I broke the handle on my Woox Forte. I really like the axe but would prefer to put it on a thicker handle. Any thoughts? Full disclosure I ordered a Full Swing handle and planned to attempt it. I haven’t received it yet but began to have second thoughts.
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Is it possible to successfully hang a slip fit axe head on a traditional handle?
- Thread starter Mendoman
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Hmm In what place did it brake? If it was a run-out than it was manufacturing defect. Pictures please
It was my fault. I took a chunk out of it with my saw. It was fine for several months and then it split down from the spot that the chunk was missing. Not a great pic but it’s the only one I have available at the moment. So any word on the original question?
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Looks like you will be fine with the one you ordered. It might be counterintuitive but thicker handle usually do not make a longer lasting or user friendly tools( shock transfers to hands ) It is slip handle so not sure how much thicker handle that eye can accommodate. If you choose to mount a thick handle using standard wedge it might even snap much faster by the eye.
Thanks. Yes I just prefer the feel and ergonomics of a thicker handle. I see what you are saying though. A lot of the top of the handle may need to be removed to get it to fit in the eye creating a weak spot there.
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You can fit a conventional handle but it's a little more finicky than on an axe designed for it since you have to be more precise with fitting the shoulder, and you'll probably want to cross-wedge it. I looked up the handle you mentioned and it's unlikely to fill the eye so you'll likely need to laminate some material on if attempting it. The eye IS designed to be smaller than a pick handle so you can rasp one down to fit and laminate on a thicker palm swell if you want. Alternatively, the universal handles I had done up would fit but they're an ultra-premium option that is NOT inexpensive.
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The eye is both large overall and about as deep as a conventional American axe. Thinner under the shoulder is definitely stronger since the wood isn't experiencing as much shock, but it won't be more prone to breakage than a conventional wedge-fit eye. It's the right proportions to handle it.
FortyTwoBlades
Thank you very much for your detailed response. It is appreciated. I’ll give it a shot and if it doesn’t go as planned I’ll just get a Woox replacement. The one that I ordered as you probably saw is relatively inexpensive so it won’t be a major loss.Here’s a better look at what caused the failure. It lasted a while like that but I was trying to split big round and the handle broke. It was getting fatigued on the back of the handle too, right under the bottom of the eye. The layers of grain were separating. Probably from using the pole to pound wedges in back cuts of trees.
It came with a couple of metal wedges too but I didn’t put those in yet. I was on the fence about using them. It seems secure as is, but I haven’t tested it yet in wood.
I’m sorry
FortyTwoBlades
if this is hard to watch. I think that you designed it and have way more experience and knowledge on the subject than I do. I don’t mean any disrespect. It was wonderful as it came and only failed due to user error. There is certainly a chance that I will go back to the original handle. But it was an inexpensive option that I wanted to try out. Thanks again for lending your expertise.
I’m sorry
FortyTwoBlades
if this is hard to watch. I think that you designed it and have way more experience and knowledge on the subject than I do. I don’t mean any disrespect. It was wonderful as it came and only failed due to user error. There is certainly a chance that I will go back to the original handle. But it was an inexpensive option that I wanted to try out. Thanks again for lending your expertise.
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No, it's not disrespectful at all! I designed it with a slip fit eye precisely because I wanted folks to have the OPTION of either method. A slip fit eye can do both, while a wedge fit eye tends to be dimensioned in such a way that it's ONLY capable of wedge fitting. In places like Italy and France where slip fit eyes are common, wedged handles are still found on heads designed for slip fits!It came with a couple of metal wedges too but I didn’t put those in yet. I was on the fence about using them. It seems secure as is, but I haven’t tested it yet in wood.
View attachment 2955699View attachment 2955701View attachment 2955704I’m sorry
If you need to tighten it more, use tapered dowel wedges rather than the metal ones. With dowel wedges you just drill a pilot hole equal to the end diameter of the tapered wooden plug then drive it home and it expands in all directions while still only being wood in the eye.
It makes me happy seeing folks get good use out of the tool, however suits them best.