Tomahawk handle material

M

moose11872

Joined
Feb 17, 2014
Messages
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I'm new to the Tomahawk world and I hope this isn't a stupid question. Is wild black cherry a bad idea for a handle?
 
I don't have any experience with Black Cherry, but I DO know Hickory, most Oaks, and Maple are good for 'hawk handles.
 
I personally slimmed down an Hickory sledge hammer handle I had laying around from one of my rehanging projects. The top of it was beyond saving, it was cut off from an old splitting maul. The person that had it last had tried to drill out the wedge, and rewedge it. Looks like they tried to use a hammer and punch and wrecked the entire top of the handle so there was no saving it. It's a labor of love, and you can never be to cautious when dealing with the fitting of the head to the handle.
 
Black Cherry is relatively soft but does have excellent flex properties. I've used the same cherry canoe paddle for 35 years and the blade can be bent substantially (30 degrees) without breaking. Not something I'd ever try with Oak.
 
Solid handle or sandwiched ? just curious , any straight grained hardwood with some spring/ flex should be good!
 
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