Tomahawk & Slip Fit Axe Handle Mod

[FortyTwoBlades]

Shown here is a 350g Rinaldi “Calabria” hand axe with a modified handle, the result of a little late-night experiment in the workshop around taking care of other work. A common complaint raised regarding slip fit handles is that (while they have their virtues) a knob is either small or totally absent, meaning there is little or nothing to stop the hand from slipping off the end of the handle if a loose grip is used. A simple tapered cross-pin at the end of the handle creates a removable solution to this problem.

[video=youtube;BVtPyianYuM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVtPyianYuM&feature=youtu.be[/video]​

A tapered hole was bored with a small step drill and a wooden pin, tapered to match, driven into the hole. The single-sided pin with the projection to the outside of the hand is the most comfortable and secure arrangement vs. a finger-sided or double-sided projection, and if the head must be removed from the handle for use as an independent tool the wooden pin is easily driven out so it does not obstruct the removal of the head. This provides several notable advantages over the use of a lanyard: the user’s hands may slide freely along the handle as needed to adjust grip position, the handle may still be immediately released in the event of an emergency or accident, and the pin allows the end of the handle to be tucked under a belt and have it stay there nicely if the user’s hands need to be free without setting the axe on the ground.

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[300Six]

Novel solution! Walking cane heads are removable via a hanger bolt and I wonder if that's something to consider (namely a spin-on knob or swell).
And perhaps not as pretty but professional hockey players create a functional knob at the end of their sticks using special tape. This stuff removes easy and fast enough via scoring it with a utility knife or unwinding the tape.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Thanks! I've seen folks do turks-head knots to form a swell, which makes a nice alternative to tape both from an aesthetic and "removable and re-applicable in the woods" standpoint. What I like about the pin is that it takes up very little real estate out of the handle length and gives you a full inch and a half of retention on the strong side, and removing and installing it is as simple as just tapping it out or in. I took the inspiration from the metal hook at the butt of a lot of Italian billhooks, as some double-sided ones (pennati) have the hook coming out sideways on them so it's easier to reverse the blade orientation. While I don't care for that arrangement much on billhooks (I like it either forward or for their to be none at all) it did give me the idea of doing something similar with an axe handle.