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More related to this thread; is it the percussion from repeated whacks that weakens the different grain layers? Or just a physical ripping between the layers?
Also is it really only runout that causes the issues? Say for instance you had a straight-horizontally grained haft would it be as strong as a straight-vertically grained one?
Does anyone agree that runout is the issue? Or no and the two are inherently different in strength?
Runout is always an issue when it comes to strength. The more of it there is, and the more critical the location of it, the weaker the wood will be under strain. Horizontal vs. vertical in terms of strength with continuous grain is a bit more hotly debated. And I imagine it very well may play out differently in different woods, but that's beyond the scope of this thread. As a rule of thumb, however, horizontally oriented wood will be more flexible in the direction of force, while vertically it will be more rigid in that axis. Whatever difference there may be in strength, it is a far smaller difference than between wood with runout vs. minimal/no runout.