Hewing axe project and offset handle

N

nickzdon

Joined
Mar 3, 2011
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398
Just got this offset handle from hickory handle store and am very pleased with it. The head needs a little more work. I just got an electrolysis station set up, so it'll be going into that. It's already had a couple days in a vinegar bath, you can see the line showing what was submerged and what wasn't (it wouldn't all fit in the bucket). I'll get some more photos up in this thread soon.

The handle came with an overly large eye section so you can carve it for either left-handed offset, or right-handed offset. So it's a bit more of a project than the usual rehang. Which is good. I'm liking the challenge. Anyone else have experience with rehanging a hewing axe? Things to look out for?

 
Don't cut the kerf in the handle until you can fit the handle in the eye all the way. The kerf should be open when you go to drive the wedge.

With that handle, you're gonna want to narrow the handle. The tongue (part that goes in the eye) should be pretty much the widest part, except for a little ledge for the head to butt up against. If the handle is too wide, you won't be able to get your hand behind the axe head for fine work choking up on the handle.

Also, that head has lugs that are gonna make fitting difficult. Make sure you account for them when shaping the handle. Similar to hanging a Jersey pattern axe head.

Good luck!
 
I have a similar rehab going on a nice Pennsylvania pattern broad axe and I'm at about the same point as you are. I'll be watching to see how it works out for sure.

Are you planning to leave the handle at 36"? I got some nice 8/4 hickory lumber so I decided not to use the one I ordered from House. I'm probably gonna go for a shorter handle since I'm making my own.
 
Good for you. Lucky me there hasn't been an offset handle in the offing for anything I've ever done. Whole new ballgame! Whole new challenge.
 
I did one a couple years ago. I made the handle from local garry oak. I think I should have put slightly less curve in it. But I don't think the hickory handle store hafts have quite enough curve in them

Finished%20haft.jpg



I cross-wedged mine to expand the eye wood in both directions.

Finished%20broad%20axe.JPG


Finished%20broad%20axe%203.JPG



Keep in mind that with a curved haft the head will apply some rotational force on the haft because the weight is to one side. You'll have to counteract that with your grip. So having a less round grip helps. Make the grip narrow and tall so it's easier to apply the counter-rotational force.

Progress2.jpg
 
I also think that HHS broad axe hafts are too long. I don't think they should be more than 30". I think historically they were more like 24".

broad%20axe%20at%20work.jpg
 
The 'broad axe' handles you get out there these days (the aforementioned 36") are more off-set than curved. They work well on Canadian patterns or heads that need longer handles, but not so much on patterns that use shorter handles and are choked up on when used. Each one takes a different technique, as I was quick to learn!
 
I'm sorry Peg, but that's just effing gorgeous.

Is that three wedges, or four?
 
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Square_peg said:
I also think that HHS broad axe hafts are too long. I don't think they should be more than 30". I think historically they were more like 24".
Click to expand...

I always gotta wonder about the Pacific Northwest logging tools though. I can almost see the toolmaker, staring at the bole of an old growth doug or cedar, going, "shit, we're gonna have to make it bigger"
 
Alocksly said:
I can almost see the toolmaker, staring at the bole of an old growth doug or cedar, going, "shit, we're gonna have to make it bigger"
Click to expand...

roflmao.gif


There were some imposing trees up here for sure. Still a few left here and there........


Alocksly said:
Is that three wedges, or four?
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Three. Short wedge down the center first. Then the main wedge split in two. I waited until I had the haft through the eye before I chose the kerf locations. I wanted the center wedge to line up on the peak of the axe head.
 
Good project Nick. Gonna be a good time. Lots to learn.

I have limited experience, but I i will say make sure your wedge is tight front to back and side to side, or else it will be a nightmare. You cant undo and redo like you can with a regular single bit. The haft is a bear getting in and out. I have many of the old time hewers if you want to see some pics of how the handles were done back in the day.

Cant wait to see how this all turns out.
 
As a note, for a really great manual battery charger you can run pretty much 24/7 for electrolysis work I highly recommend Rizk. I forget what model I have but I can check in the morning--I had consulted with them specifically for one that was good for continuous operation. During the warmer months (fast approaching) I run it constantly to clean scythe blades.
 
i've only made one offset hewing axe handle. not too much trouble because i selected a curved piece of hickory.
i hung this axe several years ago for a friend, so not pictures. he thought there was something wrong with the handle when he first saw it, but his neighbor told him it was supposed to have the curve. lol
this is an old thread but a good one.
buzz
 
Square_peg said:
I also think that HHS broad axe hafts are too long. I don't think they should be more than 30". I think historically they were more like 24".
Click to expand...

It depends on the style of hewing and the point in history you are looking at. A lot of American and Canadian broadaxes had short handles, but if you look at old pictures of tie hackers in the old south they very often had full sized broad axes on full length felling style handles. If you look at old colonial or European woodcuts you see a log of long handle hewing as well. The key seems to be the style of hewing and the height above grade that the log is cribbed up. The higher in the air the shorter the broad axe handle is the correlation that I see. I have a double bevel PA pattern that I hung on a 36" straight handle. Works like a charm if the log is about a foot off the ground.
 
Oxbow said:
A lot of American and Canadian broadaxes had short handles, but if you look at old pictures of tie hackers in the old south they very often had full sized broad axes on full length felling style handles.
Click to expand...


Many southern hewers used the same upturned short handled broad axes which were popular elsewhere.

http://cedarriverforge.com/Photo-index/axephotos/Barnickol-RR Tie Hacking.pdf


But I once purchased an old broad axe handled just as you describe with a long felling style handle. So you're correct that both styles were used.
 
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