaced them with longer handles. I don't know why they were like that. I think either for a kindling axe next to a firebox, or maybe to fit in a trappers pack basket.

 

[garry3]

Trappers basket would make a lot of sense.

 

[Shotgun]

Good point about the thinness of vintage handles, 300Six. I'm blessed to have a few of these to copy from. But here are some historic axe handle dimensions for reference.

Pennsylvania Railroad Spec

Some measurements taken by Dudley Cook for his 'The Axe Book'.

It's amazing to see how thin they were. I've never seen a new production axe with hafts that thin. I bet it makes a world of difference.

 

[300Six]

It's amazing to see how thin they were. I've never seen a new production axe with hafts that thin. I bet it makes a world of difference.

It takes some getting used to 'dainty-looking' handles. They flex when you use them, which if you're accustomed to 'club' hafts, is quite a surprise! More and more we overlook the wonderful tension and torsion properties of carefully selected hardwood, and rather than use those traits to advantage we tend to overbuild. Better to make something sturdy than to make something useful!