other than hickory...

T

thriller100

Joined
Jan 9, 2012
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.....i know some of you make handles.im making one now out of some kind of maple and ive heard of using elm and rock/sugar maple.what other kinds of wood do you use?anyone in the pacific northwest that could recomend something?
a friend of mine told me that his parents have a down "ironwood" tree on thier property,i want to go thatcheck out and see if its workable....
pics and suggestions greatly appreciated
thanks:D
-Justin
 
If you're currently in Oregon, there should be plenty of Ash trees around. This is a traditional material for axe handles in Europe, where hickory does not grow. I've made tool handles from Ash and White Oak, but not axe handles (yet).
 
Ash, maple, hickory, hornbeam/ironwood, beech, birch (for smaller axes), black locust, and white oak. Softer hardwoods like soft maple, cherry, and aspen and such might work in an emergency but are not durable enough to last long.
 
In Russia and the Scandinavian countries, it is ash, birch, beech, hornbeam or pear
 
Hornbeam (ironwood) and beech are both tool woods, mainly used in handtools such as planes as they are very hard and resilient, ive never worked with beach, but if your tenacious enough, hornbeam makes an excelent handle, plan on dulling alot of tools in the making though, and getting a great workout
 
The one I have heard of that grows locally is "Vine Maple". We used to use it to make bows as a kid, and a little research shows that some bowyers use it also. I have a bunch of it cut and seasoning as it grows all over my acreage and near by. Its a VERY tough wood, but does not grow very thick - Max at around 4-5 inches.


If anyone has experience using it to make handles, I would love to hear it.
 
I have a friend that used to use vine maple for throwing tomahawk handles because it was pretty much free here. Hard to find a vine maple straight enough for an axe handle of any length but I suppose if you look long enough you might. Like you say, its very tough, springy wood.
 
klammer said:
The one I have heard of that grows locally is "Vine Maple". We used to use it to make bows as a kid, and a little research shows that some bowyers use it also. I have a bunch of it cut and seasoning as it grows all over my acreage and near by. Its a VERY tough wood, but does not grow very thick - Max at around 4-5 inches.


If anyone has experience using it to make handles, I would love to hear it.
Click to expand...

I have heard that small young growth trees with a pronounced curvature to the grain make better more flexible handles. I haven't noticed, I just use whatever I can get access too.
 
Here in Germany we just use Ashwood for our handles...

Great material! I really love that wood!

Kind regards
 
I've used white oak which grows locally here in New Jersey for tomhawk handles. it has worked quite well.
 
thriller100,
i've been experimenting with any and all wood i come across.

Black Walnut
Honey Locust:D
Red Mulberry
Hickory:D
Red Bud:thumbup:
Hard Maple
Sugar Hackberry:D
Osage Orange
White Oak
Red Elm
Ash
Ostrya Virginiana , Ironwood
Zelkova
Black Cherry
and others

Mulberry works well,as does Osage Orange
Hackberry is tough and Honey Locust is too.
Hickory is traditional and is near perfect
Oak,Maple,Ash will do in a pinch, they tend to break if used hard

Red Bud is the hardest wood we have here in Mudzoory, it is tough to work but is "tough" wood

we use Ash and Maple for garden tool handles,hoes and rakes and such

i have a big bunch of Black Walnut and have made several hatchet handles and i've used them some, so far so good.
a hammer handle made from Black Walnut failed as did a small hatchet handle

i try to orient the grain correctly, you can find info about this process from Old Jimbo site
i don't know of a better place to start

http://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/

buzz
 
AWESOME,THANKS EVERYBODY:D
I found someone that has some black walnut,curly maple,birch,apple,elm and some white oak.Been sitting in a shed for years.All cut into boards 30"x12"x5" fo making gun stocks,but never got around to it......the grain on alot of it is really good and straight some is pretty twisty.There is 2 of each except 4 birch and 3 black walnut.Im trying to get all 15 of them off him,even if they arent good for axe handles i can use them for knife scales,wood sheaths,bowls,spoons and whatever else i can come up with.We are still negotiating a price/trade........pray to the gods i can get this stockpile and can start making handles like the ones of times past.....that had character,elegant lines and curves,that actually fit the hand,that are shaped by hand for functionality not fat,ugly,cookie cutter shapes made by machine for mass production:D
Oh,one more thing...
i found another brand new grub hoe handle at a thrift store for $3,its from Sequatchie handle works says "indian fire" on the handle.I bought it to cut down and make a long hatchet handle out of it.I went to cut off the big end about 9-10" down where its about 3" thick.Using a regular hand saw i imediately noticed how hard this wood was it doesnt even feel or cut like wood.If i didnt know any better i would think this is some kind of composite material,but clearly its hickory.When i finally got thru it the cut end was all shiny and looked/felt like plastic.I took out my knife to try to carve a little bit off to test it again.Ill be damned,I could hardly carve off tiny chips....WFT!
Has anyone else ever had any experience with this Sequatchie handle works?(cant really find anything on them online)
and is there such things as stabilized wood axe handles?
Thanks-
Justin
 
Found some references:
Sequatchie Handle Works, Altamont, Tennessee.
Incorporated in the late 1800s.
Looks like it's now owned by Seymour Mfg Co.
 
yeah i found some stuff on them including a catalog pdf,as for this bit of hoe handle im working.....WOW this is by far the best piece of hickory or any wood for that matter i have ever worked with.i wish i knew how old this piece is or if there is a place local that carries them....im interested in the boys axe handle and one more grub hoe handles while im at it :P
 
if you can find a "Boys" axe handle you can use it for a pattern when you make your own

buzz
 
I can tell you from experience, here in Europe a common handle material is beech. That's probably as much from a *supply* rationale as anything.

There are many hardwoods here - maple, oak, beech, etc,. though depending *where* in Europe Hickory may be available, but i'm not an Arborist.....
 
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