Questions about axe handles (fawns-foot to start with)

[Curt Hal]

I just bought an axe off eBay from one of the members here on Blade Forums. It has a lovely old handle that I hope to restore. The head is a good 3 1/2 pounds, and the handle is about 32 inches. What surprised me is that it is a very thin fawns-foot handle on a fairly heavy blade. Intuitively, you would think the handle was too thin. So I got to wondering, what is the story behind the thin handles, and what is the story behind the fawns-foot? Obviously, there is some intention to not have it slip out of your hand during use.

Then, I wondered what is the thinking behind the many different shapes of axe handles? For example, why do some prefer an octagonal handle on a double bit? Anyways, I am curious about the origins and purposes behind the different shapes of axe handles.

 

[idaho_crosscut]

the fawns foot typically feels better on the wrists as you are chopping all day, because it doesn't over extend your top wrist as much-- but style probably played a strong factor as well. thin handles are lighter and IMO much easier to grip if they have a good wide swell at the foot. the thinner handle is preferable due it is ability to limit impact and shock into the head, and limit vibration down the handle. I currently have a 5lb axe on a 31" handle, and it works very well.

octagonal handles have more ridges that might be used for control as the axe swings aiding in better accuracy, and while many claim it also fits their hand better, others claim it creates ridges and prominent spots that great blisters.

all in all, it really is about personal preference. the only thing that i know to be without question is that thinner style handles are superior in many ways.

 

[halfaxe]

Handles are made thicker to make up for the lack of good quality wood that is available now. Problems with runout, wavy grain, etc. can minimized somewhat with a thick handle.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Handles are made thicker to make up for the lack of good quality wood that is available now. Problems with runout, wavy grain, etc. can minimized somewhat with a thick handle.

It has more to do with the amount of time spent on the copy lathe. A thicker piece requires less machine time.

 

[cityofthesouth]

Shorter handles were common place vs the ubiquitous 36" handles in HDW stores today. And, thin handles were flexible and shock absorbing. Most of the handle isn't "gripped" and based on the vintage octagonal handle I have, the flats end well before the swell, which suggests to me that the flats where intended to give the user a "feel" for the handle, not to improve grip. The only reason they might cause blisters is if they run the entire length of the handle into the swell where the user does grip, and I'm guessing that wasn't necessarily the original intended design.

I also think the design of the swell is a topic of interest. Based on documentaries and the tools used by early people around the globe, curved handles were not something that came into being when the copy lathe did. They may have become widely available, but not invented. Why invent a lathe to make curved handles if curved handles weren't an already understood notion? I submit that the copy lathe for handles was needed because curved handles were desired. Which also brings up the swell and how it came to look like it does. It would be interesting to go back in time to see what was going on in different parts of the country - to see what people were doing a decade or so before the copy lathe came into being.

My Dad talks about a distant relative in the Mts of NY state, who carved handles to earn a little money. My Dad is 81 and I think that person was an "old timer" when my father was pretty young. He carved curved handles and I'd love to be able to talk to him, or his father before him and see what he produced.

ETA: 42, didn't you post the link to the video of the bendy handle awhile back? I forget which country but the handle was made from very flexible wood. Maybe I saw it somewhere else, my memory is letting me down here. I was also thinking it was an old guy at GB or one of those Euro axe makers who said, the head could be on a string - the handle is just there to deliver the head, it's not there to force the head through anything.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

You mean this video? If so, someone else originally posted it but I think I've probably shared it a few times here as well.

[video=youtube;y78U55kBv5Y]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y78U55kBv5Y[/video]

 

[Chignecto Woodsman]

The author of The Ax Book suggests that curved handles decrease accuracy and increase shock due to their being thicker. He also says to cut off the fawn's foot (I would not with a vintage handle).

