We're all hearing this theory. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada has just experienced another seasonal 'deep freeze' (minimum -20 C (0 F) for 7+ days) and towards the tail end of this one I decided to conduct a test. As we speak there is a 2 1/4 lb ridged eye (no-name unstamped (True Temper?)) ax driven into a tree outdoors (to keep it upright) to see what happens over the course of a freeze/thaw winter season. To start this off I purposely soaked it in water (head down in a pail) overnight before whacking it into the tree. The ax is still wedged and the handle wood appears to be sound (aside from the fact that it fatally split along the grain further back, which is why it was found in the woods abandoned) even though it's probably 30-40 years old, judging by the unclipped butt swell.Could be the result of numerous winters spent outside with a rotting handle wicking up water from a puddle and then freezing. The expansion of the wood from freezing driving the eye wider over time. I suspect the numerous cracked eyes we find are the victims of this same process. Your axe just had softer steel in the eye so it didn't crack.
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