The Gold Boy handle......

[gben]

This handle made me chuckle when I found it in a barrel of scrap wood at a garage sale, I thought it was a funny name. I wonder about the history of this brand. It is very slender and light, it does not seem like it would be for a heavy axe head. Look at the way the top is tapered, weird. Last photo shows it next to a vintage Turner-Day double-bit handle. Maybe it is simply a double-bit boy-axe handle....

 

[Steve Tall]

Some evidence (but not definitive proof) about the origins of that double-bit axe handle:

Doing a search for
"gold boy" trademark
gives results that point to the Gold-Win Tool & Hardware Co., Inc. (in New York City), with the trademark filed in 1958.

A search for
"gold-win tool" "gold boy"
gives a result from 1971:
[Directory of United States Importers - Page 404
https://books.google.com/books?id=2B8cAQAAMAAJ
1971 - ‎Snippet view]
which indicates that this company imported hand tools from Japan, Italy, and W. Germany (at that time).

 

[gben]

Gold Boy chapter two!

First of all Thank-you Steve Tall for your time spent researching everything for everyone on this forum, you go beyond the call of duty.

So I was looking at a DB axe I have laying here as a user and when I looked closely I noticed the Gold Boy Logo on it's handle. I also noticed that it and the other Gold Boy handle both had their butts marked 99 cents, maybe that was the suggested retail price for the handle when it was new?

The handle on my DB TT is longer and heftier than the one I found at the garage sale. The plot thickens.....

 

[SC T100]

Well, I would think some variability is normal. The Links in the hardware stores can vary pretty significantly.

 

[300Six]

Certainly the 'graders' (or quality control' inspections) were much better back then, if spying the butts on those two is any indication of worth.

 

[Steve Tall]

Certainly the 'graders' (or quality control' inspections) were much better back then, if spying the butts on those two is any indication of worth.

On that note, it would be interesting to hear about the grain alignment and runout on this old batch of handles (from another post by gben), for comparison to the typical axe handles found in hardware stores today.

The little things off to the side I tied up with some wire are of course wedges that were rattling around inside the box.

 

[gben]

I don't know where the people on this forum get their information on how the grain should be aligned on axe and other tool handles, but none of it seems to agree with what Roy Underhill says about the subject.

Mr. Underhill splits blanks for axe handles from white sapwood out of trees about 8" in diameter which have grown fast so the rings are wide, not dense. He says the rings should run at a right-angle to the width as if the poll of the axe is the bark-side and the bit pointing at the heart of the tree. He says handles from a slow-growing tree with narrow rings and some heartwood will be too brittle for the roughest use and the wood is more likely to check. Also he says that axe handles with the grain aligned poll to bit will be more likely to warp to the side.

It seem like a lot of people on this forum say almost the exact opposite of what Underhill says about Axe handles don't they? This is from his 1983 book The Woodwrights Companion.

If a handle is made from a well-seasoned blank maybe it will not warp to the side if the grain is going front to back, and of course a handle that has sat for over 40 years without warping is not likely to anytime soon. If I was making a new handle from a tree myself I would certainly follow Underhill's advice, he seems to be a smart and educated man and he is a great writer and craftsman.

To me it seems that if handles with the grain going fore and aft are popular, it is just some sort of fashion trend and nothing else.

 

[Steve Tall]

My asking about the grain alignment in that box of old handles was more about getting some data about how handles were made in the past (compared with today), and not about trying to take a stand on either side of the grain alignment debate.

 

[Square_peg]

There's no question that faster growing 2nd growth hickory makes for a better handle. USFS testing concluded that growth rings spaced 5-20 per inch were best and that 12-15 growth rings/inch might be optimal. Good hafts can still be found with up to 40 GR/inch.

Grain orientation has been hotly debated here and elsewhere. Most conclude that there is a slight advantage for the layers to run parallel to the axe head not perpendicular. But most important is having no runout.

The broken hammer handles I've picked up on the job site over the decades usually have grain perpendicular to the hammer head.

 

[300Six]

I don't know where the people on this forum get their information on how the grain should be aligned on axe and other tool handles, but none of it seems to agree with what Roy Underhill says about the subject.

Mr. Underhill splits blanks for axe handles from white sapwood out of trees about 8" in diameter which have grown fast so the rings are wide, not dense. He says the rings should run at a right-angle to the width as if the poll of the axe is the bark-side and the bit pointing at the heart of the tree. He says handles from a slow-growing tree with narrow rings and some heartwood will be too brittle for the roughest use and the wood is more likely to check. Also he says that axe handles with the grain aligned poll to bit will be more likely to warp to the side.

It seem like a lot of people on this forum say almost the exact opposite of what Underhill says about Axe handles don't they? This is from his 1983 book The Woodwrights Companion.

If a handle is made from a well-seasoned blank maybe it will not warp to the side if the grain is going front to back, and of course a handle that has sat for over 40 years without warping is not likely to anytime soon. If I was making a new handle from a tree myself I would certainly follow Underhill's advice, he seems to be a smart and educated man and he is a great writer and craftsman.

To me it seems that if handles with the grain going fore and aft are popular, it is just some sort of fashion trend and nothing else.

His advice is perfectly sound. annular rings running perpendicular to width of the poll is same as saying grain parallel with the blade. There is no mention of 'runout', though, which as Square_Peg says is hugely important. Runout can entirely be avoided if the blanks are rivved through splitting into staves rather than sawing. Split wood follows the inherent grain and if the blank comes out straight so too can be your handle.

I'd love to hear about the inspection of end grain and length grain of goods in that old box of handles. Now it could well be those were left behind or tucked away years ago because they were seconds or even thirds that the maker didn't want to release to the public.