If you take two handles of the same dimensions and compare birch to hickory you will notice the difference in shock. It is the same with a thin handle, by thinning it out you are maximising the spring of the axe as well as its dissipation of shock. An axe with more spring is not only better to swing all day due to it being easier on the hands, lighter and more balanced, and reducing shock, but it seems there would be a benefit in less sticking: the spring in the wood may result in less dead hits and contribute force into pulling the axe back. This is a tradeoff for your having to be more careful with it since it will be weaker.

D. Cook says that no one knows why they made the switch to curved handles, and it may have to do with it appearing to give more whip and spring. I suspect there may have been some benefit in aligning axe heads where the edge sits square in the center (majority of single-bit axe heads) rather than having an axis at the upper-third towards the toe. This helps to hit squarely if the axe edge is aligned to the upper third.

 

[300Six]

Not sure where you live, but around here, ever since aluminum tubing began to supplant wood, snow shovel handles have become increasingly convoluted (makers tout this as 'ergonomic!) to the point of ridiculousness. And yet they sell by the truckload every time another even 'more bent' version comes out. I grew up with straight-handled snow shovels and don't find these 'new-fangled' designs to offer anything in the way of increased comfort or ease of use, but consumers are fickle and 'money talks and marketing BS doesn't necessarily walk' anymore.
You will very much notice not having a swell at the butt of an axe! It tells you precisely where your back hand is positioned and allows you not to have to grip so firmly so as not to have the tool slip out of your hands before, during or after a swing. Curved haft is a similar idea in that you can feel where on the handle your rear hand is without having to look.
Super-thin hafts are not something that is commercially available anymore. They require carefully selected wood and knowledgeable craftsmen to make. But they do have a lovely flex to them. Most of us have blithely paddled boats for years using thick and inflexible paddles and then had a sudden revelation and (prompt conversion) when exposed to a carefully crafted Cherry (or other hardwood) paddle that behaves not unlike a leaf spring.

 

[cityofthesouth]

42, YEP! That one. Thanks.


Ha! Cook was suggesting that you cut the entire swell off? Or just the tip to create a flat bottom? If he cut the entire swell off then I have officially concluded that he was a clown.

ETA: I'm suggesting there may not have been a switch. An axe has been as much a carpentry tool (and other tasks) as it has been a wood harvesting tool throughout the entire human history, and both straight and curved/bent handles evolved together - a matter of function I think. I would also suggest that there was no switch even when only considering the American poll axe. I haven't seen any evidence that European people came to this continent having never seen or heard of an axe with a curved handle and undoubtedly they continued to make them by hand for the ensuing 200 or 300 odd years leading up to a somewhat standardized American poll axe and eventually the copy lathe. Especially for people who were skilled carpenters.

If I were an inventor and I had seen the gun stock lathe, I think it is something of a leap to think I would modify the concept to axe handles, if those handles weren't needed - not to mention that the idea became widely popular and accepted in short order thereafter. It's fair to say that oval shaped straight handles may have been the driving need for the copy lathe, but I can't say I'm convinced that it was the lone factor, particularly when again, the curved handle became more widely available commercially afterwards. A switch suggests a singular moment, but I doubt very seriously the curved axe handle wasn't based on something from earlier in history - likely a more primitive curved handled axe. We also know that places all around the country had unique handle patterns, which doesn't prove anything, but suggests different people had different ideas and needs.

I think the swell's appearance is a mystery though and interesting to me. I just assume it corresponded to a persons hand.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

The author of The Ax Book suggests that curved handles decrease accuracy and increase shock due to their being thicker. He also says to cut off the fawn's foot (I would not with a vintage handle).

If you take two handles of the same dimensions and compare birch to hickory you will notice the difference in shock. It is the same with a thin handle, by thinning it out you are maximising the spring of the axe as well as its dissipation of shock. An axe with more spring is not only better to swing all day due to it being easier on the hands, lighter and more balanced, and reducing shock, but it seems there would be a benefit in less sticking: the spring in the wood may result in less dead hits and contribute force into pulling the axe back. This is a tradeoff for your having to be more careful with it since it will be weaker.

