How To Fix Crack in Hatchet Handle?

Radjxf · May 24, 2015

So I finally picked up a used GB Wildlife hatchet for a decent price. Seller did not mention this crack in the handle. I've put a little force to it and it doesn't seem to give. However, you can feel it pretty well in your hand, and if something were to get under it, I can imagine it would potentially lift up.

How would you guys go about fixing this so it doesn't get any worse in the future? Thanks in advance.

Cell phone pics:

DAVE_M · May 24, 2015

Well, first things first... If you bought something and were not satisfied, you should try return it. Especially if the seller didn't point out the flaws.

If it were mine and I couldn't return it, I would sand it down and seal it with an epoxy.

rjdankert · May 24, 2015

Looks like a similar problem in this post:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1268180-Help-with-my-new-Hultafors

Radjxf · May 24, 2015

DAVE_M said:
Well, first things first... If you bought something and were not satisfied, you should try return it. Especially if the seller didn't point out the flaws.

If it were mine and I couldn't return it, I would sand it down and seal it with an epoxy.

I got it for a fairly decent price (now I think I know why!), didn't inspect it closely enough, got busy, went on vacation and weeks went by. Partly my fault for not looking it over.

I'm not sure how I'd get epoxy in there, unless I pry it up a bit, which of course risks breaking that piece out. Is there a way to pin it like I've seen done with old gunstocks?

Square_peg · May 24, 2015

Radjxf said:
I'm not sure how I'd get epoxy in there, unless I pry it up a bit, which of course risks breaking that piece out. Is there a way to pin it like I've seen done with old gunstocks?

No, you can't pin it. You need to open up the crack and get as much wood glue in there as you can. Clamp it in a vise and have a buddy hold it open while you pack the crack with Titebond II or something similar. Then clamp the crack closed and let it sit for 24 hours.

If it splits completely when you pry it open then it was too far gone and needed to be replaced anyway.

300Six · May 24, 2015

This is a perfect example of severe wood grain 'runout'. It hasn't entirely failed yet (and maybe prying it open and gluing it closed will buy you some time) but in the long run you're best off looking for another handle.

garry3 · May 25, 2015

Probably a thin CA glue is what I would use. Sand while glue is still wet. Its not a handle that takes a lot of stress. Might never fail at that location.

Bo T · May 25, 2015

Looks like an accident waiting to happen. I'd take a dremel or a gouge and cut the sliver back then fill with epoxy and sand smooth. I'd also get a replacement handle cause I tend to put a lot of twisting or lateral force on my handles and I think I'd end up splitting the handle.

300Six · May 25, 2015

garry3 said:
Probably a thin CA glue is what I would use. Sand while glue is still wet. Its not a handle that takes a lot of stress. Might never fail at that location.

True it's only a hatchet handle but nevertheless this is an inferior piece of wood. When grain seems to have 'let go' spontaneously I immediately figure that the tree hit the ground really hard at the location where that blank was sawed from. You can't fix that!
Most folks merely wrap electrical or friction tape over defects such as this (to avoid splinters in the hand) and blithely carry on.

garry3 · May 25, 2015

300Six said:
True it's only a hatchet handle but nevertheless this is an inferior piece of wood. When grain seems to have 'let go' spontaneously I immediately figure that the tree hit the ground really hard at the location where that blank was sawed from. You can't fix that!
Most folks merely wrap electrical or friction tape over defects such as this (to avoid splinters in the hand) and blithely carry on.

Yes or maybe it was not healthy to begin with, which might be the case with that redish color grain. A raw hide or better yet sinew wrap would for sure keep it from ever raising but not from breaking.

300Six · May 25, 2015

garry3 said:
Yes or maybe it was not healthy to begin with, which might be the case with that redish color grain. A raw hide or better yet sinew wrap would for sure keep it from ever raising but not from breaking.

Tape, rawhide, metal collars etc BS (for strengthening purposes) solely serves to protect the hands. If glues such as Titebond II/epoxy really were stronger than native wood grain then we'd see more and more experienced folks systematically repairing broken rake/shovel/axe/handles with it. Nobody I know of over the past 40+ years has ever gone forth (and very sure not a second time) with a glue joint repair of a severed piece of wood with expectations that such a fix restores the piece to 'business as usual'. These inevitably fail, with lesser stresses on them, and then alarmingly more sudden.

Square_peg · May 25, 2015

300Six said:
If glues such as Titebond II/epoxy really were stronger than native wood grain then we'd see more and more experienced folks systematically repairing broken rake/shovel/axe/handles with it.

Wood workers have known for years that a good glue joint is often stronger than the adjacent wood.

https://woodgears.ca/joint_strength/glue.html

http://www.newwoodworker.com/useglue.html

"When the fibers within two pieces of wood being joined are positioned correctly, modern adhesives can create a bond that is often stronger than the wood itself."

