Hard wood vs soft wood wedge

G

Guitarist7.62

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What do you guys prefer and why? I've always used a soft wood wedge that came with the handle unless I needed something larger, then I made one out of pine so it fills in all little gaps in the handle and what not. Hard wood doesn't do that. So what's your preference, soft, or hard wood? Or something else?
 
I can see the truth in the theories behind both. I have had situations where hardwood wedges wanted to just bounce out of the kerf as I drove them. I have also used pine, and anything else I could get my hands on just for the learning experience. I have concluded (at this point) that it doesn't matter a whole lot if you just do it correctly. It is nice that softer woods fill in gaps, but is at the expense of getting a powerful wedging effect? I dunno. I have taken some of my own axes apart, found that there was a line all around the top of the tongue where the hickory was visibly crushed against the axe eye (bulging). Doesn't make much difference what the wedge is, as long as you're getting that bulge. I have been using hard wedges, like oak, but the stuff I really like the best I can't ID. It's rough cut, and I think it is old 2x4s (just not Oak). But it is far and away harder than any modern pine 2x4 I've encountered. I've also used Hedge (Osage) and had great luck, plus I like the way it looks and I have access to an unlimited supply of it in KS.

I know that a lot of old axes came out of factories with the handle flush with the head - so they apparently didn't get too worked up over the bulge. I actually think that a loose axe head just isn't/wasn't really a big deal or especially uncommon, particularly with as much use as they got. Sliding around loose is bad obviously, but a little wiggle, yeah, I'd bet a lot of axes were swung with a little wiggle in them by professionals. Same with hammers and other similar tools. I'd guess there was a little extra tongue/shoulder on old axes as well so that there was room to continue tapping them down.
 
Both seem to work. I have a hard time breaking myself of the habit of gluing the wedge in, though, so maybe that has some effect. I would argue that getting the kerf just the right width and depth, then fitting the wedge bottom, front, and back is just as important as the type of wood. I have learned to appreciate the practical advantage of leaving a bit of handle and wedge past flush though not as much as some leave, as I really like the vintage flush look. Getting the perfect hang is a challenge for me, though :).
 
Basically I've been using walnut or cherry for the wedge just for the look of the contrasting color between the wedge and the hickory handle.

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I will usually just use whatever I have on hand, but lately iv been using a lot of red oak, I really like the look of it and it wedges real nice

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i've prolly hung 40 odd tools, axes, hammers, sledges, hatchets you name it. i've experimented with both soft wood and hard wood wedges.
i really think soft wood is the right choice. like one of the fellas said, hard wood tends to bounce itself outta the kerf.
for wedges i've used maple,oak,redbud,honey locust,poplar,cherry,walnut,osage orange,ash,zelkova and pine.

mho

buzz
 
I have always made my wedges out of a wood that is slightly softer than shagbark or shellbark hickory, my choice for handle material. There are soft "hardwoods" and hard "softwoods", just so long as it is softer than the hickory. In the old days, the best handle makers like O.P. Link always used yellow popular
(a soft "hardwood") for their wedges. I mostly use american black walnut, wild cherry, and yellow popular. If you use a hickory or some other very hard wood wedge, with a big enough mallet, you can actually spread the axe eye a little. I did this once when I was young!
 
I like ash and English/Persian walnut. Both are softish and spread nicely. I also like the pale white contrast between the more yellow hickory.
 
I'm using elm. It's coarse-grained and I feel it gets a better bite in the kerf. I'd like to try some London Plane as it is even coarser grained than elm. Whatever wedge material you use I would recommend using Swel-lock or it's generic equivalent DPG (dipropylene glycol - NOT propylene glycol) on the wedge and kerf before insertion.
 
Thanks Old Axeman! Fortunate for me White Ash/Black Cherry/Black Walnut are the convenient pieces of scrap wood lying around from which my wedges usually are made. May be using Poplar or Basswood makes for a void-filling wedge and maybe softer wood compresses plenty enough to become dense anyway. Dunno never tried it. When I was working out west no one had any qualms about using Douglas Fir for wedges.

