Newbie kinda question about

Atepac

Atepac

Joined
Oct 17, 2017
Messages
39
When you looking to purchase an axe or other hung product of the like. What do you look at to give you the idea of quality and care of the just the hanging of the head?
 
Atepac said:
When you looking to purchase an axe or other hung product of the like. What do you look at to give you the idea of quality and care of the just the hanging of the head?
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For an axe or hammer, you want to look to see how well the wood is fit to the eye.
Below the head it's good to see that the wood has curled up due to a tight fit when setting the head, however some companies may remove this in the finishing process.

You want to see how close to the shoulder it has been set ( 1/2" above the shoulder is the very max I'd except )
And of course you want to check grain orientation however it's not as important for a smaller axe or hatchet and in general good straight continuous grain is even more important.
If a tool was set high on the handle and the eye filled with epoxy I'd avoid it.
 
Are you talking about buying new from a hardware store or from ebay or from someone who fancies themselves an 'axe restorer'?
 
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As in my recent project isn't bad... butttttt it could be a lot better. So if you picked it up and looked it over when you seen X you would say this could be better.
 
And no those are not lumps on the side of my handle that is my phone trying to take a better picture lol.
 
Atepac said:
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As in my recent project isn't bad... butttttt it could be a lot better. So if you picked it up and looked it over when you seen X you would say this could be better.
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Are you asking if you've hung this tool well enough that we'd buy it ?
Most of us like to de-rust and hang a tool head ourselves, we're like the hunt and experience so we don't normally buy work others have done unless we just appreciate say their perfectly hand carved haft.
 
Can you get good resolution photos of:

1. The top of the eye,
2. The shoulders where they go in to the eye,
3. Along the length of the handle to the head?
 
Ash handle from a tree that my uncle fell. Used a black walnut wedge from the stump the pick is stuck in actually lol.
Thanks on the holster I made that for a cousin of mine.
 
Agent_H said:
Can you get good resolution photos of:

1. The top of the eye,
2. The shoulders where they go in to the eye,
3. Along the length of the handle to the head?
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Lol those would be the problem areas!!! :) (hense the reason for my question)
 
Atepac said:
Nope i plan on using that tool there sir.
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Ok, I was just asking because you asked about what we look for when buying then showed us your work.
Btw this seems to be a decent fit, the eye is just flared a bit at the top and bottom edges right ?
It really doesn't look like there are any real gaps.
 
I could have fit the cheeks better but yes there is a flair at the top and bottom.
 
If this is your first handle you're well on your way. Clean up a few of the little details mentioned above and the next one will be perfection. You just want to let the head tell you where to remove wood. Seat it, remove material, seat again.
 
One thing I'd add is that I personally like to leave a little more meat at the bottom just to make the flare stronger. Right now where the handle flares is pretty vulnerable.
 
Atepac said:
Lol those would be the problem areas!!! :) (hense the reason for my question)
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A couple of initial things I look at are whether there is enough material in the eye to start with and if the wedge spans the whole length length of the kerf without a gap.

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I’ve taken to using wedges with grain running opposite the handle’s but that is just a detail.
 
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