Marble 2 hole hatchet

T

The Old Dog

Joined
Jun 8, 2020
Messages
99
Good morning all, A friend of mine who is buying axes and hatchets by the dozens has aquired a Marble's 2 hole hatchet head that is in very good shape. Problem is, it does not have a handle. I have rehafted a number of other axes, hatchets, pick axes etc for him over the years but not one of these. How do you make a handle for this hatchet? Thanks, Dog
 
Basically start with a conventional rectangle and use a chisel to shape the outside corners and cut the required grooves.
 
Ah one o' these puppies then.

iu


Not much different than what I'd initially recommended. Use a saw to make vertical cuts to make the two prongs then chop out the waste with the chisel and clean it up.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Ah one o' these puppies then.

iu


Not much different than what I'd initially recommended. Use a saw to make vertical cuts to make the two prongs then chop out the waste with the chisel and clean it up.
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Why on earth would Marbles produce a head with a bifurcated eye like that? Is there any advantage to the design, other than becoming the exclusive source for replacement handles?
 
oldmanwilly said:
Why on earth would Marbles produce a head with a bifurcated eye like that? Is there any advantage to the design, other than becoming the exclusive source for replacement handles?
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That's probably it, but it makes a little bit of sense if this was one of their safety axes with the sheet metal bit guard that folds into the handle.

I don't really know what they expected for the user though, and wonder if they just sold the replacement handles mail order or if you could send it in to get a new handle installed.
 
oldmanwilly said:
Why on earth would Marbles produce a head with a bifurcated eye like that? Is there any advantage to the design, other than becoming the exclusive source for replacement handles?
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Hickory n steel said:
That's probably it, but it makes a little bit of sense if this was one of their safety axes with the sheet metal bit guard that folds into the handle.

I don't really know what they expected for the user though, and wonder if they just sold the replacement handles mail order or if you could send it in to get a new handle installed.
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I think you'd have to box the whole thing up, and send it off for rehandling. In all the Marble's catalogs and paperwork I've seen, I've never seen spare handles offered. They did make a big deal about their precision machined axe eyes offering the most bearing surface of any axe head, so it shouldn't come loose, yada, yada.

I've always hated those non-standard axe eyes.
 
Hickory n steel said:
That's probably it, but it makes a little bit of sense if this was one of their safety axes with the sheet metal bit guard that folds into the handle.
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Not trying to crack your walnuts here, but I don't exactly follow the comment highlighted above. Based upon the pics posted above (and quoted below), I cannot see how the bifurcated eye interacts with the safety cover aside from the fact they are both attached to the haft. All I can think is that it adds complexity to an already complex system. I'm sure it made sense to someone at the time, but I must not be creative enough to figure it out.

rjdankert said:
FWIW

ENDED ebay listing
"Early Marble Hatchet, 2-Hole Eye . . ."
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Bob
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I believe both those and the three-hole type (which connected the holes into a continuous eye) were the result of boring the eyes rather than punching. Personally it seems a little silly on a number of fronts but companies do wacky nonsense all the time.
 
oldmanwilly said:
Not trying to crack your walnuts here, but I don't exactly follow the comment highlighted above. Based upon the pics posted above (and quoted below), I cannot see how the bifurcated eye interacts with the safety cover aside from the fact they are both attached to the haft. All I can think is that it adds complexity to an already complex system. I'm sure it made sense to someone at the time, but I must not be creative enough to figure it out.
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My point is that if it was a safety hatchet, maybe they would design the eye this way so the average person had little choice but to put a proper replacement handle on it with a properly functioning safety guard.
Part of it would be forcing you to buy their handles, but also making sure you always had that novel feature you paid for.
 
Hickory n steel said:
My point is that if it was a safety hatchet, maybe they would design the eye this way so the average person had little choice but to put a proper replacement handle on it with a properly functioning safety guard.
Part of it would be forcing you to buy their handles, but also making sure you always had that novel feature you paid for.
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Ah, gotcha. Kind of like Apple forcing customers to use a proprietary charging cable for the iPhone while every other phone manufacturer uses mini USB or USB-C. Although, that may be changing now?
 
oldmanwilly said:
Ah, gotcha. Kind of like Apple forcing customers to use a proprietary charging cable for the iPhone while every other phone manufacturer uses mini USB or USB-C. Although, that may be changing now?
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Pretty much, but also their handle did have a special feature so it's not completely arbitrary.
I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to market it as somehow being more secure as well, I don't see how it could but I wouldn't put it past them to make such a claim.


My Google skills are mediocre at best, but hopefully somebody will turn up an old advertisement that may mention a purpose for it.
 
oldmanwilly said:
Ah, gotcha. Kind of like Apple forcing customers to use a proprietary charging cable for the iPhone while every other phone manufacturer uses mini USB or USB-C. Although, that may be changing now?
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Apple’s earlier wide connector was like the 2 or 3 hole handles. Apple’s Lightning connector was actually superior to mini/micro USB. USB-C learned the lesson of the “no flip needed” connector style. Now it’s all USB-C. #nerdalert

Edited to add: apologies for thread drift.
 
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