Tell me about Osage orange for axe handles

DeadboxHero

DeadboxHero

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Mar 22, 2014
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Been wanting to explore other wood for axe handles, I want more comfort on impact when swinging and was wanting something more flexible without sacrificing strength and hardness.

I saw Osage orange is used for making bows. It's also very beautiful.

Any Input?
 
There are a few folks on here that use Osage for handles. Ought to be lovely if you can find a straight grain and knot free piece.
 
Maybe try an air dried horizontal grain hickory haft like Quinton makes. I think they'll have a little more flex. I don't think you'll find a better wood than hickory.
 
300Six said:
There are a few folks on here that use Osage for handles. Ought to be lovely if you can find a straight grain and knot free piece.
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Is that the main issue with handle making from hedge wood? finding a knot free straight grain? Also this stuff seems expensive.
Square_peg said:
Maybe try an air dried horizontal grain hickory haft like Quinton makes. I think they'll have a little more flex. I don't think you'll find a better wood than hickory.
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What's that? How does the horizontal grain work?
 
DeadboxHero said:
Is that the main issue with handle making from hedge wood? finding a knot free straight grain? Also this stuff seems expensive.


What's that? How does the horizontal grain work?
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Up my way Hop Hornbeam (Ironwood) is the ultimate for strength and durability but the wood is not available commercially because of the difficulty in sourcing sawlog-sized straight and knot free timber. No doubt Osage is in the same boat. When it does show up at a specialty mill operation every now and again it isn't sold cheap and yet the stock vanishes in short order.

Curved handles are most durable (and rigid) when prepared from vertical grained wood so as to avoid manufactured 'lengthwise grain runout' but if you can find a naturally curved piece of wood with a horizontal grain orientation that'd give you a real nice cushioned-blow and increased-flex haft.
 
Osage orange makes a fine handle, but I doubt it has an edge over hickory really. It makes for a fun project and an unique handle, but that's about as far as it goes.

If you're looking for more comfort, look at the shape and thickness as 300Six suggested. But honestly, I think you'll see that durability decreases as flex increases, even with the best of wood. For most handles, a bit of runout is not a big deal (and without a riven blank its almost inevitable), but that is because the handle tends to be chunky.

Honestly though, most handles I've had fail were due to the hang rather than the handle itself.
 
DeadboxHero said:
What's that? How does the horizontal grain work?
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Hickory is more flexible with the grain running horizontally. But the risk of runout increases, especially if it's a curved haft. But a straight haft with no runout and horizontal grain will perform just fine.

Slimming a vertical grain curved haft will give it more comfort and flexibilty. Also, an abrupt swell will give an axe a more comfortable feel and cause less hand fatique.
 
I don't think it's going to give you what you want. It will be next to impossible to find it straight grained enough to be optimal. It is very heavy and you will need to thin the handle way down to give it some flex and shock absorbing properties that hickory has. You would be hard pressed to find a more durable handle though if you can get grain that is straight enough.

It's just really hard to beat hickory. I suspect you haven't really explored the possibilities with good old hickory. If you want more flex and shock absorbing handle make it taper down sooner from the shoulders and rounder in cross section.
 
DeadboxHero said:
Been wanting to explore other wood for axe handles, I want more comfort on impact when swinging and was wanting something more flexible without sacrificing strength and hardness.

I saw Osage orange is used for making bows. It's also very beautiful.

Any Input?
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If you are exploring try maple and ash. You may be pleasantly surprised. You are going to give and take on hardness flexibility and strength when you go from one wood to another. I have been working my handles hickory. thinner and thinner as of late.
 
Or white oak, I recall these being sold years and years ago (in some old catalogue?). But hop hornbeam is what many Europeans with access to rate higher than ash, and as far as I know was used on your side of the pond, too. It is supposedly less pretentious as to grain orientation. Sugar Maple as well, seemed to have been popular a while back?

Another wood used by Europeans and that is pretty close to hickory in characteristics is black locust. The "popular wisdom" says that pieces harvested from the lower part of the trunk will be the best for an axe handle, but I cannot attest to that, or refute said claim. But then, again, most of these were hand-split and air dried, so I'm skeptical that what I could buy readily made today would be as good as what my grandpa used for years and years. Nor tell what part of the tree these were sawn from :).
 