D. Cook says that no one knows why they made the switch to curved handles, and it may have to do with it appearing to give more whip and spring. I suspect there may have been some benefit in aligning axe heads where the edge sits square in the center (majority of single-bit axe heads) rather than having an axis at the upper-third towards the toe. This helps to hit squarely if the axe edge is aligned to the upper third.

Curved handles increase chopping power but also increase accuracy requirements since they magnify any lack of alignment in the stroke. Axes transmit their energy chiefly through impulse, or energy over a period of time. The offset of a curved handle increases the arc of the stroke to increase the impulse.

 

[300Six]

By far the strongest and most durable handle is one that follows the lengthwise grain of a straight 'split' piece of wood. And this then results in a relatively straight handle. These are simple enough to make at home with only an axe, penknife and rudimentary skills so why would an entrepreneur, that has invested in a wood duplicating machine, choose to offer straight handles? Introduce a fashionable curve, that's difficult and time-consuming to try to make at home, on to store-bought hafts at a similar price as straights and promote them as being more comfortable to use! This whole business of trying to 'keep up with the Jones' has been around for centuries and I would imagine after awhile the general public figured any axe without a curved haft 'looked funny'.
I don't chop enough anymore to be much of a guinea pig to compare straight vs curved but I'd love to hear about anybody else's experience. Over the past 20 years I've really taken a shine to multi-purpose Pulaskis. These utilize straight hafts (only because you use both ends of the head) and I have had no misgivings about using one as a primary wood splitter.
Try as some us might to rationalize curves via convenient physics and ergonomics arguments I personally think it all comes down to fashion. Otherwise rake, pick and hammer handles would have sported all kinds of bizarre shapes by now too.

 

[quinton]

I love the looks of the graceful, thin, old curved hafts. I even love to make them myself from scratch, but I'm a straight haft double bit person... always have been. The thing that bothers me most about a curved haft is it hurts my purchase wrist while felling. . although a curved haft is quite comfortable to me when bucking.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Try as some us might to rationalize curves via convenient physics and ergonomics arguments I personally think it all comes down to fashion. Otherwise rake, pick and hammer handles would have had sported all kinds of bizarre shapes by now too.

Kind of hard to argue with physics...

That being said, historically there was a lot of debate over straight vs. curved handles. Given that in woodchopping accuracy trumps raw power, there were many who vocalized a strong preference for the straight variety. By the same token, those skilled enough to strike accurately with a curved handle argued in favor of the more powerful blows accomplishing the work faster providing that the user was proficient enough not to waver or deviate during the stroke. The reasons for the angled end is the same reason why forward-swept choppers like kukris are known for their woodchopping prowess. The farther the edge is in front of the apex of your swing, the greater its impulse. The same effect would be generated by a long bit on an axe with a straight handle.

 

[300Six]

Kind of hard to argue with physics...

That being said, historically there was a lot of debate over straight vs. curved handles. Given that in woodchopping accuracy trumps raw power, there were many who vocalized a strong preference for the straight variety. By the same token, those skilled enough to strike accurately with a curved handle argued in favor of the more powerful blows accomplishing the work faster providing that the user was proficient enough not to waver or deviate during the stroke. The reasons for the angled end is the same reason why forward-swept choppers like kukris are known for their woodchopping prowess. The farther the edge is in front of the apex of your swing, the greater its impulse. The same effect would be generated by a long bit on an axe with a straight handle.

I'm going to call you out on this.
I had to use ordinary production axes (in fact gov't purchase) for an entire season in order to earn a paycheque near a 1/2 century ago and from that learned an awful lot. What you spout is entirely 'hearsay'.

 

[jblyttle]

Shorter handles were common place vs the ubiquitous 36" handles in HDW stores today.

I find so many old axes and I have to say that in my experience, full sized heads were almost always on a 28-32" handle. That size was by far the norm, I almost NEVER see an older axe with a 36" handle.

I just bought an axe off eBay from one of the members here on Blade Forums. It has a lovely old handle that I hope to restore.

