Making your own handles - why not?

White oaks were ear-marked for ship building because of their strength and rot resistance. You won't find Reds on boats, even for decking.
 
Has anyone tried hackberry? You can make longbows out of it. It steam bends very easily and is very hard to break. I might give it a try and see how it holds up. I believe hackberry grows over a large range and isn't used for much.
 
I have used ash and the collective wisdom says that ash is very good. I'm always nervous because it feels so much lighter. And I'd have no qualms using any of the other recommended woods for anything but heavy long tools. No ash on an 8lb splitting maul for me.
 
I'm lucky where I live in eastern MA, maple, both oaks, various hickories, ash, beech, birch etc are all very common here. Lots of trees coming down all the time.
 
Ash has an excellent strength/weight ratio, which is why it was/is preferred for handles on eye hoes, scythe snaths, shovels, and other long-handled tools that required high strength but would be overly heavy if made from hickory. Hickory is great in axe handles because of how it's desirable to make them quite thin so they'll be "whippy" and absorb shock, but its weight is why thicker, stiffer handles made from it become club-like and fatiguing to use. The higher overall strength and flexibility of hickory allow it to be taken thinner, which eliminates the weight issue.

It's sort of like aluminum vs. titanium. Titanium has almost double the strength of aluminum, but also weighs a little less than twice as much for a given volume.
 
Last edited:
osage outlaw said:
Has anyone tried hackberry? You can make longbows out of it. It steam bends very easily and is very hard to break. I might give it a try and see how it holds up. I believe hackberry grows over a large range and isn't used for much.
Click to expand...
Now that 1/2 century worth City of Ottawa plantings of fast growing Ash and Elm have gone for sh&t they've gravitated over to Hackberry, Linden and Honey Locust. These are not native to the region. Presumably this means they're (so far) immune to diseases and bugs. But modern homeowners expect results and aren't willing to wait 20 years just to have shade over their instant postage stamp lawns. Which infers why city workers aren't busy planting White and Bur Oaks. These require serious patience and commitment. Strength and durability are usually related to growth habit which makes me think Hackberry is not going to top out as a winner for axe handles. However, I have absolutely no experience with the stuff and it would be a treat to discover I was wrong.
 
If / when I find a good Maple or Beech limb, even one of the oaks that needs limbing here in the yard I will have a go no problem.
I have power tools more related to rough construction and heating/plumbing but not carpenter or woodworking tools. No band saw, table saw, belt sander.

I don't have tools specific for woodwork and carving more than a couple hatchets, good rasps, cross cut, clamps, coping, box saws and sand paper. I don't have a draw knife or spokeshave but have been looking for the right one(s) at the right price.
Next time I am at or near the lumber yard I will ask what they have for Hickory and what I am looking for and to do.
They may surprise me
 
Lots of great responses in this thread!

Rock maple is virtually everywhere at lumberyards (correct me if I'm wrong), and will do just fine. White oak will do better than red oak IMO. Beech works, black locust works. Wood can be purchased online these days without much cost.

Forget tree>handle for a minute, it's my belief that dimensional lumber>handles requires the same skills and would be hard to do worse than most hardware store handles.

Toolwise, a bandsaw will go the furthest in reducing time invested.
 
osage outlaw said:
Has anyone tried hackberry? You can make longbows out of it. It steam bends very easily and is very hard to break. I might give it a try and see how it holds up. I believe hackberry grows over a large range and isn't used for much.
Click to expand...
Ours grows in rather arid areas. My experience with it has not been good and it has lots of early wood. Probably nothing like yours...
 
For the trees available to me osage would be an obvious choice. I still think Hackberry would be worth trying. It's flexible but hardens considerably when heat tempered. When it's green you can practically tie it in a knot before it will break. I've got some 6' long quarter log splits that I cut and debarked in 2009. They should be ready to go.
 
Park Swan said:
After all of the handle threads I've seen and read through, and my experience with handles commonly available, I can't help but wonder why folks bother going through all the trouble rather than learning to make their own. I understand that there are situations where time is a factor, such as buying in large batches for a whole crew's worth of axes/replacements, but if you don't need 30 handles right away, I'd argue that it's actually easier (and often less time consuming) to make a handle from scratch than to try and make something from the store work, with better results. But I've been wrong before.

So, why not make your own handles? Lack of tools, woodworking experience, or confidence?
Click to expand...

Having done both, honestly I rarely find it worth the time and trouble to make my own. I guess I'm a bit odd in that I don't expect perfect grain orientation from a purchased handle. If it breaks I'll just rehang the head, no big deal.

I do really like osage handles though, and if the supply were better out here I would make them more often.
 
Well we're going to see how this goes. I'll be making at least a few Handles from Maple. Don't worry folks the grain orientation is far better than it appears. The photo shows the side closer to the center of the tree where the growth rings are very tight and have more curvature to them. The grain runs nice and true which is far more important anyway.

Gransfors Outdoor Axe Maple Handle by MJGEGB, on Flickr
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top