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Moonw said:
Or white oak, I recall these being sold years and years ago (in some old catalogue?). But hop hornbeam is what many Europeans with access to rate higher than ash, and as far as I know was used on your side of the pond, too. It is supposedly less pretentious as to grain orientation. Sugar Maple as well, seemed to have been popular a while back?

Another wood used by Europeans and that is pretty close to hickory in characteristics is black locust. The "popular wisdom" says that pieces harvested from the lower part of the trunk will be the best for an axe handle, but I cannot attest to that, or refute said claim. But then, again, most of these were hand-split and air dried, so I'm skeptical that what I could buy readily made today would be as good as what my grandpa used for years and years. Nor tell what part of the tree these were sawn from :).
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Us old guys and our 'passed me down wisdom' is quickly being transcended by GOOGLE. It'll catch up eventually but by then will have been rewritten by Wranglerstar-type gurus. I'm waiting to hear good news about Rock Elm (as opposed to much softer (but similarly ornery) White or American Elm) as the ultimate 'organic-new-age-miracle haft' material.
 
Wow, great stuff guys, Now I've got even more questions :D. Let me read though more and do some research based off this information then I'll ask better questions. Thanks guys.
 
300Six said:
Us old guys and our 'passed me down wisdom' is quickly being transcended by GOOGLE. It'll catch up eventually but by then will have been rewritten by Wranglerstar-type gurus. I'm waiting to hear good news about Rock Elm (as opposed to much softer (but similarly ornery) White or American Elm) as the ultimate 'organic-new-age-miracle haft' material.
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I chuckled some at the "organic" part. Yep, it's a mantra in itself alright! :)

The way I see it, it is a real shame to lose valuable experience. I know quite a few people that I'd so much like to have write down the wisdom they have gathered through the years. What has been noted and transmitted from generation to generation is not something that we, with all our research, can easily replicate, if, unguarded, it goes away. I respect the heck out of any person that can do something I cannot, or do it much better. But then I come from a generation that used to shut up first, observe, respectfully ask questions and be thankful for the answers.

I was reading just yesterday about an 80 year-old woman living in her cabin in the wilderness of some remote mountains since she was 17. Hunsband dead for a while, her only son dead as well. I'd take her advice on survival, rather than Bear Grill's anyday of the week :). And, you know what. She seemed quite happy with the little she had. Instead of "cabin feber", she had words of wisdom for whomever stumbled at her door. Was glad to see that someone took the time to brave one meter of snow for several kilometers and ask her for an interview.

OTOH, sometimes this popular wisdom has arrived at opposing views, depending on what old timer you are listening to :). And then here comes a third one, that is convinced that the previous two have no idea what they are talking about. I just hope one day we won't be looked back at for our usage of WIFI the way we take pity in the old victorians and their widespread lead poisoning.

Oddly, this loss of experience applies not only to old crafts, but more mote or less modern technology as well. I don't recall the exact term, but it's a subject of study in itself, and wiser people are trying to quantify it somehow. From gridline workers to old school programmers, when our technology fails and we need to rely on the "old ways", we realize their experience is invaluable.

As I previously said, I just nod my head at the self-entitlement and politically correctness of some people younger than me (and I'm only 35). They act as the world owns them something...and it allstarts from their "enlighted" parents. Having been brought up with little, because communists wanted everyone - but the "elites" - to live on very little, has taught me a thing or two about the value of things and gratitude.

As I have the luxury to choose whom I want to work with in my department, I am happy to say that I can still find young men and women that have been properly brought up by their folks. I just wish there were more. I can usually weed them out during an interview, once they get more comfortable.

Sorry for the rambling, see this is a major flaw of mine. Hey, at least I'm not a politician!
 
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As for Wranglerstar, I watched mostly his sharpening videos. I became curious why he is not too popular around here. I recall a video of his about burning out a handle from the eye of an axe? I don't see why anyone would risk destroying a good axe, but other than that, I did not follow his videos.
 
Moonw said:
As for Wranglerstar, I watched mostly his sharpening videos. I became curious why he is not too popular around here. I recall a video of his about burning out a handle from the eye of an axe? I don't see why anyone would risk destroying a good axe, but other than that, I did not follow his videos.
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I can only speak for myself, but I dislike his videos because he is re-selling (in some cases very poorly) knowledge recently acquired rather than sharing knowledge gained from long experience. There is nothing wrong with doing so on the face of it, but what it tells me is that the same knowledge is available from those of long experience and I should seek it out rather than waste time watching a pseudo-off grid poseur.