I bet it's awesome!

You mean this video? If so, someone else originally posted it but I think I've probably shared it a few times here as well.

The Wikipedia page on sledgehammers notes that this handle type is popular in China for big hammers.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

I'm going to call you out on this.
I had to use ordinary production axes (in fact gov't purchase) for an entire season in order to earn a paycheque near a 1/2 century ago and from that learned an awful lot. What you spout is entirely 'hearsay'.

With respect, just because you've slung an axe for a long time does not mean that you understand the mechanisms of what is going on in its use. Being good with a tool and understanding the fundamental reasons why and how the tool works are related but distinctly different things. By all means, though, please elucidate me as to what that government axe taught you and how it makes me wrong--I like to keep an open mind and am always up for learning something new.

 

[jblyttle]

With regard to curved handles generating more force, I am not an expert and am willing to be corrected. But, the arc is simply a part of a circle that is created by the straight line distance from the center of rotation. The only thing that would increase the arc is greater distance from that center. The shape of the handle should not effect this, only the length. The shape of the handle and the length of the head will determine at what point in the swing contact is made, but not the arc itself. Also, greatest force is transmitted to the target if contact is made at the apex of the swing, or at 90 degrees to the target. It's the same with a baseball bat, a golf club or even a hook punch. With an axe swing this is corrected by turning a few inches to the right for a right handed swing. The curve of the handle or the length of the head would cause you to adjust your feet slightly so that the bit strikes at 90 degrees for the most efficient strike. The length also allows more power, more than head weight I would guess. The farther away from the center of rotation an object is, the more torque is generated. There is a practical limit, as control is decreased with distance and even 12lb sledge heads are still general on 3' handles.

I'm not dictating, more like reasoning to myself out loud based on physics. If I am missing something and am wrong I am happy to be corrected. But you have to explain why.

 

[BG_Farmer]

I prefer a straight handle for general use. This may be because my first personal axe was a double bit, but there was also a real preference among the old timers for "poll/pole axes". If they had only one axe it was almost always a 3.5-4# single bit axe on a straight handle 34-36" long. These were not "axe men", though many of them had worked as loggers for cash (always scarce on a farm), hewn timbers for barns and cash, and cleared large fields. They also, of course, cut all the fire wood needed for the house and other uses. I'm not sure one way or the other about the advantages of a curved handle, but the straight handle feels better for most tasks and is a definite advantage for driving wedges and tasks where you work up on the handle at times. I'm not sure about all old handles being super thin either, although they were on the thin side for today's handles.

Now it is possible as saws became more common for bucking and felling and at the same time sawmills reduced the amount of hewing and rail splitting that the few remaining tasks were favorable to the curved handles advantages, but by that time the axe was already on the decline as a mainstay for thriving on the land, as we see now it is pretty much limited to hobby uses such as timber sports.

 

[Chignecto Woodsman]

When people mention that the majority of handles were around 30" it is good to keep in mind that the men were quite small compared to a lot of people today. Judging by photos the vast majority look to be under 5'10".

That said, I'm 6'2" and still prefer a 30-32" handle. I suppose there's a tradeoff in that smaller guys tend to be more accurate so scaling up a handle if you're bigger has to take that into account (if you're reach is 2" more then you would have to factor that into the longer handle as well in terms of accuracy, along with back and knee bend etc.).

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

As I said, it increases the impulse of the blow, or the amount of energy transmitted over an interval. Moving the edge further ahead will cause the edge to impact the target sooner, extending the period in which the blow is actually occurring due to follow-through. The actual difference in period is incredibly small but makes a significant difference in the actual amount of energy transferred. Imagine, for instance, how poorly an axe would cut if the edge actually trailed behind the handle. Your swing corresponds with a prescribed section of an arc. The actual radius of that arc will vary greatly, and while the length of the handle is one factor, the compounded action of your pivoting joints will actually have a very large effect on the radius length, placing the epicenter well behind you under most circumstances.