Mini Splitting Axe (Lil' Fatty) Pics

[Remzy]

Hi guys, since its really hard to find sound and good quality hickory handle around here (new handle have flat sides which i cannot tolerate, makes me want to vomit when i handle them), ive been visiting the flea market in search of axe handles and most time i find an old beatup, upside down axe head attached to the handle i want to salvage.

Here is one of these old beatup axe head that I decided to put back into service but since the bit was really too worn for my taste and it had no maker stamp on it, i wanted to make a little something different with it and transform the axe into a mini splitting maul to be used on your knees / while camping or otherwise, that would be easy to pack around.

Some of you might hate it, some might like it, just wanted to see what you thunk about it!

Dont worry, the rivet head holding the steel plate are really tiny, dont bother me at all since the handle is overly beefy.

The handle is 100% hand made by me, as can be seen by the huge swell, talk about purchase. No way in hell that this would slip out of your hand.

The handle is almost 50/50 sapwood and heartwood, i usualy dont mind on short handles. Also hand made sheath.

This thing is VERY heavy and handle like a freaking mace, intended to use with a twisting motion when splitting wood ( hence the huge swell)

Hope you enjoy!

 

[LEGION 12]

I like it.

 

[SC T100]

Looks good and functional to me! Nice way to use an old head.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

It's cute. I like it.

 

[300Six]

You are a very talented and inventive fellow!

 

[Joe L. Bachs]

I dig it, the bash plate gives it a mad max kinda look. How does it split?

 

[halfaxe]

Nice, I bet you never have to re-haft that one.

 

[cityofthesouth]

If I were you I'd quit looking for old handles because what you make is spectacular. I like it!

 

[Agent_H]

If I were you I'd quit looking for old handles because what you make is spectacular. I like it!

:thumbup: that is pretty cool Remzy!

 

[Remzy]

Thanks a bunch guys for the kind words, somehow i half expected some people to boo it as a weird looking thing, i am not myself a super fan of it as its reallllly heavy and brutish looking.

I dig it, the bash plate gives it a mad max kinda look. How does it split?

heheh I wouldnt know about that, i finished it a month ago and its around -30 degree celcius on average outside! ( - 22 for you USAians

 

[garry3]

Looks good, I like the strike plate.

I don't mind cool weather but that's way past being fun.

Give us a report back when you thaw out.

 

[SavagePI]

I have this 4.5 lbs Collins Legitimus Single Bit axe head that I found at a flea market. It was attached to a 36" straight Hickory handle that was a mess, dry, grey, and split at the swell and rotted inside the eye. I cut off the head first thing. After a 24 hour vinegar bath the head came out beautiful except for the mushrooming on the poll. I'm fixing that. I've also given the handle a restorative BLO bath and I now have a nice 30" piece of antique hickory. I could use it for something else, but not back on this axe. I've been wondering what to do with the head because I like it but I don't want or need a heavy axe with a 36" handle. However, I was thinking of making it a splitter and I really like your idea/creation. Do you/would you by chance make and sell the handle for your great splitter axe invention?

 

[garry owen]

That does look handy. My Dad had a similar one with a 3 1/2 lb head in his work shed to bust up logs to feed his fire in there. It worked good. But it was heavy, and not nearly as nice as yours. I like it.

 

[fmajor007]

What a beauty! What's she weight in at? (sorry if you posted and I didn't see it).

I love the steel bash plate. Would you care to share details RE: material (steel type/thickness)? how you put it on (I see the rivets, maybe expound on how you secured it)?

The bash shield is something all my axes need because eventually they are going to be used for splitting duty and I'd prefer to not have to re-hang.

Great job!

