New to me axe, broken in one day!

3

358Mustang

Joined
Jan 27, 2014
Messages
3
Well I found this rusty old axe at my house.. I cleaned it up and started filing on it to try and shape it up a bit. It turned out and I put a handle from the hardware store on it. It was sloppy going on, and upon further research it seems they need to be tight before the wedge is driven in? Mine had probly an 1/8" gap prior to the wedge :thumbdn:

I shoulda done my research but first on hanging an axe, but this is how I learn....Everytime.. Thankfully I didnt hurt my stupid self..

Axe says H | B on it, made in Sweden. and the other side has what appears to be a fraction.

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Hopefully I can get a proper fitting handle and it will be better.. I may have missed on one swing, but is that enoug to destroy a handle??
 
I think they call that 'run-out' where the wood grain traverses the handle instead of running parallel. Glad you discovered the flaw the way you did and not some other way that might have been more dangerous. They don't make axe handles like they used to!
The head looks to be in excellent shape and the poll end was not used as a hammer like happens to so many of them. Nice to see you aren't sharpening with a grinder that takes material off too fast. The fraction stamped on the head should indicate that proportion of a kilogram (2.2 lbs) that is the weight of the head.
 
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Judging from the way it looks in the pictures the haft you used was probably to blame for it breaking like that. On the bright side though an axe head with an HB stamp that says made in sweden is most likely a hults bruk which is a quality euro axe manufacturer, nice score.
 
Thanks or the input guys! I started to clean it up some and the stamping became more legible..

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I am excited about this, people were telling me not to use that and I should be using a splitting maul and or wedges.. This seemed to work, everyone liked to give me there input on why I was doing it wrong though... :rolleyes:
 
358Mustang said:
everyone liked to give me there input on why I was doing it wrong though... :rolleyes:
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Isn't that just life. :D Heaven forbid you split wood with an axe! Ha!

Nice looking Hults, congrats! Hopefully the next handle serves you better.
 
It's the handle's fault- the grain was not what you need in a handle. Look for handles that have grain running from one end to the other, unbroken. Also, the best handles have grain running in parallel to the bit of the axe, not diagonal or horizontal. Sometimes, a handle just has a fault in it that will cause it to fracture.

As for wedging- no, if the handle only fits in the eye when the kerf is closed, you have not taken enough wood off the tongue of the handle. Your kerf should be slightly open. Otherwise you won't be able to fit enough wedge in the kerf. I, and a lot of guys, don't even saw our kerfs until after we've fitted the handle to the eye.

Try it again with a more ideal handle. And yes, you can split all day with an axe- if you know how.
 
jpeeler said:
It's the handle's fault- the grain was not what you need in a handle. Look for handles that have grain running from one end to the other, unbroken. Also, the best handles have grain running in parallel to the bit of the axe, not diagonal or horizontal. Sometimes, a handle just has a fault in it that will cause it to fracture.

As for wedging- no, if the handle only fits in the eye when the kerf is closed, you have not taken enough wood off the tongue of the handle. Your kerf should be slightly open. Otherwise you won't be able to fit enough wedge in the kerf. I, and a lot of guys, don't even saw our kerfs until after we've fitted the handle to the eye.

Try it again with a more ideal handle. And yes, you can split all day with an axe- if you know how.
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Thanks for the advice all. I went to the hardware store today in search but they didn't have any. The guy told me to come back next week and he will "order a bunch" and I can pick one out then. :thumbup:

Will report back
 
Well, the 'fraction' on the one side seems to say 1.5 (kg) = 3 1/2 (lb). I wonder if this is one of Pierre Trudeau's mid-1970s 'half-axed' attempts at converting the entire of Canada immediately over to metric.
 
I got my Council Jersey in the mail and the grain was just about as wrong as it could be. I went to several hardware stores until I found a handle that would do. Here's a shot of the bit on the handle it came with next to the new handle I found.



 
I got a Helko 2 3/4lb European axe for Christmas and the handle grain looks almost identical to your Council jersey. I'm just going to use it till it breaks. Talked to to House Handle, and they will cut one down so it will fit the odd shaped eye.
 
Alocksly, You should shoot Council Tools an email or call them and let them know what you got. Seriously not up to their standards. They might rebate you the cost of the new handle.
 
jpeeler said:
Alocksly, You should shoot Council Tools an email or call them and let them know what you got. Seriously not up to their standards. They might rebate you the cost of the new handle.
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They don't usually hand select handles for their standard grade stuff. I knew the risk when I ordered it. I'm not bent out of shape over it and now the axe is a little more "mine". Now if my velvicut had arrived with a similar handle there would have been some hollering.

And now I also have a perfect new handle for my shed door.
 
If you're happy, that's all that matters. That truly is the worst possible grain orientation though, ugh.
 
Pretty sure I've seen those sub par hardware store handles before. Grain aside, the wood is simply terrible quality. It also looks like there's some super funky changes in grain direction that cause the run out on that one side. These handles are plank sawn and then routed to give them curvature, rather than turned on a lathe. Check out Hickoryhandlestore.com or any of the other handle suppliers mentioned elsewhere on this forum for good quality handles.
 
I got rather excited at finding 1/2 dozen+ good-looking, nice-grained handles at a regular hardware store a few months ago. Even though I didn't need anymore spare handles this particular one came home with me anyway. With the hugely varying quality and meager selection that's out there these days it's impossible for me to pass over a nice one. A bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush, as they say.
 
358Mustang said:
I am excited about this, people were telling me not to use that and I should be using a splitting maul and or wedges.. This seemed to work, everyone liked to give me there input on why I was doing it wrong though... :rolleyes:
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I'm surprised folks weren't telling you to split it with your knife.... :D
 
300Six said:
With the hugely varying quality and meager selection that's out there these days it's impossible for me to pass over a nice one.
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I hear that. I do the same thing. Even if I don't need it right now I won't leave a really good handle on the store shelf.
 
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