Tightening tomahawk head on handle.

[Tallbald]

New here. Thanks for allowing me to join. At age 60, I have bought my first hawks. All Cold Steel as they are in my budget. They please me and I like tinkering so I don't mind fitting and finishing.
Searched several ways here but didn't find what I hoped to learn. I had to fit the handle better on my Rifleman. But that meant losing a small portion of handle protrusion from top of head. I read that with throwing of any hawk, the head can compress the wood fiber and become loose on the handle.
So what is a proper material to shim the handle thicker at the head contact area? Or does it reach the point you must toss the handle and start anew?
I couldn't learn an answer with my searches here. Likely this has been asked, but I haven't found the thread(s).
My daughter is a cross fit girl and wants to join in ax throwing in our tow. Her sig other wishes the same as well as to learn to throw hawks. I'd like to be prepared for head looseness in advance.
Thank you as always. Don

 

[BitingSarcasm]

If you are going to throw, then the handles are going to wear out faster--especially if you are going to throw multiple axes at the same target and get some head to handle hits. I use a razor knife to trim the top of the handle as it gets splintered and banged up, then force the head further down onto the newly-shaped area. Eventually you will run out of space, but so far I have had to replace handles almost exclusively from hitting them with another hawk or from bad bounces that always seem to find hidden hard objects. But a loose head is no big deal on a thrower, just give it a good swing in the air to get centripetal force to push the head out, and that's usually enough for a throw. If it isn't, a quick rap against the bottom of the head with a different hawk will convince it to stay on for a throw.

Slip fit is best for throwing hawks in my eyes because it gets the most throwing time for the least amount of fitting time. Ditch the set screw in the head, and your thrower handles last longer too. For a hawk that I want to use for chopping and maybe a few throws, I take more time with shaping the handle to fit the eye and use some silicon caulk to pack in around it and fill in the top/bottom gaps. Purists will gasp in shock, but it take any wiggle out of the handle for a long time.

 

[Tallbald]

Thank you. Let me ask. If the head end of the handle becomes too compressed or damaged and small, but NOT to the point of the head slipping off, can some type of say, tape be used to wrap the handle where the head contacts it ? That might make it large enough to give a tight fit a while more(?). Don

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Yes, you can build up the handle. It'll be ugly as heck, but it'll work.

 

[BitingSarcasm]

Agreed, it will work. Occasionally there will a big chip torn out of the mushroom top that holds the head on, and that is a good reason to retire a handle. Likewise, damage to the handle from contact with another hawk head can crush fibers and splinter to the point that the handle is done. The final reason I have swapped handles is when the slip fit gets too "slippy" from dozens of throws and will no longer hold the head in place at all. I didn't think this was a big deal as the handle would just come shooting forward through the eye and pop the target. And then I got a sloppy shot onto the rim, sticking the bit and launching the handle like a siege engine. It sailed on an arc about 10-12 ft high, went over a fence, and finally hit the ground about 30 feet away narrowly missing a car windshield. It wasn't a hard throw, but the force to get a hawk to the target is apparently enough to send a bare handle on a hell of a trip.

 

[Tallbald]

Thank you all so much. I told my beloved wife Miss Penny that when the time comes for new handles, I'll go to the flea market and buy a couple hickory ax handles for $5 each and carve them to suit. It will be another rewarding facet of an interesting and rewarding new hobby! Don

 

[I'mSoSharp]

Nobody has mentioned wedges, they may be slip fit handles but there is nothing stopping you driving a wedge in if it has no more "take up" in it's length, not pretty but better than tape.