New handle for Germantown Master Hunter

Thomas Linton

Thomas Linton

Joined
Jun 16, 2003
Messages
20,206
Well, I bought a Germantown Master Hunter on ePrey.

Head is really nice. It seduced me.

The 13 1/2" haft is a fright. 1/4" short of fitting the long axis of the eye, top and bottom. Bends 3 degrees off true for it's top half as it leaves the eye and 10 degrees off true for the bottom half. Grain perfect - perfectly horizontal. :o The single wood wedge is driven in between the haft and the side of the eye.

The eye is 1/2" x 1 1/2"

Any suggestions for a source of a replacement haft?
 
Perhaps the original handle looked like this one (around 10" overall length):

savagelh said:
...OAL is just over 10", blade is 2 1/8" worked really well for deer processing last fall. Seems to hold a good edge. Blade says master hunter No.110...
Scan0004.jpg

...
Click to expand...
 
Maybe this replacement handle would work well:

Vaughan & Bushnell Tree Sounding/Sportman’s Axe Replacement Handle
Item#: 33104
Price: $7.25

(which is made for this hatchet: Vaughan & Bushnell Tree Sounding/Sportman’s Axe
8 oz. Head axe is perfect for ”sounding” trees. Foresters like the compact size (10” long, 2-1/4” blade) for carrying in vest or jacket pocket. )
 
Thomas Linton said:
Well, I bought a Germantown Master Hunter on ePrey.

Head is really nice. It seduced me.

The 13 1/2" haft is a fright. 1/4" short of fitting the long axis of the eye, top and bottom. Bends 3 degrees off true for it's top half as it leaves the eye and 10 degrees off true for the bottom half. Grain perfect - perfectly horizontal. :o The single wood wedge is driven in between the haft and the side of the eye.

The eye is 1/2" x 1 1/2"

Any suggestions for a source of a replacement haft?
Click to expand...

Do what I did for my Vaughan sub zero hatchet ( their original handles kinda suck , and are ugly )
And buy a standard fat hatchet handle and carve it down.
 
Square_peg said:
Home made.
Click to expand...

Absolutely, the best way to go!
A handle such as your's is relatively short (in the way of curved axe handles) meaning there is very little rocket science or structural engineering involved in trying to select and whittle out a practical new one. Render a template from the existing haft and trace out what it is you want on to a piece of wood and carefully cut away the profile with a jig saw and then rasp and file away at the Ironwood, Osage orange, White Oak, Black Locust, Sugar Maple, Hickory etc. blank you've scavenged.
Ordinary firewood is usually cut/split/air dried and used in 16 inch lengths, and by gosh your needs fall within that category, and if you can't 'spirit away' a piece (for free) from somebody's woodpile you might have to buy an "off-cut" from the clearance bin at the lumber store.

By the way, I have no idea of what a "Germantown Master Hunter" really is, or even looks like, so accompanying pictures would be helpful.
 
The "Germantown" brand apparently lasted from 1858 to 1920.

1858 – Germantown Tool Works began manufacturing tools, according to their 1915 and 1922 advertisements
1871 – Germantown Tool Works is not in city directory, John R. Griffith was a salesman at Shields & Brother (James Shields, owner), 119 N. 3rd St., Philadelphia. George Selsor & Co. was in Germantown.
1899 – Germantown Tool Works, office 518 Commerce St., Philadelphia
1901 – Germantown Tool Works, plant 59 Armat St., Germantown, Philadelphia
1902 – listed as Shields & Brother (Germantown Tool Works) in Annual Report by Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce
1908 – construction bids being accepted for a 3-story building 68x80 feet, offices at 85 Armat St.
1911 – Germantown Tool Works, partnership of Samuel F. Wilson & John R. Griffith
1912 – Germantown Tool Works plant under construction at N. 2nd St. and W. Ashdale St., to replace one that burned 27 Feb. 1912
1916 – Germantown Tool Works, office 520 Commerce St.
1918 – Shields & Brother, office 521 Market St., Philadelphia
1918 – Germantown Tool Works, owner Charles F. Griffith
1919 – (approximate) changed name to Griffith Tool Works
1920 – Griffith Tool Works, office 520 Commerce St., Philadelphia

1917 ad:


The axe:




 
Steve Tall said:
Maybe this replacement handle would work well:

Vaughan & Bushnell Tree Sounding/Sportman’s Axe Replacement Handle
Item#: 33104
Price: $7.25

(which is made for this hatchet: Vaughan & Bushnell Tree Sounding/Sportman’s Axe
8 oz. Head axe is perfect for ”sounding” trees. Foresters like the compact size (10” long, 2-1/4” blade) for carrying in vest or jacket pocket. )
Click to expand...

Thank you for the suggestion' however I have that hand axe and the handle is too small for the Germantown.
 
That looks to be a decent handle and the head can be set back another 1/2" without detracting from outward appearance. This might take care of whatever happened to some of the wood inside the eye. If the axe is destined to be a wall hanger or campfire novelty then I'd just leave it alone.
 
300Six said:
That looks to be a decent handle and the head can be set back another 1/2" without detracting from outward appearance. This might take care of whatever happened to some of the wood inside the eye. If the axe is destined to be a wall hanger or campfire novelty then I'd just leave it alone.
Click to expand...

It is to be used.

Is it practical to try to straighten the bent haft? I have straightened arrow shafts and removed dents from rifle stocks, but never tried to take bends out of an axe haft.
 
Last edited:
You can straighten a haft with steam. Give it 20 to 30 minutes of steam and then clamp it a little past straight. It will rebound some when you release it the next day. I've bent them too far and had to straighten them back the other way. I've also had them where I didn't straighten them enough the first time.

Steaming%20a%20haft.jpg


The steam is just to spread an even heat all around the wood. You don't really want it to be absorbed deeply into the wood. For this reason I always seal the haft with multiple coats or BLO or tung oil before steaming. You'll still end up raising the grain some but you just sand lightly and refinish.
 
Picture reminds me that Thanksgiving is just around the corner.

Square_peg said:
. . .
Steaming%20a%20haft.jpg


. . .I always seal the haft with multiple coats or BLO or tung oil . . .
Click to expand...
I have a slightly different method as I have always found BLO and tung oil to be quite upsetting. Using these ingredients causes me to develop very cragy features, excess body hair, irritability, and I become extremely belligerent.

For those who have experienced similar unpleasantness, here is an alternative I have developed using an olive oil base. Also note the addition of vinegar (acid). This is important to aid in softening the fibers.


extra-virgin olive oil
vinegar
fresh rosemary
fresh sage, including stems and leaves
basil, including stems and leaves
garlic cloves, crushed
salt
black pepper, ground
​

Square_peg said:
. . . Give it 20 to 30 minutes . . .
Click to expand...
I totally immerse the haft for at least one week in the mixture prior to the oven. I like to have the haft in the oven at 350 degrees for a minimum of 12 hours. Admittedly my method is much more time consuming. My thinking being that well seasoned and longer oven time are key.

I have developed this technique over many years of trial and error and consider it highly secret. I would appreciate it if It did not go beyond this thread. TIA


Bob


Historical note: AFAIK similar methods have been used for centuries on drum sticks.
 
Thomas, glad you like it. It really has an unusually thin cross section to the blade. That Vaughn sounding handle would be way too small for this. I had toyed with just adding wood to the existing handle and reshaping it but in the end really had no need to keep this one. Have fun with it.

Sent from my LGMS769 using Tapatalk
 
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