I've repaired several cracked handles with wood glue. I've never had one fail at the glue joint. Before choosing to glue an axe handle you better make sure that the handle is worth gluing - i.e, that it doesn't posses bad runout or some other flaw that makes the handle inherently dangerous to re-use.

Remzy · May 25, 2015

Id use wonderlockem glue on the crack and sand smooth when its dry, or discard and rehaft, depend on the size of the axe.

quinton · May 25, 2015

Lift it, glue it, clamp it, forget about it..

300Six · May 25, 2015

Square_peg said:
Wood workers have known for years that a good glue joint is often stronger than the adjacent wood.
https://woodgears.ca/joint_strength/glue.html
http://www.newwoodworker.com/useglue.html
"When the fibers within two pieces of wood being joined are positioned correctly, modern adhesives can create a bond that is often stronger than the wood itself."

I've read various versions of these claims many times and now take them with a grain of salt. Peg; take any sturdy old shovel/rake/axe handle you have on hand and break it over your knee, and then carefully glue it back together with any one of these 'super' glues. And then try to reassure me it's 'good as new' when you go out and use it.
I already have a fair idea of what's going to happen, and likely so do you.

garry3 · May 26, 2015

300Six said:
Tape, rawhide, metal collars etc BS (for strengthening purposes) solely serves to protect the hands. If glues such as Titebond II/epoxy really were stronger than native wood grain then we'd see more and more experienced folks systematically repairing broken rake/shovel/axe/handles with it. Nobody I know of over the past 40+ years has ever gone forth (and very sure not a second time) with a glue joint repair of a severed piece of wood with expectations that such a fix restores the piece to 'business as usual'. These inevitably fail, with lesser stresses on them, and then alarmingly more sudden.

Rawhide is very good, wood and sinew can be almost magical. Very tuff, to say the least. So much more than just a protection for the hands. Fact is you can do no better for a repair than raw hide or sinew. Sinew being the best by a large margin.

garry3 · May 26, 2015

300Six said:
I've read various versions of these claims many times and now take them with a grain of salt. Peg; take any sturdy old shovel/rake/axe handle you have on hand and break it over your knee, and then carefully glue it back together with any one of these 'super' glues. And then try to reassure me it's 'good as new' when you go out and use it.
I already have a fair idea of what's going to happen, and likely so do you.

Depends on the break.

Just go and try to make a wooden floor joist fail (the plywood I joists) at the glue joint then come back to this forum with pictures, then we will talk. The glue that they use is probably the same as I use to splice billets into staves for making bows. Two 3ft pieces spliced in 3 1/2 inches, hidden under a leather handle wrap, they never fail, not even close. The glue joint is much stronger than the wood.

Laminated wood is stronger than conventional lumber also. Why is that? Can't happen if the glue joint is weaker than the wood. Do you get this?

Bo T · May 26, 2015

Lots of factors go into getting a good strong glue joint. If it is glued up right, clean joint with the correct amount of pressure and aligned correctly with a correct glue then the joint should be as strong if not stronger than the adjacent wood fibers. But, it is already established that the grain runout is weak. So there is a chance that the grain above or below the glue joint will subsequently fail. Lots of people have shown that, under ideal conditions, the glue joints can be stronger than the wood. And if it was all I had, I would not hesitate to do the repairs suggested. If you wrap with wet rawhide or sinew you might wear gloves when using the hatchet.

*Forgot cure time and temperature and humidity for the glue joint. Correct ratios for epoxies etc...

garry3 · May 26, 2015

quinton said:
Lift it, glue it, clamp it, forget about it..

Yes that little grain raise is nothing.

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This old octagon is back together. I am hard pressed to even find the glue joint and I know where its at. It may break again along the same plain but the glue joint will not. That break offered plenty of gluing surface and it fit back together perfectly. Not all can be repaired but some can.

quinton · May 26, 2015

garry3 said:
Yes that little grain raise is nothing.

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This old octagon is back together. I am hard pressed to even find the glue joint and I know where its at. It may break again along the same plain but the glue joint will not. That break offered plenty of gluing surface and it fit back together perfectly. Not all can be repaired but some can.

I agree! The proper glue, when used appropriately works every time..

I've been gluing wood for many years and understand what it will and will not do. When there is a large, perfectly fitting surface area, a glued joint is WAY stronger than the surrounding wood. Glue will not connect two 2x4's end to end with any strength, but, it will make a VERY strong 2x8 when the 2x4's are glued side by side..

To the OP, if done properly, glue will make your haft as "strong as it can be", and it WILL NOT fail in the glue joint...I guarantee!!