My favorite charlie-foxtrot video of his is the one where he tries to use a hi-lift jack as a tree felling aid :D
(spoiler - it doesn't work and he breaks the jack)

Some of his vids are fine - like I'm sure he's adequately mastered sharpening, something that is really pretty easy when one puts the time in. In other cases I simply don't find that he's gained the wisdom that comes with experience, so I don't trust his judgement. Perhaps that is a better way of putting it than my first attempt above.
 
serotina said:
I can only speak for myself, but I dislike his videos because he is re-selling (in some cases very poorly) knowledge recently acquired rather than sharing knowledge gained from long experience. There is nothing wrong with doing so on the face of it, but what it tells me is that the same knowledge is available from those of long experience and I should seek it out rather than waste time watching a pseudo-off grid poseur.

My favorite charlie-foxtrot video of his is the one where he tries to use a hi-lift jack as a tree felling aid :D
(spoiler - it doesn't work and he breaks the jack)

Some of his vids are fine - like I'm sure he's adequately mastered sharpening, something that is really pretty easy when one puts the time in. In other cases I simply don't find that he's gained the wisdom that comes with experience, so I don't trust his judgement. Perhaps that is a better way of putting it than my first attempt above.
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Gotcha. I seem to have missed some of the videos :), indeed.
 
Moonw said:
I was reading just yesterday about an 80 year-old woman living in her cabin in the wilderness of some remote mountains since she was 17. Hunsband dead for a while, her only son dead as well. I'd take her advice on survival, rather than Bear Grill's anyday of the week :). And, you know what. She seemed quite happy with the little she had. Instead of "cabin fever", she had words of wisdom for whomever stumbled at her door. Was glad to see that someone took the time to brave one meter of snow for several kilometers and ask her for an interview.
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Eastern Ontario and West Quebec experienced a severe ice storm event in January of 1998. Power was out for upwards of 4 weeks in vast swaths of rural areas. About 2 weeks in the Canadian gov't declared it a state of emergency and sent in the Armed Forces to help out. One energetic troop in a tracked vehicle, searching out the hills of Renfrew County (an hour north of Ottawa), thought for sure they were rescuing a 75 year old woman from a small log house where the long driveway hadn't been shovelled. When they asked her how long she'd been without power she looked at them sort of puzzled and said "75 years" and then invited them in for tea, fresh biscuits and hot soup. The thoroughly confounded young lads spent the afternoon splitting and moving firewood for her.

Type Ice Storm 1998 into Google for a Wikipedia synopsis. It was quite a show to experience and my kids missed two weeks of school, first week because the power was out and then during the second week when the school itself was commandeered as a military command center.
 
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Fair point, I now remember I cringed when, while showing his favorite way of splitting logs he was swinging an axe around a piece of chain that was supposed to keep the pieces from falling on the ground, once separated.

I still think there's a good side to everything...that is, this "pollenization", even if done with not quite the purest of the intentions in mind, will at least promote / raise awareness in what was an almost dying craft. Yes, this will attract yuppies, "bushcrafters", it will drive up the prices for vintage axes, but those that are not fly-by-night collectors of 2000$ axes from Ebay :) will find their true way...gathering solid insight into axemanship from reliable sources, eventually. I'm imagining someone going from having tickled his fancy by some suggested Youtube video that he clicked on out of boredom into "An axe to grind", or, why not, coming on this forum. (And hopefully not injuring themselves by exercising common sense in the process?)

It really helps that the gents around here are of a very fine variety; haven't seem any: "You kids get off my lawn!" attitude around here, ever. The disagreements are of a more technical nature...:)
 
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300Six said:
Eastern Ontario and West Quebec experienced a severe ice storm event in January of 1998. Power was out for upwards of 4 weeks in vast swaths of rural areas. About 2 weeks in the Canadian gov't declared it a state of emergency and sent in the Armed Forces to help out. One energetic troop in a tracked vehicle, searching out the hills of Renfrew County (an hour north of Ottawa), thought for sure they were rescuing a 75 year old woman from a small log house where the long driveway hadn't been shovelled. When they asked her how long she'd been without power she looked at them sort of puzzled and said "75 years" and then invited them in for tea, fresh biscuits and hot soup. The thoroughly confounded young lads spent the afternoon splitting and moving firewood for her.
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Thank you, that was fantastic to read!

This other woman I was telling about had exactly one light bulb in her cabin. Someone had given her a solar panel a year ago. :)
 
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