Square_Peg I'm between two minds with regard to gluing wedges. Then they can no longer be removed, nor driven in further. I'm seriously thinking next one I do I may leave the wedge 1/4 inch proud of the haft so that it can be driven in further, or more easily withdrawn. Within this forum we've pretty much concluded that flush trimmed hafts are traditional factory finish and ones that are proud are in fact more sensible. Leaving a wedge sticking out on top of this would look even more 'bush' in appearance but being able to re-use/re-wedge a handle rather than having to saw it off to start over, or having to smack in a bunch of steel wedges/keys/nails/screws, would actually be a good thing.
 
I have used what came with handles with great success. It fills voids well and as 300Six said, once compressed it applies as much pressure as anything else. I have also made some out of mahagony deck pieces and it seems to work well and I like the color contrast. It tends to split when driving it though if you are not careful so I probably will not use it again.

My local Lowes sells wedges for $1.50 or so and I would grab one once in a while. They had been Ames True Temper poplar but recently the packaging changed to Truper brand and the wedges are some type of really hard wood. I bought one and could not use it. It would not compress, and no matter how hard or deep I drove it, it only acted to load the hickory "spring". I could drive it an inch and any light touch would shoot the wedge 15 feet. I tried several times and gave up, useless. Avoid these. They are cut too fat anyway.

These are good- http://www.lowes.com/pd_147653-302-...roductId=1018047&selectedLocalStoreBeanArray=[com.lowes.commerce.storelocator.beans.LocatorStoreBean%4066ed66ed]&storeNumber=1758&kpid=1018047&kpid=1018047&cm_mmc=SCE_PLA-_-LawnGarden-_-LawnAndGardenTools-_-1018047%3AAmes_True_Temper&CAWELAID=&CAWELAID=1367978623

These are crap- http://www.lowes.com/pd_607335-4226...60f-fba0-4e31-b6b4-2f699b3003d6&kpid=50299971

I like the cherry idea and am surprised that I haven't thought of it. I have a ton of it around already cut and dried. It is soft enough compared to hickory and will also give that darker beautiful appearance. I'm going to try it on my next hang. I did a hatchet last night, too late for that one.
 
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I like the popular wedges but some of the wedges that come with the handles you buy is rotted. It gave popular a bad reputation.
I have used all kinds of stuff and it will all work but when it comes time to replace the handle it helps if your not trying to drill out a wedge that is harder than the handle.
 
garry3 said:
I like the popular wedges but some of the wedges that come with the handles you buy is rotted. It gave popular a bad reputation.
I have used all kinds of stuff and it will all work but when it comes time to replace the handle it helps if your not trying to drill out a wedge that is harder than the handle.
Click to expand...

Yep, and a color contrasting wedge helps when drilling one out too.
 
garry3 said:
I have used all kinds of stuff and it will all work but when it comes time to replace the handle it helps if your not trying to drill out a wedge that is harder than the handle.
Click to expand...

OTOH, if you're using the trim & pull method of wedge removal than the hard wedge comes out easier than the soft wedge which can get squished in the vise and break off instead of pulling cleanly. Pros and cons to each.

A soft wedge is less likely to crack the eye.
 
Square_peg said:
OTOH, if you're using the trim & pull method of wedge removal than the hard wedge comes out easier than the soft wedge which can get squished in the vise and break off instead of pulling cleanly. Pros and cons to each.

A soft wedge is less likely to crack the eye.
Click to expand...

I just drill my wood wedges out. It never has really occurred to me to try and pull them. I will try a few.

Lately I have been using yew when I need to make my own just because I have scrap handy. It seems to makes a nice wedge that is attractive also. Its not as hard a wood as many publications portray it as.
 
garry3 said:
I just drill my wood wedges out. It never has really occurred to me to try and pull them. I will try a few.

Lately I have been using yew when I need to make my own just because I have scrap handy. It seems to makes a nice wedge that is attractive also. Its not as hard a wood as many publications portray it as.
Click to expand...

Here's a how-to on pulling wedges. It's pretty easy. You just whittle away some wood below the head and then push the head down so that the haft and wedge protrude about 1/4" above the axe head. Then trim away the sides of the haft with a fine tooth saw, leaving the wedge uncut and proud. Then clamp the wedge in your vise. Easy peasy.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/875111-Remove-an-axe-head-and-reuse-the-handle


I hadn't thought of using yew but that's a good idea. I like that wood. We lost so much of it to poachers before they figured out how to synthesize taxol.
 
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