 

[quinton]

His advice is perfectly sound. annular rings running perpendicular to width of the poll is same as saying grain parallel with the blade. There is no mention of 'runout', though, which as Square_Peg says is hugely important. Runout can entirely be avoided if the blanks are rivved through splitting into staves rather than sawing. Split wood follows the inherent grain and if the blank comes out straight so too can be your handle.

I'd love to hear about the inspection of end grain and length grain of goods in that old box of handles. Now it could well be those were left behind or tucked away years ago because they were seconds or even thirds that the maker didn't want to release to the public.

You have misunderstood what, gben has posted. Mr. Underhill is saying horizontal grain is better than vertical. He is also right about the heartwood not being as good as the tougher sapwood.

I was also always told to use only sapwood hickory for axe handles, as the heartwood is not fit for the purpose.. I find this to be true, there is sometimes some heartwood left attached to the stave when I start making a handle and it does not have the same working properties as the sapwood. A sharp rasp will make tiny ribbons of wood when working good sapwood, kind of like working plastic. But heartwood is softer and more brittle to work, and will make mainly sawdust.. old timers have described heartwood to me as "brashy"..

 

[rjdankert]

by the sentence in gben's post quoting Roy Underhill about grain orientation. In the first part of this sentence "He says the rings should run at a right-angle to the width. . ." . I envision that the way 300Six stated "same as saying grain parallel with the blade". But the rest of the sentence ". . .as if the poll of the axe is the bark-side and the bit pointing at the heart of the tree." indicates to me the opposite (i.e. rings parallel to the width).

Bob

 

[quinton]

by the sentence in gben's post quoting Roy Underhill about grain orientation. In the first part of this sentence "He says the rings should run at a right-angle to the width. . ." . I envision that the way 300Six stated "same as saying grain parallel with the blade". But the rest of the sentence ". . .as if the poll of the axe is the bark-side and the bit pointing at the heart of the tree." indicates to me the opposite (i.e. rings parallel to the width).

Bob

I don't own the book by, Mr. Underhill but found the full sentence online, it says;

"I prefer to orient the grain of the axe helve so that the growth rings run at right angles to its width, bark side toward the poll, heart side to the bit. If the growth rings are oriented in line with the direction of the swing, the helve will occasionally develop an undesirable curve to the side."

 

[Old Axeman]

I do not have any respect for a TV show host who cut himself on a regular basis while on camera, and then joked about it. What I would say about Roy Underhill is--Often wrong, but never in doubt.

 

[rjdankert]

I don't own the book by, Mr. Underhill but found the full sentence online, it says;

Thanks, I found that as well. It's the first part of the sentence "I prefer to orient the grain of the axe helve so that the growth rings run at right angles to its width, . . ." that seems ambiguous to me given what follows in the rest of the sentence.

Maybe I just have the wrong understanding of what is meant by growth rings running perpendicular to the width of the head. It just seems to me it should have said parallel to the width. Because his rational is to orient the grain to eliminate sideways warping.

Bob

 

[quinton]

Thanks, I found that as well. It's the first part of the sentence "I prefer to orient the grain of the axe helve so that the growth rings run at right angles to its width, . . ." that seems ambiguous to me given what follows in the rest of the sentence.

Maybe I just have the wrong understanding of what is meant by growth rings running perpendicular to the width of the head. It just seems to me it should have said parallel to the width. Because his rational is to orient the grain to eliminate sideways warping.

Bob

By width, he is meaning length..

 

[quinton]

I do not have any respect for a TV show host who cut himself on a regular basis while on camera, and then joked about it. What I would say about Roy Underhill is--Often wrong, but never in doubt.

I would describe Mr. Underhill using only one word, "Master".. He is one of the VERY FEW that can go to the woods with hand tools and return with a china hutch, and matching dinette complete with captain's chairs.

My uncle told me once, if you want to grow corn, don't ask just any corn farmer, find one who's crib is full, and ask him..

 

[300Six]

I do not have any respect for a TV show host who cut himself on a regular basis while on camera, and then joked about it. What I would say about Roy Underhill is--Often wrong, but never in doubt.

Thank you for this tidbit! There are increasingly many more next generation 'Google experts' out there (than there still are old folks that physically use such implements) that 'wax eloquent' precisely about how to use them. I know nothing about Mr Underhill nor his vintage TV shows but if you tell me he cut himself on air more than once then someone out there obviously had to make sure to keep him well away from 'talking shop' about loaded guns.

 

[Old Axeman]

quinton, You must not have heard- ALL TV IS MAKE BELIEVE. Did you see the PBS series Frontier House? Did you come away with the idea that the families cut the trees and built their log cabins? My crew of log carpenters and I designed, cut the logs and built the 3 cabins. Only Nate Brooks actually did any of the axe work on his little cabin. Nate turned out to be a very good axeman by the way.
The only TV carpenter I know who actually is a "Master" carpenter is Norm Abram. Norm worked with me on 2 wilderness log cabins, one in Wyoming, one in Montana. Norm is not an axeman, he is mister power tool. But, like any "Master" carpenter he very quickly adapted to the work at hand. The rest of them on TV are TV hosts in my opinion, and I have worked for PBS, History and Discovery channels. The funny part is I have not had a TV for 20 yrs.

 

[300Six]

I do not have any respect for a TV show host who cut himself on a regular basis while on camera, and then joked about it. What I would say about Roy Underhill is--Often wrong, but never in doubt.

Thank you for this tidbit! There are increasingly many more next generation 'Google experts' out there (than there still are old folks that physically use such implements) that 'wax eloquent' precisely about how to use them. I know nothing about Mr Underhill nor his vintage TV shows but if you tell me he cut himself on air more than once then someone out there obviously was on hand to make sure to keep him well away from 'talking shop' about loaded guns.