 

[300Six]

I see from your opening sentence in this thread that you must have found the dreaded 'flat slab' Garant hafts that have dominated the Canadian market for the past 25 years. I too found a few of these (old stock) this morning at my local Home Hardware. If there are Home Hardware stores in your vicinity you could ask them to bring in a bunch of BM 7631 752 (these are 28") from their warehouse or distributor. Attached pictures are what these look like. Lots of wood on them (for the purpose of re-shaping) and they're 1 3/8" across at the butt. Don't be fooled by the photo; the old Walters haft next to it is thin and dainty in the extreme.

 

[Curt Hal]

I see from your opening sentence in this thread that you must have found the dreaded 'flat slab' Garant hafts that have dominated the Canadian market for the past 25 years. I too found a few of these (old stock) this morning at my local Home Hardware. If there are Home Hardware stores in your vicinity you could ask them to bring in a bunch of BM 7631 752 (these are 28") from their warehouse or distributor. Attached pictures are what these look like. Lots of wood on them (for the purpose of re-shaping) and they're 1 3/8" across at the butt. Don't be fooled by the photo; the old Walters haft next to it is thin and dainty in the extreme.

That's a great name for it. This is mostly what I can find in Calgary as well. I usually spent 2-3 hours hand rasping and sanding to get them to the shape I want. I got lucky the other day and found some half decent 36" fawn's foot hafts. The last refurbish I did, I took the "Garant Slab" and traced the shape of a Wetterlings 24 inch on it and reshaped it. That was a long evening, but I like how it turned out.

 

[garry3]

I see from your opening sentence in this thread that you must have found the dreaded 'flat slab' Garant hafts that have dominated the Canadian market for the past 25 years. I too found a few of these (old stock) this morning at my local Home Hardware. If there are Home Hardware stores in your vicinity you could ask them to bring in a bunch of BM 7631 752 (these are 28") from their warehouse or distributor. Attached pictures are what these look like. Lots of wood on them (for the purpose of re-shaping) and they're 1 3/8" across at the butt. Don't be fooled by the photo; the old Walters haft next to it is thin and dainty in the extreme.

That's a good looking haft.

Bet the Walters feels whippy. Looks like they got it even thinner just before the fawns foot.

 

[300Six]

That's a good looking haft.

Bet the Walters feels whippy. Looks like they got it even thinner just before the fawns foot.

It's an oldie and so painfully thin that I've been apprehensive to ever 'really go to town' with it and experience the flex. Plenty of miles on the old girl though and must have been prized by someone who kept it out of the rain, properly pointy and didn't hammer nails and fence staples into the eye.

 

[Remzy]

What a beauty! What's she weight in at? (sorry if you posted and I didn't see it).

I love the steel bash plate. Would you care to share details RE: material (steel type/thickness)? how you put it on (I see the rivets, maybe expound on how you secured it)?

The bash shield is something all my axes need because eventually they are going to be used for splitting duty and I'd prefer to not have to re-hang.

Great job!

Thanks again guys, appreciate the kind words, as of now, i dont see how i could make a business out of making handle for other people as all the axe eye out there have different dimentions and specs, but it sure would be nice if i could get my hand on some old handle making machinery... not sure if these things ever exist tho ( i mean the ones that are not currently being used or newly made, im talking about usable sleeping machinery that could Wake up agian like giant gods of old, but i digress)

As for the bash plate, it really is only a sheet of mild steel about 1/8 thick that i traced after using a sheet of paper to get a rough idea of how i wanted it to look, clamped it in a vise along with some round steel bar and then bashed about with a small sledge... sad really, but there is not much technique involved in it unless you involve high presicion machineries into the mix, its just experience and gut feelings, if you ask me how i made it? I just used paper, traced it around, cut the sheet of metal that I banged around the handle and then glued it with époxy and riveted in place... perhaps not as romantic answer as some people would want but that pretty much happened that way, instincts and experience.

Ill just quite rambling and get back at it. thanks again guys.

 

[ICS]

If you are looking for good axe handles at any time, have a look at the links associated with the American axe men's or lumber.jacks association. There might be someone in your local area that can put you in touch with a handle supplier. I have not seen a good handle yet that came out of a hardware store.