Maintaining the straight, parallel line between the edge and the handle?

Curt Hal

Curt Hal

Joined
Jul 8, 2014
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558
As I get more experienced at restoration, and a little more picky about the work (bit of a perfectionist) I notice that sometimes the the line of the edge and the centre of the haft don't always line up perfectly. I notice this happens more often with axes of certain countries. I have taken to making small adjustments and stopping frequently to check when I am fitting the haft to the head, and it seems to help a lot.

Just wondered if any of the pros out there have tried and true methods for maintaining that nice straight line?
 
I’m far from pro but when I hang something I want the bit/striking face aligned as well as possible with the handle.

1. Take stock of the tongue and how well it already lines up.

Sometimes it’s not the head or the tongue that is “out of line”. Meaning sometimes there is a bow, bend, or twist further down the belly/back or at the throat/grip that needs to be addressed before the tongue will align. Sometimes the swell needs to be reshaped through the grip on one side to get it symmetrical to start with.

2. Lay the head out on the blank or handle to look at whether or not there will be a need to tilt the head back or forward to ensure the hang isn’t too closed or open. Depending on your handle, it might mean shaving some off of the top/back of the tongue to close it some for example.

3. When you go to shift the head left or right, remember that there are often two places on the tongue that might need whittling. For example, looking down the head from above you notice it needs to move left a little bit. It makes sense to take material from the right front to relieve it. This also might require removing some from the rear left as well to allow the movement up front.

4. Take frequent breaks and come back often. Fresh eyes see differently.

5. Only take small amounts off and test fit often – the time you spend on this will affect how happy you are with your final product, reduce mistakes, and hopefully keep you from removing too much. Test fitting the head 30 times is nothing compared to wedging it and then saying, “Aw, I would like it more if it were straight” every time you pick it up or even worse, not picking it up to use.

6. Pencil a line down the belly of the axe from tongue to swell to help eyeball its alignment.

7. Make adjustments to the head’s profile before hanging. For example if you know it needs to be flattened out some from heel to toe, it is better to do it off the axe if you can to ensure the point of contact of the bit you are aiming for (open or closed) won’t be altered after it’s affixed to the handle.

8. This might sounds strange but when you have heartwood and sapwood running together in/out/or evenly in the shaft it can throw your eye off – at least it can mine. The heartwood has a “negative space” effect on my brain so when I look down the handle I try to be aware that there might be something visually that looks out of line when in reality the handle is even or the opposite in effect. That last one there is something that I can’t explain well – it’s mental more than physical but it has thrown me off on previous hangs before.

Some heads are easier to align than others. Socket style and larger hewing axes can be kind of unforgiving if you aren’t careful ahead of time for example.
 
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Unless the eye of the head is visibly off center or the haft is obviously crooked it's tough to anticipate which way to adjust when you're fitting. Overly 'closed' or 'open' hangs really bug me but minor variation in line up of blade and handle never has. It may well be the reason that so many hangs use an overly thick (1/4") wedge is so there can be some rasp or file alteration done to the haft after achieving the initial snug fit (which exposes the bend, cant or twist that you're ultimately seeking to cancel out).
 
I wouldn't call myself a pro but I usually go slow enough to take more wood off the front and leave more on the rear or vice versa as I work the head down. This way maintains or changes the angle I want.
 
My personal feeling is that while it can be difficult to see, the bashing that many of our restorations have suffered almost always cause the eye and bit to be misaligned and if not that, they come from the factory that way, whether it's the result of a hand forging process or poor bit grinding. Beyond that, yes, it's just a part of the fitting process for me. To complicate matters, I found (and this is on my list of reasons to have mostly abandoned factory made handles) that few if any handles are especially well done in this regard.
 
cityofthesouth said:
My personal feeling is that while it can be difficult to see, the bashing that many of our restorations have suffered almost always cause the eye and bit to be misaligned and if not that, they come from the factory that way, whether it's the result of a hand forging process or poor bit grinding. Beyond that, yes, it's just a part of the fitting process for me. To complicate matters, I found (and this is on my list of reasons to have mostly abandoned factory made handles) that few if any handles are especially well done in this regard.
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I agree with all of this. Many of the handles that have been the most difficult have been on heads whose polls were so abused that the eye becomes misshapen. Also, some of the old West German and Swedish heads I have worked on had the issue of the eyes not being true. Additionally, many, if not most handles that are available commercially have issues with uneven turning. Even companies that offer the hand selected service have these issues. I guess the next step in the evolution of a restoration aficionado is to dive into the hand made haft pool. ("Honey, I need more tools!")
 
When you need to 'twist' the haft within the eye for alignment be conscious of removing equal amount from the front and back of the tongue. This way you don't end up with more/less kerf to fill at the front than at the back. Sometimes it can't be helped and you need to shape your wedge accordingly.
 
Kerfs sawed off to one side of the handle can sure make a good hang bad when you go to wedging. I have had very limited success in finding a remedy.
 
garry3 said:
Kerfs sawed off to one side of the handle can sure make a good hang bad when you go to wedging...
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Somebody here (who I can't recall) mentioned a fix that I'll have to try: glue the bad kerf together in a vise, and cut a new kerf.
 
Steve Tall said:
Somebody here (who I can't recall) mentioned a fix that I'll have to try: glue the bad kerf together in a vise, and cut a new kerf.
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Sounds pretty good Steve, even if a guy had to glue a piece of wood in the kerf.:thumbup:
 
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