new handles dont work

V

VAphil

Joined
Jan 9, 2015
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I love the vintage axe's. I have an old True Temper "Kelly perfect" axe head. I have waited months for the stores to restock axe handles. Winter is not the time to buy an axe handle. (of course you all probably know that). :) Having figured that the eye's for an axe would have remained the same. So having waited 3 months to buy a handle, it doesn't fit. Is there a source for an axe handle that will fit older heads?
 
Hi Phil,
Rare is the time you will find a handle that you don't have to work on for a good fit. You can wither carve, rasp, or sand it down to your desired shape. It will give you the opportunity to truly align the ax perfectly. An undertaking such as this makes the spring arrive much more quickly as well.
 
Hi Phil

Go to your computer and type in (1)House Handle & (2) Bowman Handles. You don't have to wait any long winter for stores to restock handles. You can call both companies
or order online. I am age 63 and here I am giving advice on computers. I hate computers BUT they sure do have their important uses.

At this time I have ordered from Bowman Handles 16 axe handles. All have been as perfect as is possible. I gave special instructions to receive handles with superior
grain orientation, white wood, and no varnish. This is the very best of hickory handles. All have had superior proportions and appearance.

House Handle is your second source for superior handles. The House Handles have required a little more work on my part, but, this is the nature of the beast. At this moment I have in my possession 5 House Handles. I reworked them with my Harbor Freight 1" X 30" belt sander and all is O.K. I really enjoy reworking a rounded
two bit handle into a 8 sided octagon handle. I stained the handles with cherry antique stain and honey maple antique stain from Laurel Mountain Forge. I received the info about Laurel Mountain Forge from this forum and the nice people who share so freely their knowledge.

Bowman Handles will fit right into the axe most of the time with no time consuming labor work tied up in reshaping. This is kind of amazing. House Handle will require lots of work but this is normal..... However, I recommend Bowman handles as you will not need to work with them hardly at all. BUTTTTTTT......They cost approx 4-5 dollars more.

If possible, go to Harbor Freight and buy a 1" X 30" belt sander. This is my primary go to tool to put razor edges on my axes and knives. ALSO, this is my only tool to sand,
shape, sharpen, and reshape axe handles. It is unbelievable the work this versatile little machine can do. Catch it on sale with coupons and you'll pay 30 some odd dollars for it.

Hope my rambling has been helpful.

Ripshi
 
VAphil said:
I love the vintage axe's. I have an old True Temper "Kelly perfect" axe head. I have waited months for the stores to restock axe handles. Winter is not the time to buy an axe handle. (of course you all probably know that). :) Having figured that the eye's for an axe would have remained the same. So having waited 3 months to buy a handle, it doesn't fit. Is there a source for an axe handle that will fit older heads?
Click to expand...

Describe, doesn't fit.

Ripshin Lumberjack said:
Go to your computer and type in (1)House Handle & (2) Bowman Handles.
Click to expand...

This is the first I've heard of Bowman. Pics? Always nice to have another option. Do you know if they make their own handles?
 
YES! They make their own handles and will do a limited amount of custom work IF YOU ARE WILLING TO PAY FOR THE CUSTOM WORK.

Ripshin
 
Ripshin Lumberjack said:
YES! They make their own handles and will do a limited amount of custom work IF YOU ARE WILLING TO PAY FOR THE CUSTOM WORK.

Ripshin
Click to expand...

I noticed they had 32" handles, but not 30". Does that fall under custom work? I think a lot of members would be interested in them ... maybe a thread with pics? :D
 
cityofthesouth said:
I noticed they had 32" handles, but not 30". Does that fall under custom work? I think a lot of members would be interested in them ... maybe a thread with pics? :D
Click to expand...

Oftentimes there is ample extra length (2 inches) to work with at the shoulder end of new hafts. Just set the head down further and cut off what's sticking out.
 
cityofthesouth said:
I noticed they had 32" handles, but not 30". Does that fall under custom work? I think a lot of members would be interested in them ... maybe a thread with pics? :D
Click to expand...

OP link sells a 30" axe handle with a regular axe eye. I like the geometry better on the op link handles than the house (a little straighter curve), but they come thick as hell. here is what it looks like when you make it nice and slender...

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My experience with both Bowman and House HANDLES IS THEY OFFER ONLY THE LENGTHS THEY SHOW FOR THEIR INVENTORY. I now have one 32" House and four Bowman
32" handles. Both are excellent. I always reshape handles with my little 1" X 30" belt sander.
Custom with Bowman is octagonal and making the handles slimmer.
 
The Bowman & House handles are both much slimmer than O.P. Link handles. O.P. link is my absolute last resort for a handle. I hate bulky, cluby handles. They require too much work to slim down. Also, Link handles have too, too thick coatings of varnish and is too hard to get off. Bowman and House will send handles without varnish.
 
Idaho_crosscut - liking that picture!

So, Bowman handles are worth trying out. I don't mind working a handle into shape but it is nice to know there is another provider that does good work. Haven't used my belt sander on a handle - that might change at some point.

OPlink are "clubbish" but if I find one that looks good, I pick it up. I find more usable cruiser handles than others from them. HH has done well by me - in fact the last order I placed came with 3 extra handles... May have been a mistake but they were all hand-picked and slimmer than anything I find in a brick and mortar store.
 
Only about one in ten handles I've ever bought were a direct fit; most times they had to be rasped and filed to fit. This could be because all I've ever done (and lots of them) is put American-made handles on to Canadian/German and Swedish heads.
Mark the depth and width of the eye on the handle and rasp flats to those dimensions and then slowly start removing stock to match the curves. Once you get the first half to three quarters of an inch of the wood in to the eye you then have a profile/template to match for the remainder of the job.
 
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