Help with my handle selection skills requested...

D

Drum4fun

Joined
Mar 21, 2018
Messages
371
I have been attempting to improve my handle selection skill set.... as such,
trying to develop a mental algorithm for assessing quality of handle material
available. At the risk of looking like a fool .... I present to you a routine bargain
bin handle (I picked up recently for $5.00).

To my best current knowledge (gleaned from interrogating this forum archives)
I looked for...

10 point list.... (not all equal weighting).

-reasonably diagonal growth rings
-minimal "run-off"
-minimal knots
-5-20 growth rings per inch (not sure where on handle to measure)...
-no cracks/splits/fissures
-thin handle
-straight handle
-(vague) how it feels in my hand
-2nd growth (but unclear on how to assess this)
-no lacquer

Please critique and share insights... my ego was parked long ago.

Charles
https://imgur.com/a/Jrt2o
 
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I'd be happy to use that handle, for sure.
No flaws I can see in the pictures that would matter.

Vertical rings would make it ideal.

That said, I have put a lot of work on way worse looking and they held up!
 
Drum4fun said:
...growth rings per inch (not sure where on handle to measure)...
Click to expand...

Look at the knob/ swell end of the handle.

axehafts1001Medium_zpse8d8fbe9.jpg

photo by 300Six from this thread:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/choose-a-curved-axe-handle.1249763/

More tips from a USFS document originally posted by Square_peg:


A reliable indication of the strength of hickory
is its density. That is to say, of two pieces of the
same size and dryness, the heavier will be found to
have the better strength properties. This fact makes
it possible for large manufacturers or purchasers of
hickory handles or wheel spokes to inspect the pieces
by weight very rapidly and at small expense with auto-
matic machinery.

The man who is buying only one handle will usually
find a visual method of judging hickory more convenient
and practical than weighing. A fairly reliable visual
guide to strength is found in the proportion of summer-
wood appearing on the end of the piece. The summerwood
is the solid-looking or less porous portion of each
yearly growth ring. It is quite easy to distinguish
from the springwood portion of the ring, which is full
of pores or small holes. The summerwood has much greater
strength than the springwood, because it contains more
wood substance per unit volume. Wide bands of summer-
wood and relatively narrow bands of springwood, there-
fore, indicate a stronger piece of hickory than bands
of summerwood and springwood of nearly the same width.
The greater the proportion of summerwood in a tool
handle or other piece of hickory, the greater will be
its strength.

The number of growth rings per inch also affords
some means of grading hickory. Few growth rings per
inch, as shown on the end of a handle, indicate a stronger
and tougher piece than many rings, provided, of course,
that it is straight-grained and free from defects at
important points. Acceptable handles commonly show not
more than 20 rings per inch, although much good hickory
will be found with as many as 40 rings per inch. More
careful inspection, however, by weight, is recommended
for this very slow growth material.

As a further guide in choosing a good tool handle,
it is worthy of note that the best hickory shows an oily
or glossy side-grain surface when smoothly finished;
also, when it is dropped on end on a hard surface, such
as a concrete floor, it emits a clear, ringing tone,
in comparison with the dull sound produced by hickory
of inferior quality.

The adoption by the general public of these methods
of grading hickory, in place of the worthless prejudice
with respect to color, would put an end to the waste-
ful practice of culling red hickory stock. When hickory
was plentiful , this was a matter of seemingly little
importance; but now every means should be taken to
conserve the waning supply of an important wood, for
which no satisfactory substitute has been found.

Square_peg said:
Another piece of data.

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fpltn/fpltn-171-1936.pdf
Click to expand...
 
I can't tell exactly how much runout you have there. I want to see at least 50% of the grains in the eye also present in the swell. A great handle will have every eye grain present in the swell. A grain may disappear in the thinner portion of the handle but then re-appear in the swell.
 
Be weary of rules because wood is so unpredictable. Funny I never see mention of the trick my grandfather recommended, holding the handle just off the floor and let it bounce, listening all the while for a clear sounding resonance on the rebound. Compare the handles at hand and pick the best sounding one out for further interrogation. Of course this precludes any idea you might get to do your shopping on those lines.
 
It looks like it has some fairly significant run out but otherwise looks good. This would keep me from buying that handle, but it would not keep me from using it if I already own it. Use it and just be aware and watchful.
 
Ernest, your sound test is a good way to reveal punky or spalted wood. Sound wood makes a clear tone as I'm sure your father knew.
 
Square_peg said:
Ernest, your sound test is a good way to reveal punky or spalted wood. Sound wood makes a clear tone as I'm sure your father knew.
Click to expand...
Well, my father is a gangster, knows more about packing heat than testing the quality of axe handles. My grandfather on the other hand worked the big redwoods and douglas fir up in the PNW for a time where he picked up a trick or two.
 
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First off....on behalf of all of us "learners" I want to share appreciation to
all respondents that freely share their knowledge. It is great to get these
insights on record . I had honestly not thought to add "auditory" evaluation
to the list...good stuff ! My father - in- law was a career woodsman in the
woods of the Pacific Northwest. Unfortunately, he passed before I could
gather some useful insights to his tricks of the trade. I do know he was a
fan of all things Husquvarna.

Mr. Tall ...I had never even considered Springwood v. Summerwood harvest. I
read here about "drying", but your information takes it to an all new knowledge
level. I still need to learn how to spot old growth v. new growth v. 2nd growth.

Again, very good information from all. Miles to go. Much respect to the "real"
Woodsmen. Thank you all.

Charles
 
I wanted to add ...

For Mr. DuBois.... "be wary of rules" ..... indeed, and, I have the tendency towards
paralysis by analysis. At some point I have to just pull the trigger and live with the
decision... It would be much easier if the mass production handles held to a "standard"
but "off the rack" samples seem to run the gamut ... somewhat good to very poor.
(I have yet to find a store bought handle that would qualify as very good to excellent).
I will use all the shared wisdom in this post to make the most informed selection decision
I can make. Thank you.

...I lack the skill set to carve my own.

Charles
 
Drum4fun said:
I still need to learn how to spot old growth v. new growth v. 2nd growth.
Click to expand...

Actually you don't. The key characteristic of second growth wood is growth ring spacing. Second growth wood tends to have been grown in previously cleared woods where it grows faster and has less growth rings per inch (likely in the 5-20 gr/i area). Whether the wood is old growth or second growth really doesn't matter. What matters is the gr/i, the density, the straightness and the soundness. Second growth tends to grow straighter in cleared woods. But old growth might still exhibit very straight grain.
 
I would like to elaborate on the acoustics of good axe handle wood. It reminds me of the scene out in Croatia, the old man going on inspection tour in the oak forest in search for good material to make his shingles. He takes along his axe but not for chopping - you've got to be kidding me, an old man felling huge oaks by axe? - but to wrap on the trees in order to get an indication of the composition of the wood by the sound he gets that way. Like the Axe handle seeker and the millwright, he's after a wood with clear resonance and at the same time neither a high nor a low pitch but something in the middle range. This is the wood that will be strong and resilient, with a true growth, that is to say minimal twist, centered hart and the rest of it. It's the case for oak, it's the case for ash it's the case for hickory.
 
Square Peg.... I got it ! Thank you for the precise description. My new handle mantra....
" growth ring spacing...growth ring spacing... . Makes it much simpler.

Mr. Dubois.... thank you. Unfortunately, courtesy of the U.S. Army I have frequency loss
on both ends of the audible range. Hopefully, I can nail the mid-range sweet spot you
describe. I will try. Those ancient woodsmen must have highly develop senses as it would
seem they would have been dealing with the distortion of bark. Thanks again.

Charles
 
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