Rehang opinions

HeavyHanded

HeavyHanded

Joined
Jun 4, 2010
Messages
6,642
Rehanging an old hatchet head and am looking for opinions re how to shape the haft where it exits. I often do these with a clean shoulder around the base of the head per the upper drawing, but wondering if it will hold better long term with a simple flare.

Or is it personal preference?



IYZzCZKm.jpg
 
Bottom, 100%. Creating a shelf often leads to spot pressure in use that can cause premature breakage of the handle under the head, and it makes tightening up the hang more difficult down the road. All in all, it is less satisfactory to a handle with a smooth transition below the eye.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Bottom, 100%. Creating a shelf often leads to spot pressure in use that can cause premature breakage of the handle under the head, and it makes tightening up the hang more difficult down the road. All in all, it is less satisfactory to a handle with a smooth transition below the eye.
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Fully agree. I've managed to salvage several hangs by driving the head down the handle a quarter inch, so that I can expose enough of the wedge to grab it with a vise and extract it. Even if that doesn't work, I've salvaged hangs by driving the head down the haft and adding metal wedges. That works better than purists will always admit :)

Rick "particularly true with lugged heads like Jersey patterns" Denney
 
Hiya, longtime lurker here, first post. Aware that it’s a minority position here, I’ve hafted many hammers during my career in the construction trades and found it useful to leave a “shoulder” beneath the head. I’ve replaced broken handles (with no shoulder) with shouldered ones and they’ve seemed to last longer, in the hands of the same careless gorillas who bend their pry bars and break off sill bolts. I also haft (some of my) hatchets that way, especially when carving my own handles, although not my 36” falling and splitting axes which take repeated full strength two handed slams.

That said, i think I’m also in the minority of how I hang. Among other things, I radius the edges of the eye opening, I make a fitted wedge from the same species as the handle (preferably the same billet), and I often use 2 angled wedges to bring tension fore and aft on the eye, as well as the sides. No steel wedges, in fact I have a collection of them removed from broken handles. And I always leave the tip/wedge sticking proud of the eye, sometimes by 1/2”.

So HH, there’s a dissenting opinion for ya. Hope I can post this without throwing dirt on the other members who posted, cause I partially agree with what they said.

Parker
 
catspa said:
Hiya, longtime lurker here, first post. Aware that it’s a minority position here, I’ve hafted many hammers during my career in the construction trades and found it useful to leave a “shoulder” beneath the head. I’ve replaced broken handles (with no shoulder) with shouldered ones and they’ve seemed to last longer, in the hands of the same careless gorillas who bend their pry bars and break off sill bolts. I also haft (some of my) hatchets that way, especially when carving my own handles, although not my 36” falling and splitting axes which take repeated full strength two handed slams.

That said, i think I’m also in the minority of how I hang. Among other things, I radius the edges of the eye opening, I make a fitted wedge from the same species as the handle (preferably the same billet), and I often use 2 angled wedges to bring tension fore and aft on the eye, as well as the sides. No steel wedges, in fact I have a collection of them removed from broken handles. And I always leave the tip/wedge sticking proud of the eye, sometimes by 1/2”.

So HH, there’s a dissenting opinion for ya. Hope I can post this without throwing dirt on the other members who posted, cause I partially agree with what they said.

Parker
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This is an interesting take. I don't rehang a ton of stuff but have done a few both ways and never had issues either way - even my ugly jobs seem to hold better than factory.

Normally if there's a lot of wood to remove I shoulder it, if there isn't I use a flared approach.
 
Me too. I don’t claim a great benefit from a shouldered haft, or that everyone should do it, just saying “I don’t think it hurts anything”. With a slim hatchet or axe eye, striking it sideways (on logs, rounds, etc) creates way more strain than any regular impact. I’ve seen common breakage that way.
Parker
 
Heavy, the bottom diagram seems to last longer with my hatchets and axes. And I use mine a lot. A hammer or hatchet haft lasts longer than my splitting ax but the duty is greater. It's interesting the varying opinions on this. I know you use yours when camping so, good luck. DM
 
A hatchet is a very light duty tool that takes much less beating than a hammer, a maul or an axe, so I would say just make the handle any way you want it and it will hold up fine. I just looked at three old Plumb hatchets with their original handles and they did not seem to be worried too much about having a swell beneath the head except for maybe style and aesthetics. I think with a large maul or axe the swell beneath the head gives extra strength in case of a brutal handle-strike, so the weight of the head will not snap the handle beneath the head so easily, but with a hatchet the head is light and the duty is light, so just make it suit your tastes and fit your hand and you are done. I too have put a small radius on the eye of axe heads where the handle goes in because often there is a sharp corner there or even a burr and it can cut the handle wood there, so it is just common sense and good engineering to radius that area to give the handle an easy time and prevent "stress risers".
 
Learning :thumbsup:. Haft? I thought OP left off the s as in shaft....;). Haft is the area of the handle that is within the Eye? With all i am learning it seems you don’t just hammer the head onto the haft and slam a wedge in it and your good to go. Seems it’s an art i am motivated to learn to do it right. Thanks
DN
 
David Nowlin said:
Learning :thumbsup:. Haft? I thought OP left off the s as in shaft....;). Haft is the area of the handle that is within the Eye? With all i am learning it seems you don’t just hammer the head onto the haft and slam a wedge in it and your good to go. Seems it’s an art i am motivated to learn to do it right. Thanks
DN
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Haft means the entire handle. The portion that goes through the eye is the tongue. :)
 
What is commonly meant when someone’s mentions an axe head with a high center line?
 
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