Tape on handles under head

R

RossA

Joined
May 28, 2004
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81
OK, this might mark me as a real amateur, and it might be really frowned on by a lot of purists, but here goes.
All of my axes, hammers, mauls, etc. get taped under the head in order to prevent against overstrikes damaging the handle. I know, the more careful you are, the less possibility of an overstrike, but hell, I'm only human.
I almost never see a pic in this forum with tape under the head. Does anyone else do this?
 
Ross,
We used to do it for splitting mauls as the irregular splits can take gouges out. We used thin wire wrapped and the poly brushed on.

Bill
 
There is some freedom and value in having no aesthetic attachment to a tool. You will do things that make perfect sense regardless of how they look. Tape will always look like hell no matter how much sense it makes and that is why you will not see it used much by axe nuts. The tone, color, and patina of the wood and steel as it ages are all over powered by the grotesque tape. It is like a plastic chair in front of a grand piano.
 
While not an axe, but along similar lines, we used to wrap the handles of our hammers with copper wire just below the head. May be just a utility lineman thing.
 
Would a leather wrap work and be slightly more aesthetically pleasing? I did try a paracord wrap on one axe just under the head, but because the handle has a lot of variation in size at this point I couldn't get the dang thing to stay on (hell, maybe I just don't know how to wrap very well).
 
If you want to strengthen the handle try some thin wet rawhide. Waterproof it after it dries.
 
I figure whatever works is fair game. Most of my splitting axes (Pulaskis included) have damaged handles from over-strikes and one of these days (appearance be damned) I may just try a sleeve to see if life of a handle can be extended a bit. I would presume a generous amount of hockey tape to be the cheapest/fastest way of doing this. What I won't do however is get too carried away with how far down the handle the tape goes; an inch or two is likely enough.
I don't know how the old-timers dealt with this regarding axes but many horse and wagon riders of yore wrapped the fore arms of their rifles with leather in order to protect the wood.
 
i had a piece of rubber from a bike inner tube. it's gone (may be for fire starting) now there is a piece of tape.
but it'is only on one hatchet!
 
Working axes get black hockey tape, its no less pleasing than buggered up wood. Mauls get a leather wrap for cushioning and then sacrifice hockey tape.
 
flexo said:
i had a piece of rubber from a bike inner tube. it's gone (may be for fire starting) now there is a piece of tape.
but it'is only on one hatchet!
Click to expand...

I like this. Multiples of bicycle inner tubes sounds like a great idea to me. They cushion the overstrike and multiple thick/wide layers on the haft can be made to 'feather-out' the install for handling.
 
On axes I use tape because anything wider stick out beyond the steel and catches any time you are splitting something. On mauls you have plenty of room to add a wrap.
 
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